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Sima Zhou (227 – 12 June 283),
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 Theo ...
Zijiang, was an imperial prince and military general of the Jin dynasty of China. He previously served in the state of
Cao Wei Wei ( Hanzi: 魏; pinyin: ''Wèi'' < : *''ŋjweiC'' < 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 Eastern Han dynasty and was followed by the West ...
period.


Life in Cao Wei

Sima Zhou was born to
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 ...
and his concubine Lady Fu (伏氏); he was Lady Fu's second son. He had three full brothers: Sima Liang, Sima Jing (司馬京) and Sima Jun (司馬駿). He started his career as a military officer in the state of
Cao Wei Wei ( Hanzi: 魏; pinyin: ''Wèi'' < : *''ŋjweiC'' < 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 Eastern Han dynasty and was followed by the West ...
period. As a youth, he already had a reputation for his talent and also because of his family background; the Sima family had been the ''de facto'' rulers of Wei since 249. Sima Zhou was first appointed as Ningshuo General (寧朔將軍) and put in charge of the security of the Wei nobles living in Ye city. Sometime during the ''Zhengshi'' era (240–249) of Cao Fang's reign, he was enfeoffed as the Marquis of Nan'an Village (南安亭侯). Later, he was promoted to a Regular Mounted Attendant (散騎常侍) and elevated from a village marquis to a district marquis under the title "Marquis of Dongwu District" (東武鄉侯). In 260, the Wei emperor Cao Mao attempted to seize back power from the Sima family by staging a ''coup d'état'' against the regent Sima Zhao (Sima Zhou's half-brother). Sima Zhou, then holding the position of a Colonel of the Garrison Cavalry (屯騎校尉), led his troops to stop Cao Mao. However, his men dispersed in fear when Cao Mao shouted at them. Cao Mao eventually met his end at the hands of Cheng Ji (成濟), a subordinate of Sima Zhao's adviser Jia Chong. In 263, during the reign of Cao Huan, Sima Zhou was appointed as General of the Right (右將軍) and Inspector (刺史) of
Yan Province Yan Province or Yanzhou was one of the Nine Provinces of ancient China. During the Han dynasty (206 BCE – 220 CE), it covered roughly present-day southwestern Shandong, eastern Henan, and the northwestern corner of Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ...
. A year later, after Sima Zhao restored the five-rank nobility system, which had previously been abolished, Sima Zhou was enfeoffed as the Count of Nanpi (南皮伯). He was also reassigned to be General Who Attacks Barbarians (征虜將軍) and granted imperial authority.


Life under the Jin dynasty

On 8 February 266, a few months after Sima Zhao's death, his son Sima Yan (Emperor Wu) usurped the throne from 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 p ...
to replace the Cao Wei state, with himself as the new emperor. The day after his coronation, Emperor Wu enfeoffed his uncle Sima Zhou as the Prince of Dongguan (東莞王) with a princedom comprising 10,600 taxable households. He also granted permission to all the princes to appoint the county prefects/chiefs in the counties in their princedoms. Sima Zhou tried to ask Emperor Wu to remove this privilege but the emperor refused. In 268, Emperor Wu appointed Sima Zhou as Right Supervisor of the Masters of Writing (尚書右僕射) and General Who Pacifies the Army (撫軍將軍). In the following year, he reassigned Sima Zhou to be Senior General Who Guards the East (鎮東大將軍) and granted him imperial authority to replace Wei Guan in supervising military affairs in
Xu Province Xuzhou as a historical toponym refers to varied area in different eras. Ordinarily, it was a reference to the one of the Nine Provinces (China), Nine Provinces which modern Xuzhou inherited. History Pre-Qin era Xuzhou or Xu Province was one ...
. During his tenure, Sima Zhou instilled good discipline among the troops and earned much respect from them. The military leaders in the Jin dynasty's rival state,
Eastern Wu Wu (Chinese: 吳; pinyin: ''Wú''; Middle Chinese *''ŋuo'' < : ''*ŋuɑ''), known in hi ...
, were very wary of him. On 5 October 277,According to Sima Yan's biography in ''Book of Jin'', the shuffling of the princedoms took place 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,徙扶风王亮为汝南王,东莞王伷为琅邪王,汝阴王骏为扶风王,琅邪王伦为赵王,渤海王辅为太原王,太原王颙为河间王,北海王陵为任城王,陈王斌为西河王,汝南王柬为南阳王,济南王耽为中山王,河间王威为章武王。立皇子玮为始平王,允为濮阳王,该为新都王,遐为清河王,巨平侯羊祜为南城侯。] ''Jin Shu'', vol.03 Emperor Wu heeded a suggestion by the minister Yang Yao (楊珧) and started reshuffling the various princes and their princedoms. As Sima Zhou was in Xu Province at the time, Emperor Wu enfeoffed him as the Prince of Langya (琅邪王) while at the same time allowing him to retain his original princedom in Dongguan; Sima Zhou's princedom thus comprised both the commanderies of Dongguan and Langya. In 279, Sima Zhou participated in the Jin dynasty's campaign against Eastern Wu and led thousands of troops to attack the Wu position at Tuzhong (塗中). In 280, Sun Hao, the last Wu emperor, surrendered to the Jin dynasty. China was thus reunified under the Jin dynasty's rule. As a reward for Sima Zhou's contributions during the campaign, Emperor Wu enfeoffed two of Sima Zhou's sons as village marquises, each with a marquisate comprising 3,000 taxable households, in addition to granting him 6,000 rolls of silk. Some months later, Sima Zhou was reassigned to supervise military affairs in
Qing Province Qingzhou or Qing Province was one of the Nine Provinces of ancient China dating back to  BCE that later became one of the thirteen provinces of the Han dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE). The Nine Provinces were first described in the ''Tribute ...
and was given an additional appointment as a Palace Attendant (侍中). He was subsequently promoted to General-in-Chief (大將軍) and allowed to set up his own administrative office. When Sima Zhou became critically ill in 283, Emperor Wu bestowed several gifts on his family and even sent officials to visit him and enquire about his condition. Sima Zhou eventually died that year at the age of 57 (by East Asian age reckoning). Emperor Wu honoured him with the posthumous title "Prince Wu" (武王). Before his death, Sima Zhou had requested to be buried beside his mother Lady Fu after his death and for his princedom to be divided among his four sons: Sima Jin (司馬覲), Sima Dan (司馬澹), Sima Yao (司馬繇) and Sima Cui (司馬漼). Emperor Wu approved his request. Among Sima Zhou's four sons, the eldest, Sima Jin, inherited his father's peerage as the Prince of Langya.


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 ...


References

* Chen, Shou (3rd century). ''
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� ...
'' (''Sanguozhi''). * Fang, Xuanling (ed.) (648). ''
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 ...
'' (''Jin Shu''). * Pei, Songzhi (5th century). ''
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 ...
'' (''Sanguozhi zhu''). * Sima, Guang (1084). ''
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 ...
''. {{DEFAULTSORT:Sima, Zhou 227 births 283 deaths Cao Wei politicians Jin dynasty (266–420) imperial princes Jin dynasty (266–420) generals Jin dynasty (266–420) politicians