Sima Liang (司馬亮) (before 227- 25 July 291),

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 (子翼), formally Prince Wencheng of Ru'nan (汝南文成王), was briefly a

regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

during the reign of Emperor Hui during

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 ...

. He was the first 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 ...

Life

Sima Liang was the fourth son of

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 ...

, by 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 ...

, Lady Fu; he was the eldest among Lady Fu's four sons. During the regencies within

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

Middle Chinese

: *''ŋjwei^C'' <

by his older 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 ...

, he served as a mid-level official. After his nephew Sima Yan took the throne as

Emperor Wu of Jin Emperor Wu of Jin (; 236 – 16 May 290), personal name Sima Yan (), courtesy name Anshi (安世), was the grandson of Sima Yi, nephew of Sima Shi and son of Sima Zhao. He became the first emperor of the Jin dynasty after forcing Cao Huan, ...

, ending Cao Wei and establishing Jin, Sima Liang was created the Prince of Fufeng on 9 February 266 and put in charge of the military commands 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. In 270, after his subordinate, the general Liu Qi (劉旂) was defeated by the

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 ...

rebel

Tufa Shujineng Tufa Shujineng (died 279) was a Qiang (historical people), Qiang-Xianbei chieftain who lived during the Three Kingdoms period of China. As the leader of the Tufa tribe in Hexi Corridor, Hexi, he led a rebellion against the ruling Jin dynasty (26 ...

, Sima Liang tried to have Liu's life spared by claiming fault; Liu's life was spared, but Sima Liang lost his post as a result. Despite this, Sima Liang was well respected among the Jin imperial clan for his virtues, including his filial devotion to Princess Dowager Fu. Because of this, Emperor Wu put him in charge of monitoring the imperial princes' behavior, to correct and rebuke them when necessary. On 5 October 277,''guihai'' day of the 8th month of the 3rd year of the ''Xianning'' era, per Sima Yan's biography in ''Book of Jin'' Emperor Wu moved Sima Liang's principality to Ru'nan and put him in charge of the military commands of Yu Province (豫州, modern eastern

Henan Henan (; or ; ; alternatively Honan) is a landlocked province of China, in the central part of the country. Henan is often referred to as Zhongyuan or Zhongzhou (), which literally means "central plain" or "midland", although the name is al ...

). However, soon he recalled Sima Liang back to the capital to serve as a high-level advisor. As Emperor Wu grew ill in 289, he considered whom to make regent. He considered both

Empress Yang Zhi Yang Zhi (楊芷) (259– 6 March 292), courtesy name Jilan (季蘭), nickname Nanyin (男胤), formally Empress Wudao (武悼皇后, literally "the martial and fearful empress") was an empress of Jin Dynasty (266–420). She was Emperor Wu of J ...

's father Yang Jun and Sima Liang. As a result, Yang Jun became fearful of Sima Liang and had him posted to the key city of

Xuchang Xuchang (; postal: Hsuchang) is a prefecture-level city in central Henan province of China, province in Central China. It borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the northwest, Kaifeng to the northeast, Zhoukou to the east, Luohe to the s ...

. Several other imperial princes were also posted to other key cities in the empire. By 290, Emperor Wu resolved to let Yang and Sima Liang both be regents, but after he wrote his will, the will was seized by Yang Jun, who instead had another will promulgated in which Yang alone was named regent. Emperor Wu died soon thereafter and was succeeded by Emperor Hui. By this point, Sima Liang had not yet gone to Xuchang, but was fearful of Yang Jun, and so did not dare to attend Emperor Wu's wake. Yang was still suspicious that Sima Liang might have a coup in mind, and so prepared for his troops to attack Sima Liang. (Indeed, the justice minister He Xu (何勗) suggested to Sima Liang that he overthrow Yang, but Sima Liang refused.) In order to avoid a military confrontation with Yang, Sima Liang immediately left for Xuchang. War of the Eight Princes

After

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 ...

, Emperor Hui's wife, in conjunction with Emperor Hui's brother

Sima Wei Sima Wei (司馬瑋) (271 – 26 July 291), courtesy name Yandu (彥度), formally Prince Yin of Chu (楚隱王), was an imperial prince during Jin Dynasty (266–420) and was the second of the eight princes commonly associated with the War of th ...

the Prince of Chu, overthrew and killed Yang in a coup in spring 291, Sima Liang, as the most respected of the imperial princes, was summoned back 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 ...

to serve as regent, along with

Wei Guan Wei Guan (220 – 25 July 291Although the exact day of Wei Guan's death was not recorded, Sima Zhong's biography in ''Book of Jin'' recorded that he was killed together with Sima Liang, who died on 25 July 291. 永平元年)六月，贾后矫 ...

. To appease those who might have been angry and had overthrown Yang Jun, Sima Liang widely promoted those who participated in the plot, and more than a thousand men were created marquesses. He and Wei, however, did try to get the government on track, but Empress Jia continued to interfere with governmental matters. They also became concerned about the violent temper of Sima Wei and therefore tried to strip him of his military command, but Sima Wei persuaded Empress Jia to let him keep his military command. Sima Wei's assistants Qi Sheng (岐盛) and Gongsun Hong (公孫宏) thereafter falsely told Empress Jia that Sima Liang and Wei planned to depose the emperor. Empress Jia, who had already resented Wei for having, during Emperor Wu's reign, suggested that he change his heir selection, also wanted more direct control over the government, and therefore resolved to plot a second coup. In summer 291, Empress Jia had Emperor Hui personally write an edict to Sima Wei, ordering him to have Sima Liang and Wei Guan removed from their offices. His forces thereby surrounded Sima Liang and Wei Guan's mansions, and while both men's subordinates recommended resistance, each declined and was captured. Against what the edict said, both were killed—Sima Liang with his heir Sima Ju (司馬矩) and Wei Guan with nine of his sons and grandsons. (Initially, the soldiers respected Sima Liang and did not dare to kill him, and indeed, as he sat in the prisoner's wagon, it appeared clear that he was suffering from the heat, and passersby were allowed to use fans to try to alleviate his suffering. Only after Sima Wei issued an order that whoever dared to cut off Sima Liang's head would receive a large sum of silk as reward did someone carry out the execution.) After Empress Jia, concerned about Sima Wei's power, then falsely declared that the edict was forged by Sima Wei and had him executed, Sima Liang was posthumously honored.

Family

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, Liang Year of birth unknown 291 deaths Jin dynasty (266–420) imperial princes Jin dynasty (266–420) regents Executed Jin dynasty (266–420) people People executed by the Jin dynasty (266–420) by decapitation 3rd-century executions