Sima Lun ( sim. ch. 司马伦, trad. ch. 司馬倫, py. Sīmǎ Lún, wg. Ssu-ma Lun) (before 250 -

poison Poison is a chemical substance that has a detrimental effect to life. The term is used in a wide range of scientific fields and industries, where it is often specifically defined. It may also be applied colloquially or figuratively, with a broa ...

ed June 5, 301),

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 ...

Ziyi (子彛), was titled the

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. Th ...

of Zhao (

pinyin Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally written in Chinese for ...

: zhào wáng,

simplified Chinese Simplification, Simplify, or Simplified may refer to: Mathematics Simplification is the process of replacing a mathematical expression by an equivalent one, that is simpler (usually shorter), for example * Simplification of algebraic expressions, ...

: 赵王,

traditional Chinese A tradition is a belief or behavior (folk custom) passed down within a group or society with symbolic meaning or special significance with origins in the past. A component of cultural expressions and folklore, common examples include holidays or ...

: 趙王) and the usurper of the Jin Dynasty from February 3 to May 31, 301. He is usually not counted in the list of Jin emperors due to his brief reign, and was often mentioned by historians as an example of a wicked usurper. He was the third of the eight princes commonly associated with the

War of the Eight Princes The War of the Eight Princes, Rebellion of the Eight Kings, or Rebellion of the Eight Princes () was a series of civil wars among kings/princes (Chinese: ''wáng'' 王) of the Chinese Jin dynasty from 291 to 306 AD. The key point of contention in ...

Early career

Sima Yi Sima Yi ( ; 179 CE – 7 September 251 CE), courtesy name Zhongda, was a Chinese military general, politician, and regent of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He formally began his political career in 208 un ...

's ninth and youngest son, Sima Lun held a number of minor titles during the

Cao Wei Wei ( Hanzi: 魏; pinyin: ''Wèi'' <

Middle Chinese

: *''ŋjwei^C'' <

regencies of his father and half-brothers

Sima Shi Sima Shi () (208 – 23 March 255), courtesy name Ziyuan, was a military general and regent of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. In 249, he assisted his father Sima Yi in overthrowing the emperor Cao Fang's regent Cao Shuang, all ...

and

Sima Zhao Sima Zhao () (211 – 6 September 265), courtesy name Zishang, was a Chinese military general, politician, and regent of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Sima Zhao capably maintained control of Wei, which had been ...

. Around February or March 250, he was enfeoffed as Marquis of Anle Village, and when Sima Zhao established the Five Feudal Ranks of Zhou in 264, his fief was changed to Viscount of Dong'an, and he was designated Remonstrating and Consulting Grandee After his nephew Sima Yan established the Jin Dynasty as Emperor Wu on 8 February 266, Sima Lun was named the Prince of Langye Commandery the next day. He served as a general and governor at times during his nephew's reign, but was undistinguished; several times he was accused of crimes, such as when sending Cavalier Commander Liu Ji to pay laborers wanting to rob imperial furs, but each time Emperor Wu pardoned him of them. On 5 October 277,According to Sima Yan's biography in ''Book of Jin'', he moved Sima Lun's principality to Zhao on the ''guihai'' day of the 8th month of the 3rd year of the ''Xianning'' era. This corresponds to 5 Oct 277 on the Julian calendar. 咸宁三年)八月癸亥，徙...，琅邪王伦为赵王...''Jin Shu'', vol.03 his principality was moved to Zhao. During the early reign of Emperor Hui, Sima Lun was in charge of the military command of Qin (秦州, modern eastern

Gansu Gansu (, ; alternately romanized as Kansu) is a province in Northwest China. Its capital and largest city is Lanzhou, in the southeast part of the province. The seventh-largest administrative district by area at , Gansu lies between the Tibet ...

) and Yong (雍州, modern central and northern

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 ...

) Provinces, but his misgovernance contributed to conditions where the Di and the Qiang rebelled under the Di chief

Qi Wannian Qi Wannian (died 299), or Qiwannian, was an ethnic Di chieftain and rebel leader during the Western Jin dynasty of China. In 296, he became leader of a tribal uprising against Jin in Qinzhou and Yongzhou that lasted until 299. The rebellion ...

. His chief strategist

Sun Xiu Sun Xiu (235 – 3 September 264), courtesy name Zilie, formally known as Emperor Jing of Wu, was the third emperor of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Early life Sun Xiu was born in 235 to Wu's founding emper ...

was arrested and initially set to be executed, but was spared. Sima Lun and Sun were recalled to the capital

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 ...

, where he flattered Empress Hui's empress

Jia Nanfeng Jia Nanfeng (257 – 13 May 300), nicknamed Shi (峕), was a Chinese empress consort. She was the daughter of Jia Chong and first wife of Emperor Hui of the Jin dynasty and also the granddaughter of Jia Kui. She is commonly seen as a villaino ...

and became trusted by her. Lun then requested a high level office, but was rebuffed by Empress Jia's advisors

Zhang Hua Zhang Hua (232–7 May 300According to Sima Zhong's biography in ''Book of Jin'', Zhang Hua was killed on the ''guisi'' day of the 4th month of the 1st year of the ''Yongkang'' era of his reign. This corresponds to 7 May 300 永康元年夏四 ...

and Pei Wei.

