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 ...
Zichu, was an imperial prince and military general of the Jin dynasty of China. He previously served in the state of
Three Kingdoms
The Three Kingdoms () from 220 to 280 AD was the tripartite division of China among the dynastic states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. The Three Kingdoms period was preceded by the Han dynasty#Eastern Han, Eastern Han dynasty and wa ...
period.
Life
Sima Wang was the second son of
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 ...
but he was adopted by his eldest uncle
Sima Lang
Sima Lang (171–217), courtesy name Boda, was a government official who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. He was the eldest among the eight sons of Sima Fang, who served as the Intendant of the Capital () during the reign of ...
, who had no son to succeed him; Sima Wang was therefore officially Sima Lang's heir. He started his official career in the state of
Three Kingdoms
The Three Kingdoms () from 220 to 280 AD was the tripartite division of China among the dynastic states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. The Three Kingdoms period was preceded by the Han dynasty#Eastern Han, Eastern Han dynasty and wa ...
period and served in various positions, including Administrator () of Pingyang Commandery () and Agriculture General of the Household of
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 ...
(). In 251, he accompanied his uncle
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 ...
on a campaign against Wang Ling, who started a rebellion. After the rebellion was suppressed, the Wei government enfeoffed him as the Marquis of Yong'an Village () to honour him for his contributions. Later, Sima Wang was promoted to a district marquis under the title "Marquis of Anle District" () and given greater responsibilities as General Who Protects the Army () and Regular Mounted Attendant ().
The Wei emperor
Cao Mao
Cao Mao () (241 – 2 June 260), courtesy name Yanshi, was the fourth emperor of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was a grandson of Cao Pi, the first emperor of Wei. Described as intelligent and studious, ...
( 254–260) was particularly fond of the literati, so he became close to notable members of the literati such as Sima Wang,
Pei Xiu
Pei Xiu (224–271), courtesy name Jiyan, was a Chinese cartographer, geographer, politician, and writer of the state of Cao Wei during the late Three Kingdoms period and Jin dynasty of China. He was very much trusted by Sima Zhao, and p ...
Zhong Hui
Zhong Hui (225 – 3 March 264), courtesy name Shiji, was a Chinese calligrapher, essayist, military general, and politician of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the younger son of Zhang Changpu with Zhong Y ...
. Cao Mao was known for being impatient and he wanted them to come for the banquets he hosted in the shortest time possible. Since Pei Xiu, Wang Chen, Zhong Hui and the others served as officials in the imperial palace, they were able to make it on time. Sima Wang, however, took more time to reach the imperial palace because he was stationed in a military camp. Cao Mao then gave him a fast-moving chariot so that he could travel faster, and also provided him five imperial guards as escorts.
At the time, Cao Mao was merely a puppet emperor as actual power was in the hands of the regent
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 ...
(Sima Wang's cousin). Although Sima Wang was close to Cao Mao, he often felt uneasy in the emperor's presence so he requested to be assigned to positions far away from
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 ...
, the imperial capital. Cao Mao then appointed him as General Who Attacks the West () and granted him imperial authority to oversee military affairs in Yong and Liang provinces on Wei's western border. Before Sima Wang arrived in Yong and Liang provinces, the region was constantly under attack by Wei's rival state, Shu, as the Shu general
Jiang Wei
Jiang Wei (202 – 3 March 264), courtesy name Boyue, was a military general of the state of Shu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Born in Ji County (present-day Gangu County, Gansu), Jiang Wei started his career as a military officer ...
launched a series of invasions. After Sima Wang showed up, he strengthened the defences in the region and implemented new defensive strategies which successfully kept the enemy at bay and prevented them from gaining ground. After spending about eight years on the western border, Sima Wang was summoned back to Luoyang to serve as General of the Guards () and later as General of Agile Cavalry (). Shortly after, he replaced He Zeng () as
Minister over the Masses Situ was one of the highest ranking government offices in ancient China. Established in the Western Zhou dynasty, it was originally written as (), meaning Administrator of Land.
During the Han dynasty, the title became written with the different c ...
().
