Emperor Fei of Jin
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Emperor Fei of Jin (; 342 – November 23, 386), personal name Sima Yi (),
courtesy name A courtesy name (), also known as a style name, is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to one's given name. This practice is a tradition in the East Asian cultural sphere, including China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.Ulrich Theobald ...
Yanling (), was an
emperor An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...
of the Eastern
Jin Dynasty (266–420) The Jin dynasty (; ) or the Jin Empire, sometimes distinguished as the (司馬晉) or the (兩晉), was an imperial dynasty of China that existed from 266 to 420. It was founded by Sima Yan (Emperor Wu), eldest son of Sima Zhao, who had pr ...
in
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
. He was the younger brother (from the same mother) of Emperor Ai and later deposed by military leader
Huan Wen Huan Wen (桓溫) (312 – 18 August 373), courtesy name Yuanzi (元子), formally Duke Xuanwu of Nan Commandery (南郡宣武公), was a general and regent of the Jin Dynasty (266–420), as well as the leader of Huan clan of Qiaoguo (谯国桓 ...
. The title that he is normally referred to, "Emperor Fei", is not a
posthumous name A posthumous name is an honorary name given mostly to the notable dead in East Asian culture. It is predominantly practiced in East Asian countries such as China, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, and Thailand. Reflecting on the person's accomplishments or ...
as is usually the case with imperial common titles, but rather signified that he was deposed (with "Fei" () meaning "depose"). He is also commonly known by the title he was given after his removal, Duke of Haixi ().


Early life

Sima Yi was born in 342, to Emperor Cheng and his
concubine Concubinage is an interpersonal and sexual relationship between a man and a woman in which the couple does not want, or cannot enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarded as similar but mutually exclusive. Concubi ...
Consort Zhou, who was also the mother of his only brother,
Sima Pi Emperor Ai of Jin (; 341 – March 30, 365), personal name Sima Pi (), courtesy name Qianling (), was an emperor of the Eastern Jin Dynasty (266–420). During his brief reign, the actual powers were largely in the hands of his granduncle Emperor ...
, who was one year older than he was. Later in 342, Emperor Cheng grew gravely ill. Typically, the throne would be passed down to a son, but Emperor Cheng's uncle
Yu Bing Yu Bing (234 - 280), courtesy name Shiwen, was an official of the Western Jin dynasty of China. He previously served in the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period. Life Yu Bing was the eighth son of Yu Fan, an official who served ...
(), who wanted to control the government a little longer, suggested that, because Jin was then facing the threat of
Later Zhao The Later Zhao (; 319–351) was a dynasty of the Sixteen Kingdoms in northern China. It was founded by the Shi family of the Jie ethnicity. The Jie were most likely a Yeniseian people and spoke next to Chinese one of the Yeniseian languages.Vov ...
, that an older emperor was needed, and so persuaded Emperor Cheng to pass the throne to his younger brother
Sima Yue Sima Yue (司馬越) (died 23 April 311According to Sima Chi's biography in the ''Book of Jin'', Sima Yue died on the ''bingzi'' day in the 3rd month of the 5th year of the ''Yongjia'' era of Emperor Huai's reign. This corresponds to 23 Apr 311 ...
the Prince of Langya, who was Yu Bing's nephew as well. Emperor Cheng agreed, and after his death, Sima Yue took the throne as Emperor Kang. Emperor Kang created Sima Yi the Prince of Donghai. In Sima Yi's youth, he went through a progression of official ranks. While he was still the Prince of Donghai, he married Yu Bing's daughter
Yu Daolian Yu Daolian (庾道憐) (died 5 July 366), formally Empress Xiao (孝皇后, literally "the filial empress"), was an empress of Jin Dynasty (266–420). Her husband was Emperor Fei of Jin. Yu Daolian was the daughter of Yu Bing (Eastern Jin), Yu B ...
as his princess. In 361, after the death of his cousin Emperor Mu (Emperor Kang's son), his older brother Sima Pi took the throne as Emperor Ai, and he took over the greater title of Prince of Langya, which Emperor Ai had previously held. In 365, after Emperor Ai died without a son, Sima Yi took the throne by decree of his aunt Empress Dowager Chu (Emperor Kang's wife). He created his wife Princess Yu
empress An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereignty, sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), ...
.


