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Sima Wei

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For his third cousin with a similar-sounding name, see Sima Wei (Jingyao).
Sima Wei
司馬瑋
Prince of Chu (楚王)
Tenure22 December 289 – 26 July 291
Born271
Died291 (aged 19–20)
IssueSima Fan
Sima Yi[1]
Posthumous name
Prince Yin of Chu (楚隱王)
FatherEmperor Wu of Jin
MotherLady Shen
In this Chinese name, the family name is Sima.

Sima Wei (司馬瑋) (271[2] – 26 July 291[3]), courtesy name Yandu (彥度), formally Prince Yin of Chu (楚隱王), was an imperial prince during the Western Jin dynasty and was the second of the eight princes commonly associated with the War of the Eight Princes.

Life

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Map showing the Wars of the Eight Princes

Sima Wei was the fifth son of Jin's founding emperor Emperor Wu, by his concubine Consort Shen; his elder full-brother Sima Jing, Prince Huai of Chengyang, had died in 270 before he was born.[4] On 5 October 277,[5] when he was about 6 years old, he was created the Prince of Shiping (始平王); his younger full-brother Sima Ai was also born in that year.[6] Late in his father's reign, on 22 December 289,[7] he was created the Prince of Chu and charged with the military commands of Jing Province (荊州, modern Hubei and Hunan). After his father died in May 290, his half-brother Crown Prince Zhong ascended the throne as Emperor Hui. Empress Dowager Yang's father Yang Jun was regent, but many people were dissatisfied with his hold on power. One of those was Emperor Hui's wife Empress Jia Nanfeng, and she entered into a conspiracy with Sima Wei, among others, to overthrow Yang Jun. In 291, Sima Wei returned to the capital Luoyang with his troops, and soon a coup happened in April.

Empress Jia, who had her husband easily under her control, had him issue an edict declaring that Yang Jun had committed crimes and should be removed from his posts. It also ordered Sima Wei and Sima Yao (司馬繇; son of Sima Zhou) the Duke of Dong'an to attack Yang's forces and defend against counterattacks. Quickly, it became clear that Yang was in trouble. Empress Dowager Yang, trapped in the palace herself, wrote an edict ordering assistance for Yang Jun and put it on arrows, shooting it out of the palace. Empress Jia then made the bold declaration that Empress Dowager Yang was committing treason. Yang Jun was quickly defeated, and his clan was massacred. Emperor Hui's granduncle Sima Liang was recalled to serve as regent in May, along with Wei Guan.

Sima Liang and Wei Guan had reservations about Sima Wei's ferocity in overthrowing Yang, and they therefore tried to strip him of his military command, but Sima Wei persuaded Empress Jia to let him keep his military command. Sima Wei's assistants Qi Sheng (岐盛) and Gongsun Hong (公孫宏) thereafter falsely told Empress Jia that Sima Liang and Wei Guan planned to depose the emperor. Empress Jia, who had already resented Wei for having, during Emperor Wu's reign, suggested that he change his heir selection, also wanted more direct control over the government, and therefore resolved to plot a second coup.

In summer 291, Empress Jia had Emperor Hui personally write an edict, ordering for Sima Liang and Wei Guan removed from their offices. When Sima Wei received the edict, he was unhappy with the content, as he was not mentioned among the princes who had to raise their army. After his request to send a petition regarding the edict was denied, Wei decided to forge an edict of his own, making himself Commander of all military affairs and taking charge of the operation. His forces thereby surrounded Sima Liang and Wei Guan's mansions, and while both men's subordinates recommended resistance, each declined and was captured. Both were killed—Sima Liang with his heir Sima Ju (司馬矩) and Wei Guan with nine of his sons and grandsons. With the military still under his control, Qi then suggested to Sima Wei to take the chance to kill Empress Jia's relatives and take over the government, but Sima Wei hesitated.

At the same time, Empress Jia came to two realizations: first, if it were realized she had ordered the killing of Sima Liang and Wei Guan it could bring a political firestorm; and second, that Sima Wei would not be easily controlled. She therefore publicly declared that Sima Wei had falsely issued the edict. Sima Wei's troops abandoned him, and he was captured and executed. At the execution, he tried to show the edict to the official in charge of the execution, Liu Song (劉頌), and Liu, knowing that Sima Wei had actually carried out the coup on Empress Jia's orders, was saddened, but still carried out the execution. Gongsun Hong and Qi Sheng were also executed, along with their clans.

Despite his volatile temper, Sima Wei was known for his generosity, and he was greatly missed by the people. On 13 October 301,[8] after Empress Jia's death, he was posthumously rewarded with the office of a general, and his son Sima Fan (司馬範), while not given the principality of Chu, was created the Prince of Xiangyang. Sima Fan was later killed by Shi Le, in the aftermath of Sima Yue's death in 311.

References

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  1. ^ According to vol.64 of Jin Shu, Sima Yi was made heir to Sima Gui, the full-brother of Emperor Hui who died at the age of two (by East Asian reckoning) and was given a posthumous name in 289 (毗陵悼王轨，字正则，初拜骑都尉，年二岁而夭。太康十年，追加封谥，以楚王玮子义嗣。) According to Emperor Wu's biography in the same work, Sima Yi was made Prince of Piling on the same day his father was made Prince of Chu ([太康十年十一月]甲申，...，始平王玮为楚王，...始平王子仪为毗陵王，...) Jin Shu, vol.03; note the different characters used for "Yi". Emperor Hui's biography recorded that Sima Gui died on the jia'xu day of the 4th month of the 1st year of the Yuan'kang era ([元康元年]五月甲戌，毗陵王轨薨。) Jin Shu, vol.04; this record likely refers to Sima Yi's death instead. Also, there was no jia'xu day in the 5th month; the month corresponds to 14 Jun to 13 Jul 291 in the Julian calendar.
  2. ^ According to Sima Wei's biography in Book of Jin, he was 21 (by East Asian reckoning) when he died. (诏以玮矫制害二公父子，又欲诛灭朝臣，谋图不轨，遂斩之，时年二十一。) Jin Shu, vol.59. Thus by calculation, his birth year should be 271.
  3. ^ According to Sima Zhong's biography in the Book of Jin and vol.82 of Zizhi Tongjian, Sima Wei was killed on the yi'chou day of the 6th month of the 1st year of the Yong'ping era of Emperor Hui's reign. This corresponds to 26 Jul 291 in the Julian calendar. [(永平元年)六月...乙丑，以瑋擅害亮、瓘，殺之] Book of Jin, vol. 4
  4. ^ (城阳怀王景，字景度，....泰始五年受封，六年薨。) Jin Shu, vol.64
  5. ^ guihai day of the 8th month of the 3rd year of the Xianning era, per Sima Yan's biography in Book of Jin
  6. ^ (审美人生城阳怀王景、楚隐王玮、长沙厉王乂。) Jin Shu, vol.64
  7. ^ jiashen day of the 11th month of the 10th year of the Taikang era, per Sima Yan's biography in Book of Jin
  8. ^ Emperor Hui's biography in Book of Jin indicate that Sima Fan was made Prince of Xiangyang on the ding'chou day of the 8th month of the 1st year of the Yong'ning era. It is presumed that Sima Wei was posthumously honored at the same time.
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