As regent

After Empress Jia, in jealousy, deposed the

crown prince A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wif ...

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 ...

(born not of her but of her husband's

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 Xie Jiu. In 299, there was a conspiracy to overthrow her and restore the crown prince. Sima Lun was persuaded to join the conspiracy, but Sun Xiu had another plan for him: he should encourage Empress Jia to assassinate the crown prince in exile, and then use the assassination as the excuse to overthrow her. Sima Lun accepted this plan and persuaded her to assassinate the crown prince, which she did in 300. He then declared a coup against her and arrested her, slaughtering her clan and her associates (including Zhang and Pei). He then forced her to commit suicide. Sima Lun then became regent for the

developmentally disabled Developmental disability is a diverse group of chronic conditions, comprising mental or physical impairments that arise before adulthood. Developmental disabilities cause individuals living with them many difficulties in certain areas of life, espe ...

Emperor Hui, but was described as being not particularly more intelligent than Emperor Hui. Even though he carried the regent title, true power was in Sun Xiu's hands. Under Sun Xiu's persuasion, he deposed Emperor Hui and declared himself emperor in 301, offering Emperor Hui the honorific title of

retired emperor Retired Emperor, Grand Emperor, or Emperor Emeritus is a title occasionally used by the monarchical regimes in the Sinosphere for former emperors who had (at least in name) abdicated voluntarily to another member of the same clan, usually their s ...

but putting him under house arrest. Emperor Hui's grandson, the crown prince Sima Zang (司馬臧), was executed.

As emperor

The act of usurpation brought widespread anger. In order to appease those who might be angry at his usurpation, Sima Lun rewarded many people with honors. Sun, in particular, was issuing edicts based on his own whims. Suspecting three autonomous key princes—

Sima Jiong Sima Jiong (司馬冏) (before 283 - 27 Jan 303According to the ''Book of Jin'', Sima Jiong was defeated on the ''wuchen'' day in the 12th month of the year after the 1st year of the ''Yongning'' era of Emperor Hui's reign. This corresponds to 27 ...

the Prince of Qi (Emperor Hui's cousin and the son of Emperor Hui's uncle, Prince You of Qi),

Sima Ying Sima Ying (司馬穎) (279 – December 306), courtesy name Zhangdu (章度), was a Jin Dynasty (266–420) imperial prince who served briefly as his brother Emperor Hui's regent and crown prince. He was the sixth of eight princes commonly asso ...

the Prince of Chengdu (Emperor Hui's brother), and

Sima Yong Sima Yong (司馬顒) (before 274 - late January 307), courtesy name Wenzai (文載), was a Jin dynasty imperial prince and briefly a regent for Emperor Hui. He was the seventh of eight princes commonly associated with the War of the Eight Pri ...

the Prince of Hejian (the grandson of Emperor Hui's great-granduncle

Sima Fu Sima Fu () (180– 3 April 272), courtesy name Shuda, was an imperial prince and statesman of the Jin dynasty of China. He previously served as an official in the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period before his grandnephew, Sima Y ...

the Prince of Anping), each of whom had strong independent military commands—Sun sent his trusted subordinates to be their assistants. Prince Jiong refused and declared a rebellion to restore Emperor Hui. Prince Ying,

Sima Ai Sima Ai or Sima Yi (司馬乂) (277 – 19/20 March 304), courtesy name Shidu (士度), formally Prince Li of Changsha (長沙厲王), was a Jin Dynasty (266–420) imperial prince who briefly served as regent for his brother Emperor Hui. He wa ...

the Prince of Changshan (Emperor Hui's brother), and Sima Xin (司馬歆) the Duke of Xinye (the son of a granduncle of Emperor Hui) all declared support for Prince Jiong. Prince Yong initially sent his general Zhang Fang (張方) with intent to support Sima Lun, but then heard that Princes Jiong and Ying had great forces, and so declared for the rebels instead. Sima Lun's forces were easily defeated by Princes Jiong and Ying's forces, and after declaring himself emperor for three months, Sima Lun was captured by officials in Luoyang who declared for the rebellion as well and forced him to issue an edict returning the throne to Emperor Hui. Sima Lun was then forced to commit suicide. Sun and other associates of Sima Lun were executed, as were all of Sima Lun's sons.

Family

* Parents: **

, Emperor Xuan (; 179–251) ** ''Furen'', of the Bai clan () * Sons: ** Sima Fu (; d. 301) ** Sima Fu, Prince Jiyang (; d. 301) ** Sima Qian, Prince Ruyin (; d. 301) ** Sima Xu, Marquis Bacheng (; d. 301)

References

* Fang, Xuanling. ''

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 ...

'' (''Jin Shu''). {{DEFAULTSORT:Sima, Lun 240s births 301 deaths Jin dynasty (266–420) emperors 4th-century Chinese monarchs Executed Jin dynasty (266–420) people People executed by the Jin dynasty (266–420) Forced suicides of Chinese people Suicides by poison 4th-century executions Suicides in the Jin dynasty (266–420)