Sima Yi

Sīmǎ Yì ( Chinese   司馬 懿  /  司马 懿 )
Family name :	Sīmǎ 司馬
First name :	Yì ( 懿 )
Major Age Name (Zi):	Zhòngdá ( 仲達 )
Posthumous title : (complete)	Jin Xuandi ( 晉宣帝 )
Temple name :	Gaozu ( 高祖 )

Sīmǎ Yì ( Chinese  司馬 懿  /  司马 懿 , W.-G. Ssuma I , majority name (Zi) Zhongda ; * 179 ; † September 7, 251 in Luoyang ) was a general, military strategist, politician and regent of the Wei Empire in ancient China at the time the three realms . Through his successful campaigns, especially in repelling the northern expeditions of the southern rival Zhuge Liang , regent of the Shu Han , and the conquest of the Liaodong headquarters, he paved the way for his steep career at court. Shortly before the end of his life, he eliminated the opposition at court and cemented his family's position of power. From 249 until his death he was regent for the Emperor Cao Fang . 14 years later, when his grandson Sima Yan deposed the last Wei emperor and proclaimed himself the emperor of the Jin dynasty , he was raised posthumously to Emperor Xuan of Jin and honored the temple name Gaozu .

Life

Origin and youth

Sima Yi was born in 179 under the reign of Han Emperor Ling , the second son of the official Sima Fang . In adulthood, like all of his seven brothers, he was given a court name that ended in Pin ( Pinyin dá ). Sima Fang's sons were therefore also called 司馬 八達 ( Sīmǎ Bā Dá , "eight dá Sima").

The Short Story of Wei ( 魏 略 ) tells about Sima Yi's decision to serve the then warlord Cao Cao : Sima Yi was asked several times for support by Cao Cao, but refused many times. When Cao Cao's cousin Cao Hong then invited Sima Yi, the latter appeared with a cane to simulate poor health because he did not have a high opinion of Cao Hong. He was very angry about this and complained to his cousin, who immediately ordered Sima Yi to come to him. Because he had no other choice, Sima Yi threw away the stick and went to face the warlord. However, it is doubtful whether this anecdotal narrative has any historical value.

As a strategist

Reports on Sima Yi's activities and offices are only available from the year 219. At that time, the Shu general Guan Yu surrounded the Wei Fortress of Fan and planned to flood it. Cao Cao was in danger of losing a strategically important base. In an emergency meeting, Sima Yi proposed a one-off alliance with the rival warlord Sun Quan , whose province was occupied by Jing Guan Yu. The warlord agreed and sent under his deserving generals Lü Meng and Lu Xun a force against Guan Yu, who at that time had already won the Battle of Fancheng . Lü Meng defeated Guan Yu and killed him.

Cao Cao died in March 220, and his son Cao Pi succeeded him as chancellor and regent of the last Han emperor, Xian . In September he deposed the emperor and declared himself emperor of the Wei dynasty. During his reign, Sima Yi rose to the ranks of strategists and was consulted more frequently than under Cao Cao. He was named together with General Cao Zhen and Minister Chen Qun as the potential regent for the emperor's underage son, Cao Rui . Under his reign (226-239) Sima Yi was entrusted with the defense of the southern border against the rival dynasties Shu Han and Wu . From 228 to 234, Sima Yi successfully repulsed five campaigns by Shu regent Zhuge Liang and kept the border stable. Only years after his death did the southern neighbors of the Wei dynasty start expeditions north again. Zhuge Liang fell ill and died after his fifth campaign, so that Sima Yi was able to force the Shu armies to retreat during the battle on the Wu Zhang Plains .

Since the empire was no longer threatened by its external enemies, Emperor Cao Rui turned to the building of palaces in the last years of his rule. Because of his large expenditures in resources, unrest arose in the empire, and the governor Gongsun Yuan , who ruled the commanderships of Daifang and Lelang , rose against the emperor's rule in 237. Even his father and grandfather had relative after the collapse of the Han dynasty Ruled autonomously over the region, but were nominally always subordinate to the central government. Wei General Guanqiu Jian was assigned to attack Gongsun Yuan, but the attack failed due to torrential rains. Then the Emperor Cao Rui decided to commission Sima Yi. It began its invasion in June 238, and despite a month-long flood, it managed to capture the capital of Xiangping in three months. Gongsun Yuan and his son Gongsun Xiu fled to Liangshui, where they were killed. This enabled him to annex all of Liaodong, Lelang and Daifang, which is considered the high point of his military career. Now Wei bordered directly on the Korean sub-kingdom Goguryeo in the northeast.

