Sima Chong (司馬冲) (311 - 28 August 341),

courtesy name A courtesy name ( zh, s=字, p=zì, l=character), also known as a style name, is an additional name bestowed upon individuals at adulthood, complementing their given name. This tradition is prevalent in the East Asian cultural sphere, particula ...

Daorang (道让), posthumously known as Prince Ai of Donghai, was an

Eastern Jin Eastern or Easterns may refer to: Transportation Airlines *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai * Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 192 ...

imperial prince. He was a son of

Emperor Yuan of Jin Emperor Yuan of Jin (; 276 – 3 January 323), personal name Sima Rui (), courtesy name Jingwen (), was an emperor of the Jin dynasty and the first emperor of the Eastern Jin. He was the great-grandson of Sima Yi, the grandson of Sima Zhou an ...

; Emperor Yuan allowed him to be posthumously adopted as the heir of

Sima Yue Sima Yue (司馬越) (died 23 April 311), courtesy name Yuanchao (元超), formally Prince Xiaoxian of Donghai (東海孝獻王), was a Jin dynasty (266–420), Western Jin imperial prince and regent for Emperor Hui of Jin, Emperor Hui and Emper ...

, Prince Xiaoxian of Donghai, a

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 ...

for Emperor Hui and Emperor Huai.

Life

Sima Chong was born in 311; his father Sima Rui was then the Prince of Langye, stationed at Jianye since Sima Yue issued an order on 25 August 307, at the suggestion of Sima Yue's wife Princess Pei, for Rui to do so. Sima Chong's mother was Lady Shi, a concubine who was later granted the rank of ''jieyu'' after Sima Rui's ascension. The year of Sima Chong's birth was a tumultuous time for the Western Jin court. In April, Sima Yue, then the regent for Emperor Huai, died of illness near

Xuchang Xuchang ( zh, s=, t= ; postal: Hsuchang) is a prefecture-level city in central Henan province in Central China. It is bordered by the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the northwest, Kaifeng to the northeast, Zhoukou to the east, Luohe ...

, and the imperial army under him was annihilated by Han forces the following month; Sima Yue's sons were all captured and presumably killed by Han general

Shi Le Shi Le (; 274 –17 August 333), courtesy name Shilong, also known by his posthumous name as the Emperor Ming of Later Zhao, was the founding emperor of the Jie-led Later Zhao dynasty of China. He was initially sold as a slave by Western Jin ...

. Only Princess Pei fled, and after much suffering, including a stint where she was enslaved, she arrived in Jianye during the ''Tai'xing'' era (318-321). In July 311, Emperor Huai was captured by Han after the fall of the capital

Luoyang Luoyang ( zh, s=洛阳, t=洛陽, p=Luòyáng) is a city located in the confluence area of the Luo River and the Yellow River in the west of Henan province, China. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zheng ...

in the

Disaster of Yongjia The Disaster of Yongjia (simplified Chinese: 永嘉之乱; traditional Chinese: 永嘉之亂) occurred in 311 CE, when forces of the Han-Zhao dynasty captured and sacked Luoyang, the capital of the Western Jin dynasty. The Han's army committed a m ...

. By the time Princess Pei reached Jianye, Sima Rui had already claimed the imperial throne. As emperor, Sima Rui was grateful to Princess Pei for having persuaded Sima Yue to let him have the Jianye post, and he allowed her to adopt Sima Chong to serve as Sima Yue's heir. As Prince of Donghai, Sima Chong held some positions in the Eastern Jin court during the reign of his nephew

Emperor Cheng of Jin Emperor Cheng of Jin (; December 321 or January 322 – 26 July 342According to Emperor Cheng's biography in ''Book of Jin'', he died aged 22 (by East Asian reckoning) on the ''guisi'' day of the 6th month of the 8th year of the ''Xiankang'' era ...

, but was not recorded to have any significant achievements in these posts.(冲即王位，以荥阳益东海国，转车骑将军，徙骠骑将军。) ''Jin Shu'', vol.64 He died without issue in August 341, during Emperor Cheng's reign.

References

* Fang, Xuanling: ''

Book of Jin The ''Book of Jin'' is an official Chinese historical text covering the history of the Jin dynasty (266–420), 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, ...

'' (''Jin Shu''). * Sima, Guang: ''Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance'' (''

Zizhi Tongjian The ''Zizhi Tongjian'' (1084) is a chronicle published during the Northern Song dynasty (960–1127) that provides a record of Chinese history from 403 BC to 959 AD, covering 16 dynasties and spanning almost 1400 years. The main text is ...

'') {{DEFAULTSORT:Sima, Chong 311 births 341 deaths Jin dynasty (266–420) generals Jin dynasty (266–420) imperial princes