Sima Yue
PoliticsThe final winner of the Eight Kings Rebellion took over the government of Emperor Huai. He died of fear in 311, and his trusted soldiers were annihilated by Shi Lei in Ninh Binh City.
Dynasties of ChinaWestern JinWestern Jin lineage
Emperor HuaiSima Chi
Yongjia · Reign 307—311
He was established as emperor in the late period of the Eight Kings Rebellion, and the government was controlled by Prince of Donghai Sima Yue. After the fall of Luoyang, he was captured and killed in Pingyang.
IBiography
- Reign
- 4 years
- Reign era
- Yongjia
- Order of accession
- Ruler #3 · Western Jin lineage
- Life dates
- 284—313
- Titles
- Posthumous title: Emperor Xiaohuai·Han and Zhao were demoted and granted the title of Grandfather Ping
Sima Chi, courtesy name Fengdu, was the twenty-fifth son of Emperor Wu of the Jin Dynasty and the younger brother of Emperor Hui. He was granted the title of King of Yuzhang. He was fond of learning and did not interfere with political affairs. In 306, the Prince of Donghai Sima Yue welcomed Emperor Hui back and made him the emperor's younger brother. Emperor Hui died suddenly in November of 307, and Sima Chi ascended the throne. The following year (some say the same year) he was changed to Yongjia. He was determined to cheer up, but the power of the government was in the hands of Sima Yue. He and Sima Yue fought openly and secretly, and once secretly ordered Gou Xi to attack Sima Yue, but it failed to work.
By this time Liu Yuan had proclaimed himself King of Han in 304 and Emperor in 308, and Shi Lei, Wang Mi and others successively raised armies. In 311, Sima Yue died of illness. More than 100,000 Jin troops under his command escorted the coffin back east, and were completely wiped out by Shi Lei in Ningping City. In June of the same year, Han troops Liu Yao, Wang Mi and others broke through Luoyang and captured Emperor Huai, which was known as the Yongjia Rebellion in history. Emperor Huai was taken to Pingyang, humiliated, and killed by Liu Cong in early 313, at the age of thirty.
When Emperor Huai of Jin came to the throne, the situation of Western Jin was over. The kings were fighting each other and the Central Plains was in ruins. He wanted to revive but had no troops and no power. Instead, he exhausted his strength in the internal fight with Sima Yue. The fall of Luoyang and the capture and execution of the emperor marked the beginning of the countdown to the demise of the Western Jin, and also started the great migration of "clothes to the south".
IITimeline
Before accession
PoliticsEstablished as the emperor's younger brother
Prince of Donghai Sima Yue defeated Sima Yong, the king of Hejian, and welcomed Emperor Hui back to Luoyang. He deposed Sima Ying, the crown prince, and established Sima Chi, king of Yuzhang, as the crown prince. This arrangement makes it easier for Sima Yue to control the government.
During the reign · 307—311
PoliticsAscended to the throne and changed to Yuan Dynasty Yongjia
Emperor Hui died suddenly and Sima Chi ascended the throne. He was diligent in political affairs and wanted to work hard to govern, but Sima Yue placed most of his followers in the posts of Zhongshu and Shangshu, and Sima Yue took orders from both inside and outside the court.
MilitaryJi Sangshi Lei raised his troops
Chengdu King Sima Ying's old tribe Ji Sang and Jie native Shi Lei raised troops in Hebei, attacked Yecheng, and burned down the palace. Later Shi Lei turned to Liu Yuan and became the most threatening enemy in the future.
CultureGuo Xiang's Notes on Zhuangzi
Guo Xiang, who became the chief clerk of Taifu, completed "Zhuangzi Zhuangzi" based on Xiang Xiu's annotations, put forward the theory of "independence", advocated the self-generation and self-transformation of all things, reconciled famous religions and nature, and reached the peak of metaphysics. Guo Xiang died in 312.
Lasting legacyAmong the annotations of "Zhuangzi" that are popular today, Guo Xiang's annotation is still the most important one, and most studies on Jin people's demeanor and metaphysical thoughts start from this.
PoliticsLiu Yuan proclaims himself emperor
Liu Yuan proclaimed himself emperor in Puzi, and his country was named Han. He soon moved the capital to Pingyang, which later became the former Zhao Dynasty. Liu Yuan died in 310, and his son Liu Cong killed his brother and stood on his own, and continued to attack Luoyang. Most of Western Jin's Hedong and Hebei fell successively.
PoliticsFight with Sima Yue
Emperor Huai was dissatisfied with Sima Yue's autocratic power, and secretly ordered Gou Xi to attack Sima Yue in 310. Sima Yue became ill from grief and anger. The internal fighting between Emperor Huai and Sima Yue consumed Western Jin's remaining strength, leaving Luoyang defense empty.
MilitaryBattle of Ninh Binh City
In March, Sima Yue died of illness in Xiangcheng. Taiwei Wang Yan and others returned eastward with his coffin. They were overtaken by Shi Lei's cavalry and were completely wiped out in Ninh Binh City. More than 100,000 soldiers were killed. Wang Yan was captured. Before his death, he sighed, "My ancestors were still vain, but they couldn't be like this."
MilitaryYongjia Rebellion
In June, Liu Yao, Wang Mi, and Shi Lei attacked Luoyang and set up an army to burn and kill more than 30,000 princes, officials, and civilians. They dug tombs, burned palaces, and captured Emperor Huai and took him to Pingyang. The Western Jin Dynasty was actually destroyed, and a large number of scholars and people from the Central Plains migrated south.
Lasting legacyThe "Yiguan South Crossing" started from the Yongjia Rebellion; there is a rumor in Fujian that "eight surnames entered Fujian in the second year of Yongjia". Hakka genealogy also often traces the ancestors' southward migration, but these are mostly legends and may not have accurate historical data.
After the reign / posthumous events
PeoplePingyang was killed
Liu Cong held a meeting with ministers in Pingyang and ordered the Emperor to wear Tsing Yi and drink wine. The old ministers Yu Min, Wang Jun and others cried and were killed together. Soon Emperor Huai was also killed at the age of 30. Two years later, the throne of the Jin Dynasty passed to Emperor Min.
IIIPeople of this reign
Wang Yan
PoliticsThe Langya Wang family is a famous scholar and a talkative leader. He is the prime minister and assistant but only wants to protect himself. Ninh Binh City was defeated and captured by Shi Lei. Before his death, he regretted that his ancestors were vain and was pushed to the wall by Shi Lei's men and crushed to death.
Liu Cong
RulersThe fourth son of Liu Yuan, killed Crown Prince Liu He Zili in 310. During his reign, he ordered Liu Yao, Shi Lei and others to capture Luoyang and Chang'an, capture and kill Emperor Huai and Emperor Min, and died of illness in 318.
Liu Yao
MilitaryA son of the Liu Yuan clan, he led his army to conquer Luoyang in 311 and captured Chang'an in 316. He later proclaimed himself emperor in Chang'an and named his country Zhao. He was destroyed by Hou Zhao in 329.
Shi Lei
RulersThe young man was robbed and sold into slavery. Later, he gathered a crowd to start a rebellion and defected to Liu Yuan. In 311, he annihilated the main force of the Jin army in Ningping City, and then occupied Hebei. In 319, he was named King of Zhao and established Later Zhao.
Guo Xiang
ThoughtPeople from Henan are rarely talented and like Laozhuang. He was appointed as Taifu's chief clerk and became powerful for a while. The "Annotations to Zhuangzi" he wrote puts forward the theory of "independence" and is a masterpiece of metaphysics in the Wei and Jin Dynasties.