In 265, following Sima Zhao's death, his son Sima Yan (Emperor Wu) usurped the throne from the last Wei emperor Cao Huan and established the
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 ...
with himself as the emperor. After his accession, Emperor Wu enfeoffed Sima Wang as the Prince of Yiyang (), with a princedom comprising 10,000 taxable households, as well as 2,000 troops under his command. In 267, Emperor Wu appointed Sima Wang as Grand Commandant ().
In the late 260s,
Shi Ji
''Records of the Grand Historian'', also known by its Chinese name ''Shiji'', is a monumental history of China that is the first of China's 24 dynastic histories. The ''Records'' was written in the early 1st century by the ancient Chinese hist ...
Jiangxia Commandery
Jiangxia Commandery ( zh, 江夏郡) was a Chinese commandery that existed from Han dynasty to Tang dynasty. Its territories were located in present-day eastern Hubei province.
History
Jiangxia Commandery was established during the reign of Empero ...
(). Sima Wang led 20,000 troops to garrison at Longbei () and strengthen the defences around Jiangxia Commandery. Emperor Wu also granted him imperial authority and appointed him as Grand Chief Controller to supervise military affairs in the region. He returned to Luoyang after the Wu invaders were driven back by Hu Lie (), the Inspector of
Jing Province
Jingzhou or Jing Province was one of the Nine Provinces of ancient China referenced in Chinese historical texts such as the ''Tribute of Yu'', '' Erya'' and '' Rites of Zhou''.
Jingzhou became an administrative division during the reign of Empe ...
. Sometime in the late 260s, the Wu general Ding Feng led his troops to attack the Jin position at Quebei (). When Sima Wang heard about it, he led Jin forces to repel the invasion but Ding Feng had already retreated on his own by the time Sima Wang reached Quebei. Emperor Wu further promoted Sima Wang to Grand Marshal ().
In 271, the Wu emperor
Sun Hao
Sun Hao (243 – January or February 284), courtesy name Yuanzong, originally named Sun Pengzu with the courtesy name Haozong, was the fourth and last emperor of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was the son ...
personally led an invasion force to attack Shouchun (壽春; present-day
Shou County
Shou County or Shouxian () is a county in the north-central part of Anhui Province, China, and is located on the southern (right) bank of the Huai River. It is the southernmost county-level division of the prefecture-level city
A prefectur ...
,
Anhui
Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze River ...
). Sima Wang then led 20,000 infantry and 3,000 cavalry to the
Huai River
The Huai River (), Postal Map Romanization, formerly romanization of Chinese, romanized as the Hwai, is a major river in China. It is located about midway between the Yellow River and Yangtze, the two longest rivers and largest drainage basins ...
region to strengthen the defences in the region. Sun Hao eventually withdrew his forces and returned to Wu. Sima Wang died later that year at the age of 67 (by
East Asian age reckoning
Countries in the East Asian cultural sphere (China, Korea, Japan, Vietnam, and their diasporas) have traditionally used specific methods of reckoning a person's numerical age based not on their birthday but the calendar year, and what age one is ...
). Emperor Wu honoured him with the
posthumous title
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 ...
"Prince Cheng" (), hence Sima Wang was formally referred to as "Prince Cheng of Yiyang". As Sima Wang was miserly and stingy while he was still alive, his family owned much wealth and property at the time of his death. Others scorned him for such behaviour.
See also
*
Lists of people of the Three Kingdoms
The following are lists of people significant to the Three Kingdoms period (220–280) of Chinese history. Their names in Mandarin pinyin are sorted in alphabetical order.
Fictional characters in the 14th-century historical novel ''Romance of ...
Records of the Three Kingdoms
The ''Records or History of the Three Kingdoms'', also known by its Chinese name as the Sanguo Zhi, is a Chinese historical text which covers the history of the late Eastern Han dynasty (c. 184–220 AD) and the Three Kingdoms period (220– ...
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 ...
Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms
Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms () by Pei Songzhi (372-451) is an annotation completed in the 5th century of the 3rd century historical text ''Records of the Three Kingdoms'', compiled by Chen Shou. After leaving his native land, Pei ...
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 ...