Sima Lingji () (570s to 630s) was, briefly, an empress of the

Xianbei The Xianbei (; ) were an ancient nomadic people that once resided in the eastern Eurasian steppes in what is today Mongolia, Inner Mongolia, and Northeastern China. The Xianbei were likely not of a single ethnicity, but rather a multiling ...

-led

Northern Zhou Zhou (), known in historiography as the Northern Zhou (), was a Xianbei-led Dynasties in Chinese history, dynasty of China that lasted from 557 to 581. One of the Northern and Southern dynasties#Northern dynasties, Northern dynasties of China's ...

dynasty of China. Her husband was Emperor Jing, the final emperor of the dynasty. Sima Lingji was the daughter of the Northern Zhou general Sima Xiaonan () the Duke of Yingyang (荥阳公); it is not known who her mother is. Sima Xiaonan was a son of

Northern Qi Qi, known as the Northern Qi (), Later Qi (後齊) or Gao Qi (高齊) in historiography, was a Dynasties in Chinese history, Chinese imperial dynasty and one of the Northern and Southern dynasties#Northern dynasties, Northern dynasties during the ...

official Sima Ziru (司马子如; 489 - 24 January 553). Sima Ziru himself was a descendant (great x 6 - grandson) of

Sima Mo Sima Mo (司馬模) (died October 311), courtesy name Yuanbiao (元表), was a Western Jin imperial prince. He was the youngest brother of Sima Yue, Prince Xiaoxian of Donghai, a regent for Emperor Hui and Emperor Huai. He was also the father ...

, the Prince of Nanyang during the

Western Jin Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US * Western, New York, a town in the US * Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia * Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that ...

dynasty. On 14 August 579, Emperor Jing's father, the

retired emperor A Retired Emperor may refer to: *Taishang Huang of China *Daijō Tennō of Japan *Taesangwang T'aesangwang () and the related title T'aesanghwang () are titles used at various points in History of Korea, Korean history for retired king or emper ...

Emperor Xuan, took Sima Lingji to be his son Emperor Jing's wife. Sima Lingji's age at that time was not recorded in history, but Emperor Jing was six years old at the time. Emperor Xuan died in June 580, and the official Yang Jian, the father of Emperor Xuan's wife Empress

Yang Lihua Yang Lihua (; 561–609) was an empress of the Xianbei-led Chinese Northern Zhou dynasty, and later a princess of the Sui dynasty. Background Yang Lihua was born in 561, as the eldest daughter of Yang Jian, then the heir apparent to Yang ...

, seized power as

regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

. The general

Yuchi Jiong Yuchi Jiong (尉遲迥) (died 11 September 580), courtesy name Bojuluo (薄居羅), was a general of the Xianbei-led Western Wei and Northern Zhou dynasties of China. He first came to prominence while his uncle Yuwen Tai served as the paramount g ...

, suspicious of Yang's intentions, rose against Yang, and Empress Sima's father Sima Xiaonan and another general, Wang Qian (), rose in support. Sima Xiaonan, then the governor of Xun Province (, roughly modern

Xiaogan Xiaogan ( zh, s=孝感, p=Xiàogǎn) is a prefecture-level city in east-central Hubei province, People's Republic of China, some northwest of the provincial capital of Wuhan. According to the 2020 census, its population totaled 4,270,371, of whom ...

, Hubei), also offered to submit to

Chen dynasty The Chen dynasty (), alternatively known as the Southern Chen (南陳 / 南朝陳) in historiography, was a Dynasties in Chinese history, Chinese imperial dynasty and the fourth and last of the Northern and Southern dynasties#Southern dynasties, ...

, along with the nine provinces he controlled. Yuchi was soon defeated, however, as was Sima, and Sima fled to Chen. Yang then had Empress Sima deposed and reduced to commoner in rank. In March 581, Yang Jian had Emperor Jing yield the throne to him, ending Northern Zhou and establishing

Sui dynasty The Sui dynasty ( ) was a short-lived Dynasties of China, Chinese imperial dynasty that ruled from 581 to 618. The re-unification of China proper under the Sui brought the Northern and Southern dynasties era to a close, ending a prolonged peri ...

(as its Emperor Wen). He soon had Emperor Jing and the other members of Northern Zhou's imperial Yuwen clan put to death. Sima Lingji was not put to death, and, at a later unknown date, married the provincial governor Li Dan (). Nothing further was recorded in history about her, other than she was still alive during the early reign of the second emperor of the succeeding

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...

Emperor Taizong of Tang Emperor Taizong of Tang (28January 59810July 649), previously Prince of Qin, personal name Li Shimin, was the second emperor of the Tang dynasty of China, ruling from 626 to 649. He is traditionally regarded as a co-founder of the dynasty fo ...

(r. 626–649). As for Sima Xiaonan, he surrendered to Sui when Chen fell in February 589. As he was a sworn brother of Emperor Wen's father

Yang Zhong Yang Zhong (楊忠, 507 – 17 August 568), courtesy name Anyu (揜于), Xianbei name Puliuru Nunu (普六茹奴奴),History of the Northern Dynasties, Vol.11 formally known as Duke of Sui (隨國公), was a soldier, later general of the Northern W ...

, Emperor Wen treated him like an uncle and did not punish him further. Indeed, Emperor Wen explicitly pardoned Sima when the two met at Chang'an. Sima Xiaonan died at home shortly after.(初，杨忠之迎消难，结为兄弟，情好甚笃。隋文每以叔礼事之。及陈平，消难至京，特免死，配为乐户。经二旬放免。犹被旧恩，特蒙引见。寻卒于家。) ''Zhou Shu'', vol.21

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Sima, Lingji Northern Zhou empresses 6th-century births 7th-century deaths Sui dynasty people Tang dynasty people 7th-century Chinese women 7th-century Chinese people 6th-century Chinese women 6th-century Chinese people Remarried empresses consort