Sima Jinlong (; after 420-484),

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 ...

Rongze (榮則), was a

Han Han may refer to: Ethnic groups * Han Chinese, or Han People (): the name for the largest ethnic group in China, which also constitutes the world's largest ethnic group. ** Han Taiwanese (): the name for the ethnic group of the Taiwanese p ...

–

Xianbei The Xianbei (; ) were a Proto-Mongolic ancient nomadic people that once resided in the eastern Eurasian steppes in what is today Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Northeastern China. They originated from the Donghu people who splintered into the ...

prince and general of the Xianbei-led

Northern Wei dynasty Wei (), known in historiography as the Northern Wei (), Tuoba Wei (), Yuan Wei () and Later Wei (), was founded by the Tuoba (Tabgach) clan of the Xianbei. The first of the Northern dynasties, it ruled northern China from 386 to 535 during the ...

of China, whose tomb was discovered in the village of Shijia,

Datong Datong is a prefecture-level city in northern Shanxi Province in the People's Republic of China. It is located in the Datong Basin at an elevation of and borders Inner Mongolia to the north and west and Hebei to the east. As of the 2020 cens ...

Shanxi Shanxi (; ; formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-lev ...

. Sima Jinlong was of mixed Han and Xianbei heritage: he was the son of the

Eastern Jin Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai * Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air L ...

prince Sima Chuzhi ( 司馬楚之), who had become a refugee at the court of the Northern Wei dynasty when the Eastern Jin dynasty collapsed in 420, and his mother was a Northern Wei princess. After 420, Sima Chuzhi served as a general in the northern Wei army until his death when he was buried in the imperial tomb enclosure. Sima Jinlong spent his whole life among the Northern Wei, and married the daughter of the

Northern Liang The Northern Liang (; 397–439) was a dynastic state of the Sixteen Kingdoms in China. It was ruled by the Juqu family of Lushuihu origin (a branch of the Xiongnu). Although Duan Ye of Han ethnicity was initially enthroned as the Northern Liang ...

ruler

Juqu Mujian Juqu Mujian (; before 420 – 447), named Juqu Maoqian (沮渠茂虔) in some sources, formally Prince Ai of Hexi (河西哀王), was a king of the Xiongnu-led Northern Liang dynasty of China—with most Chinese historians considering him the last ...

. His son

Sima Huilang Sima Huilang (, fl. 496 CE) was a Chinese official and military leader from Northern Wei. Biography He was the son of Sima Jinlong (), courtesy name ''Rongze'' (榮則), a prince and general of Northern Wei. His father spent all his life among th ...

lived among the Wei with full honors, as an officer in the army, but his actual role seems to have been minor compared to his father, as he his only mentioned briefly after his father in official chronicles, such as the ''

Book of Wei The ''Book of Wei'', also known by its Chinese name as the ''Wei Shu'', is a classic Chinese historical text compiled by Wei Shou from 551 to 554, and is an important text describing the history of the Northern Wei and Eastern Wei from 386 to 5 ...

'' (37) '' Bei Shi'' (29). His tomb, of an impressive size, is dated to 484 CE and was found in the Northern Wei capital. The bodies of the deceased had been placed on an elaborately carved stone couch. Many

terra-cotta Terracotta, terra cotta, or terra-cotta (; ; ), in its material sense as an earthenware substrate, is a clay-based unglazed or glazed ceramic where the fired body is porous. In applied art, craft, construction, and architecture, terracotta i ...

funerary figures were found in the tomb, which are characteristic of the

Northern Wei Wei (), known in historiography as the Northern Wei (), Tuoba Wei (), Yuan Wei () and Later Wei (), was founded by the Tuoba (Tabgach) clan of the Xianbei. The first of the Northern and Southern dynasties#Northern dynasties, Northern dynasties ...

. They represent the progressive absorption of Han influences into the artistic productions of the Xianbei people under the rule of the

Tuoba The Tuoba (reconstructed Middle Chinese pronunciation: *''tʰak-bɛt''), also known as the Taugast or Tabgach ( otk, 𐱃𐰉𐰍𐰲 ''Tabγač''), was a Xianbei clan in Imperial China.Wei Shou. '' Book of Wei''. Vol. 1 During the Sixteen King ...

imperial clan. Northern Wei Pottery Figure, Tomb of Sima Jinlong, 484 AD (10100520026).jpg, Xianbei female attendant, probably a musician. Tomb of Sima Jinlong, 484 CE. Northern Wei Pottery Figure, Tomb of Sima Jinlong, 484 AD (10100465695).jpg, Northern Wei Pottery Figure, Tomb of Sima Jinlong, 484 CE Funerary panels, from the tomb of Sima Jinlong, 484 CE. Datong, Shanxi Province.jpg, Lacquer screen, from the tomb of Sima Jinlong, 484 CE. Probably brought from the court of the southern Jin dynasty by Jinlong's father. Shanxi Museum - tomb plaque of Sima Jinlong.JPG, Tomb plaque of Sima Jinlong. File:Stone funerary bed (tomb of Sima Jinlong), detail.jpg, Elaborately carved stone funerary bed of Sima Jinlong, 484 CE. Carved Stone Column Base, Northern Wei Dynasty (tomb of Sima Jinlong).jpg, Carved stone column base, Tomb of Sima Jinlong.

References

{{coord missing, China Buildings and structures completed in the 5th century Archaeological discoveries in China Northern Wei Tombs in China

See also

References