Zhang Chunhua (189 – May or June 247) was a Chinese noble lady and aristocrat. She was the wife of Sima Yi, a prominent military general and regent of the state of
Three Kingdoms
The Three Kingdoms () from 220 to 280 AD was the tripartite division of China among the dynastic states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. The Three Kingdoms period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and was followed by the West ...
period of China. She was posthumously honoured as Empress Xuanmu in 266 by her grandson
Sima Yan
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, ...
, who ended the Cao Wei state and established the Jin dynasty that year.
Life
Zhang Chunhua was from Pinggao County (平臯縣),
Henei Commandery
Henei Commandery ( zh, 河內郡) was a commandery of China from Han dynasty to Tang dynasty, located in modern Henan province, to the north of Yellow River.
In ancient China, Henei ("Inside the Yellow River") referred to the land north of the low ...
(河內郡), which is present-day
Wen County, Henan
Wen County or Wenxian () is a county under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Jiaozuo, in the northwest of Henan Province.
Geography
Wen County lies on the left or north bank of the Yellow River, opposite the county-level cities o ...
. She was born in the late Eastern Han dynasty. Her father, Zhang Wang (張汪), served as the Prefect of Suyi County (粟邑縣) in the state of
Three Kingdoms
The Three Kingdoms () from 220 to 280 AD was the tripartite division of China among the dynastic states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. The Three Kingdoms period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and was followed by the West ...
period. Her mother, whose maiden family name was "Shan" (山), was a grandaunt of Shan Tao, one of the
Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove
The Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove (also known as the Seven Worthies of the Bamboo Grove, ) were a group of Chinese scholars, writers, and musicians of the third century CE. Although the various individuals all existed, their interconnection is ...
. In her youth, Zhang Chunhua was already known for her good moral conduct, intelligence and wisdom.
Zhang Chunhua married Sima Yi and bore him three sons – Sima Shi, Sima Zhao and Sima Gan (司馬幹). She also bore him a daughter whose personal name was not recorded in history, but was historically known as Princess Nanyang (南陽公主) of the Jin dynasty. Princess Nanyang was the wife of Xun Yi, a grandson of
Xun Yu
Xun Yu (163–212), courtesy name Wenruo, was a Chinese military official and politician who served as an adviser to the warlord Cao Cao during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China.
Early life
Xun Yu was from Yingchuan Commandery (around p ...
.
Sometime before 208, when the warlord Cao Cao wanted to recruit him to serve in the government, Sima Yi lied that he suffered from paralysis and stayed at home. One day, while Sima Yi was drying his books under the sun, there was a sudden downpour, so he immediately rushed out to collect his books. One of his maids saw what happened. Zhang Chunhua was worried that the maid would leak out news that Sima Yi was well and get their family into trouble, so she killed the maid to silence her. She then personally prepared meals for the family. Sima Yi was very impressed with her.
In his later years, Sima Yi favoured his concubine Lady Bai (柏夫人; mother of
Sima Lun
Sima Lun ( sim. ch. 司马伦, trad. ch. 司馬倫, py. Sīmǎ Lún, wg. Ssu-ma Lun) (before 250 - poisoned June 5, 301), courtesy name Ziyi (子彛), was titled the Prince of Zhao (pinyin: zhào wáng, simplified Chinese: 赵王, tradition ...
) and started neglecting Zhang Chunhua. Once, when Sima Yi was ill, Zhang Chunhua visited him, and he said to her, "Old creature, your looks are disgusting! Why do you even bother to visit me?" Zhang Chunhua became angry and attempted to starve herself to death. Their sons did so too. Sima Yi was so shocked that he immediately apologised to his wife and reconciled with her. Sima Yi later secretly told someone, "It doesn't matter if that old creature died. I was actually worried about my boys!"
Zhang Chunhua died sometime between 22 May and 19 June 247 at the age of 59 (by
East Asian age reckoning
Countries in the East Asian cultural sphere (China, Korea, Japan, Vietnam, and their diasporas) have traditionally used specific methods of reckoning a person's numerical age based not on their birthday but the calendar year, and what age one is ...
). She was buried at the Gaoyuan Mausoleum (高原陵; somewhere in present-day
Yanshi
Yanshi District () is a district in the prefecture-level city of Luoyang in western Henan province, China. Yanshi lies on the Luo River and is the easternmost county-level division of Luoyang.
History
After the Zhou conquest of Shang in mid-11th ...
,
Luoyang
Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of 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 southeast, Nanyang ...
,
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 ...
). The Wei emperor
Cao Fang
Cao Fang () (232–274), courtesy name Lanqing, was the third emperor of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period. He was an adopted son of Cao Rui, the second ruler of Wei. Cao Fang ruled from 239 to 254 as a nominal emperor be ...
granted her the
posthumous title
A posthumous name is an honorary name given mostly to the notable dead in East Asian culture. It is predominantly practiced in East Asian countries such as China, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, and Thailand. Reflecting on the person's accomplishments o ...
"Lady of Guangping County" (廣平縣君). In 264, during the reign of Cao Huan, she was given the posthumous name "Consort Xuanmu". In February 266, Sima Yi's grandson
Sima Yan
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, ...
forced Cao Huan to abdicate in his favour and established the Jin dynasty to replace the state of Cao Wei. Sima Yan became emperor and he posthumously honoured his grandmother as "Empress Xuanmu".(...葬洛陽高原陵，追贈廣平縣君。咸熙元年，追號宣穆妃。及武帝受禪，追尊為皇后。) ''Jin Shu'' vol. 31.
In popular culture
Zhang Chunhua is first introduced as a playable character in the eighth instalment of Koei's ''
Dynasty Warriors
is a series of Japanese hack and slash action video games created by Omega Force and Koei (now is Koei Tecmo). The series is a spin-off of Koei's turn-based strategy '' Romance of the Three Kingdoms'' series, based upon the Chinese novel of ...
'' video game series. She also appeared in the Hong Kong comic series '' The Ravages of Time'' by
Chan Mou
Chan Mou () is a Chinese comic artist from Hong Kong. His first comic ever self-written and self-produced '' Unhuman'' (《不是人》), based on the Three Kingdoms period and released in 1996, had won him numerous awards and recognitions.
Hi ...
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 ...