Reign

Even though Emperor Fei was an adult, he did not have actual power, as not only were governmental matters largely in the hands of his granduncle
Sima Yu Sima or SIMA may refer to: People * Sima (Chinese surname) * Sima (given name), a Persian feminine name in use in Iran and Turkey * Sima (surname) Places * Sima, Comoros, on the island of Anjouan, near Madagascar * Sima de los Huesos, a caver ...
the Prince of Kuaiji, but Sima Yu himself was not fully able to make decisions, as the paramount general
Huan Wen Huan Wen (桓溫) (312 – 18 August 373), courtesy name Yuanzi (元子), formally Duke Xuanwu of Nan Commandery (南郡宣武公), was a general and regent of the Jin Dynasty (266–420), as well as the leader of Huan clan of Qiaoguo (谯国桓 ...
imposed many of his own decisions on the imperial government, which had no choice but to accept. Immediately after Emperor Fei took the throne, the important city
Luoyang Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of Luo River (Henan), Luo River and Yellow River in the west of Henan province. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the ...
(which had served as Jin's capital early in the dynasty's history) fell to
Former Yan The Former Yan (; 337–370) was a dynastic state ruled by the Xianbei during the era of Sixteen Kingdoms in China. Initially, Murong Huang and his son Murong Jun claimed the Jin dynasty-created title "Prince of Yan," but subsequently, in 352, ...
, because Emperor Ai's death prevented a relief force from being dispatched. Late in 365, the general
Sima Xun Sima Xun (306–366), courtesy name Weichang, was a military general and warlord of the Jin dynasty (266–420). Following the destruction of the Han Zhao state in 329, Sima Xun fled south to his family's regime in Jiankang, where he grew to ho ...
, the governor of Liang Province (梁州, modern southern
Shaanxi Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see #Name, § Name) is a landlocked Provinces of China, province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichu ...
) rebelled, but he was defeated, captured, and executed in summer 366. In summer 366, Empress Yu died. Emperor Fei would not have another empress for the rest of his reign. In 369, Huan launched a major attack against Former Yan, advancing all the way to the vicinity of Former Yan's capital Yecheng, but hesitated at making a final assault on Yecheng, and was subsequently defeated by the Former Yan prince
Murong Chui Murong Chui (; 326–396), courtesy name Daoming (道明), Xianbei name Altun (阿六敦), formally Emperor Chengwu of (Later) Yan ((後)燕成武帝) was a great general of the Xianbei-led Chinese Former Yan dynasty who later became the foundi ...
and
Former Qin The Former Qin, also called Fu Qin (苻秦), (351–394) was a dynastic state of the Sixteen Kingdoms in Chinese history ruled by the Di ethnicity. Founded by Fu Jian (posthumously Emperor Jingming) who originally served under the Later ...
relief forces. Huan, who had ambitions of usurpation and had intended to show off his power through conquering Former Yan until the campaign's failure, decided that he would show off his power in another way. He plotted with his confidant Chi Chao () to intimidate everyone by deposing Emperor Fei. However, the emperor had been careful during his reign and had not had any major faults, so Huan figured he had to manufacture one. He spread rumors that Emperor Fei was
impotent Erectile dysfunction (ED), also called impotence, is the type of sexual dysfunction in which the penis fails to become or stay erect during sexual activity. It is the most common sexual problem in men.Cunningham GR, Rosen RC. Overview of male ...
and unable to bear children—and that his sons, by his concubines Consort Tian and Consort Meng, had in fact been biological sons of men that he favored, Xiang Long (), Ji Hao (), and Zhu Lingbao (). (The rumors also implied a
homosexual Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...
relationship between Emperor Fei and Xiang, Ji, and Zhu.) He then went to the capital and intimidated Empress Dowager Chu, to issue an edict that he had drafted deposing Emperor Fei. He replaced Emperor Fei with his granduncle Sima Yu, who took the throne as Emperor Jianwen. Emperor Fei was reduced in rank to Prince of Donghai, the title he had held for most of his life. Huan put Consorts Tian and Meng to death, along with their sons. He also massacred the powerful Yin and Yu clans.


After removal

Huan Wen, however, wanted to further reduce the former emperor's rank, and he proposed that the prince be reduced to commoner status. Empress Dowager Chu resisted, and only reduced his rank to Duke of Haixi. Huan, apprehensive that the former emperor may try to return to the throne, had him exiled to Wu (吳縣, in modern
Suzhou Suzhou (; ; Suzhounese: ''sou¹ tseu¹'' , Mandarin: ), alternately romanized as Soochow, is a major city in southern Jiangsu province, East China. Suzhou is the largest city in Jiangsu, and a major economic center and focal point of trade ...
,
Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, Postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an Eastern China, eastern coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is o ...
) and put under heavy guard. In winter 372, the
Taoist Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the ''Tao'' ...
agrarian rebel Lu Song () claimed to have an edict from Empress Dowager Chu to restore Emperor Fei, and he sent a messenger to the duke to persuade him to join the rebellion. Initially the duke believed him, but later realized that if the empress dowager wanted to restore him, she would send imperial guards to escort him, and therefore realized that there was no edict. Without the duke's support, Lu's rebellion collapsed. In exile, the former emperor constantly feared death, so he spent his time indulging drinking, music, and women, to show to Huan that he had no desire for political actions. Whenever his concubines bore children, he would not dare to nurture them, but instead strangled them (so that he would not prove Huan wrong). As this became evident, Huan began to relax the restrictions against him. He died in 386 and was buried in Wu. His wife, Empress Yu, was disinterred to be reburied with him.


Family

Consorts and Issue: * Empress Xiao, of the Yu clan of Yingchuan (; d. 366), first cousin once removed, personal name Daolian () * ''Meiren'', of the Tian clan (; d. 372) ** Unnamed son (d. 372) ** Unnamed son (d. 372) * ''Meiren'', of the Meng clan (; d. 372) ** Unnamed son (d. 372)


Ancestry


References

* ''
Book of Jin The ''Book of Jin'' is an official Chinese historical text covering the history of the Jin dynasty from 266 to 420. It was compiled in 648 by a number of officials commissioned by the imperial court of the Tang dynasty, with chancellor Fang X ...
'', vol. 8. * ''
Zizhi Tongjian ''Zizhi Tongjian'' () is a pioneering reference work in Chinese historiography, published in 1084 AD during the Northern Song dynasty in the form of a chronicle recording Chinese history from 403 BC to 959 AD, covering 16 dynast ...
'', vols. 97, 101,
102 102 may refer to: * 102 (number), the number * AD 102, a year in the 2nd century AD * 102 BC, a year in the 2nd century BC * 102 (ambulance service), an emergency medical transport service in Uttar Pradesh, India * 102 (Clyde) Field Squadron, Royal ...
, 103, 106. {{DEFAULTSORT:Fei, Emperor of Jin 342 births 386 deaths Jin dynasty (266–420) emperors 4th-century Chinese monarchs