Shortly before his death, the emperor Cao Rui appointed Sima Yi together with the officer Cao Shuang (Cao Zhen's son) as regent for his underage adopted son and successor Cao Fang , who ascended the throne at the age of eight after the death of his father. While Sima Yi continued to ensure the internal and external security of the empire, a hostile faction in the imperial family was formed in the capital and was supported by many officials and officers at court. Sima Yi's rise was suspect to them and seemed to undermine the weight of the imperial family, although at the time hardly anyone feared that Sima Yi was seeking the imperial throne herself.

Rise to sole reign

China in 262.

To strengthen the power of the imperial family, Cao Shuang persuaded the emperor to appoint Sima Yi as his personal advisor. Although this was a high title, it still did not confer any special powers. As before, Sima Yi was entrusted with military duties and thus kept away from the court. In the years 241 and 243, for example, he fended off two attacks by the Wu dynasty on Fan Castle; one under General Zhu Ran and one led by regent Zhuge Ke himself. Cao Shuang's campaign against Shu in 244 was repulsed by General Fei Yi near the important city of Hanzhong , which remained in the hands of the Shu Han. This failure cast a bad light on Cao Shuang and sought to eliminate Sima Yi for good.

In this dangerous situation, Sima Yi submitted his resignation in 247, ostensibly for health reasons. When one of Cao Shuang's spies visited him, he feigned old age and mental derangement. Cao Shuang was finally feeling safe, and so Sima Yi was able to calmly prepare for his takeover. When the emperor and his regent visited Cao Rui's tomb in 249, he occupied the capital with an army and petitioned Empress Mother Guo to order Cao Shuang's arrest in order to save the empire from his incompetent government. Cao Shuang's faction at court was thus outlawed and surrendered to Sima Yi in order to be spared. Instead, the regent had them all executed.

One last attempt to oust the elderly Sima Yi from the head of government was made by General Wang Ling in 251 . He intended to put a son of Cao Cao on the imperial throne under his supervision: Prince Cao Biao . Sima Yi nipped the conspiracy in the bud and forced Wang Ling to commit suicide. To prevent further riots, the regent placed the imperial family in Ye under house arrest.

Sima Yi died that same year. He left behind nine sons: the eldest, Sima Shi , was already at an advanced age. He was chosen as his successor and ruled successfully and autocratically until his death in 255. His younger brother Sima Zhao succeeded him and ruled until 265, and his son Sima Yan finally overthrew the Wei dynasty in 266 and created the Jin dynasty .

Offspring

• Wives:
  • Zhang Chunhua ( 張春華 ), * 189, † 247, posthumously Empress Xuanmu ( 宣 穆 皇后 )
    • Sima Shi
    • Sima Zhao
    • Sima Gan ( 司馬 幹 )
  • Mrs. Fu ( 伏 )
    • Sima Zhou
    • Sima Liang ( 司馬 亮 )
    • Sima Jing ( 司馬 京 )
    • Sima Jun ( 司馬 駿 )
  • Ms. Zhang ( 張 )
    • Sima Rong ( 司馬 肜 ), died young
  • Ms. Bai ( 柏 )
    • Sima Lun ( 司 馬倫 )

Source studies

The most important source for the life of Sima Yi are the chronicles of the three kingdoms of Chen Shou (* 233, † 297), who served as an officer of the Shu Han until 263 and later under the Jin dynasty as a historian his views and experiences over time who put down the Three Kingdoms in writing.

In the 11th century, the historian Sima Guang created an extensive history work for the time from 403 BC with his summarized Zeitspiegel to aid the government . Chr. To 959 AD. For the time of the three kingdoms he made particular use of the chronicles of Chen Shou.

literature

• Bo Yang (ed.): Sima Guang's Zizhi Tongjian. Modern Chinese Edition . Taipei 1982-1989.
• The Three Kingdoms and Western Jin. A history of China in the Third Century AD . Article by Rafe de Crespigny , professor at the Faculty of Asian Studies at the Australian National University (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ The Emperor sent a sealed edict to summon Gongsun Yuan. In the end, Gongsun Yuan arose in an armed rebellion, meeting Guanqiu Jian at Liaosui. It so happened that it rained for more than ten days and the water of Liaosui rose greatly. Guanqiu Jian fought him, but was unsuccessful and withdrew his troops to Youbeiping. The Chronicle of the Three Kingdoms, Achilles Fang
2. ↑ The Emperor summoned Sima Yi from Chang'an and had him lead an army of forty thousand men in a campaign against Liaodong.
3. ^ On the day ren-wu (September 29), Xiangping fell. Gongsun Yuan and his son Gongsun Xiu, leading several hundred mounted men, got through the encirclement and fled towards the southeast. The large Wei forces instantly struck at them and killed Gongsun Yuan and his son on the Liangshui.