last ruling emperor of China's Xi (Western) Han dynasty (206 BC–AD 25).

Pingdi, at the time only nine years old, was placed on the throne in 1 BC by the powerful minister Wang Mang, whose daughter he married five years later. Though proof is lacking, it has been claimed that Pingdi was poisoned by his father-in-law. In any case, Pingdi's death allowed Wang to assume the title of regent to a child emperor; in AD 8, Wang finally set aside the Han dynasty altogether and established himself as emperor of the Xin dynasty.