不合时宜 — “Untimely”

Emperor Ai of Han, Liu Xin, adopted by Emperor Cheng, ascended the throne at the age of twenty and designated his reign 'Jianping'. After becoming emperor, he often fell ill.

In the sixth month of the second year of Jianping, his mother, Empress Dowager Ding, passed away. Xia Heguang, an advisor serving as 'Huangmen Daizhao', presented a memorial to Emperor Ai, stating: 'The Han dynasty's calendar has declined, and the mandate of heaven should be renewed. Emperor Cheng did not follow heaven's will at the time, which is why he had no biological son. Now, Your Majesty has been ill for a long time, and the world has experienced various abnormalities multiple times; these are warnings from heaven. Your Majesty must immediately change the reign title to prolong life, produce imperial heirs, and quell disasters. If this truth is understood but not acted upon, various calamities will occur, and the people will suffer.'

Emperor Ai, hoping for good health, listened to Xia Heguang's words. On the jiazi day in the sixth month of the second year of Jianping, four days after Empress Dowager Ding's death, he issued an edict granting a general amnesty, changing the third year of Jianping to the first year of Taichu, renaming himself 'Chengsheng Liu Taiping Huangdi', and altering the markings on the clepsydra from one hundred to one hundred and twenty.

After changing the reign title, Emperor Ai remained ill. Xia Heguang and others attempted to interfere in court affairs, facing opposition from ministers. Emperor Ai, seeing that Xia Heguang's predictions had not come true, investigated their actions and discovered they were actually charlatans.

In the eighth month, he issued another edict, stating: 'Huangmen Daizhao Xia Heguang and others suggested changing the reign and imperial titles, claiming that increasing the clepsydra's markings would bring eternal stability to the state. I mistakenly heeded their words, hoping to bring peace to the realm, but it has not been fulfilled. What Xia Heguang and others said and did was against tradition and ancient ways, and was untimely and inappropriate. The edict of the jiazi day in the sixth month, with the exception of the general amnesty, is entirely revoked.' This change of reign lasted less than two months. Xia Heguang and others were executed for misleading the public with their deceptive prophecies.