Sima family

Family tree of the Jin dynasty from Sima Yi to Sima Dewen

Sima ( Chinese  司馬  /  司马 , Pinyin Sīmǎ , W.-G. Ssu-ma ) is a Chinese family name . He is one of the less common family names that consist of two characters.

The earliest known representative of the family is Sima Rangju , a strategist at the time of the spring and autumn annals , to whom the work of Sima's art of warfare is ascribed. The eminent historian Sima Qian (145–90 BC), author of Shiji , probably does not belong to his direct descendants, but is definitely related to him.

The Sima family gained great importance in China in the 3rd century AD, when the general Sima Yi (179-251) rose from adviser to warlord Cao Cao to regent his later successor Cao Fang (231-274). His sons Sima Shi († 255) and Sima Zhao (211–265) consolidated the power of the family. Sima Zhao's son Sima Yan (236–290) deposed the last Wei emperor in 265 and proclaimed himself emperor of the Jin dynasty , which reunited China for the first time in a lifetime. However, the Jin Empire collapsed after just a few decades, and the last Jin Emperor had to abdicate in 420.

The historian Sima Guang (1019-1086), who lived during the Song dynasty , is believed to be a descendant of the imperial family .