Sima Lüe (司馬略; died 5 April 309),

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 ...

Yuanjian (元简), posthumously known as Prince Xiao of Gaomi, was a

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 ...

imperial prince. He was a younger brother 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, and Sima Teng, as well as an elder brother of Sima Mo.

Background and early life

Sima Lüe was the third son of Sima Tai (司馬泰; posthumously known as Prince Wenxian of Gaomi (高密文献王)), who was a son of

Sima Yi Sima Yi (; ; 179 CE7 September 251 CE), courtesy name Zhongda, was a Chinese military general, politician, and regent of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He formally began his political career in 208 under th ...

's brother Sima Kui (司馬馗), making Lüe a second cousin of Jin's founding emperor Emperor Wu. Despite their distant relationship to the emperor's family, Lüe and his brothers,

, Sima Teng and Sima Mo were all renowned members of the imperial clan. When he was young, Sima Lüe was noted to be filial and respectful, even to his lessers; he was also noted as having his father's mannerisms. When

Sima Yu Sima Yu (; 278 – 27 April 300), courtesy name Xizu (熙祖), posthumous name Crown Prince Minhuai (愍懷太子), was a crown prince of the Chinese Western Jin dynasty. Sima Yu's father Sima Zhong was developmentally disabled, and before h ...

was crown prince, sons of officials who had good reputations were selected to keep him company; Sima Lüe and Hua Heng (a great-grandson of

Hua Xin Hua Xin (157 – 30 January 232), courtesy name Ziyu, was a Chinese politician who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty and Three Kingdoms period of China. He initially served directly under the central government of the Eastern Han dynast ...

), among others, were selected. When his father Sima Tai died on 17 July 299, during the reign of Emperor Hui, he inherited the title of Prince of Gaomi, as his elder brother Sima Teng was made heir to an unnamed elder of the Sima clan. He served as Regular Mounted Gentleman of the Yellow Gate, Regular Mounted Attendant and Director of the Palace Library. Afterwards, he left Luoyang to serve as General Who Pacifies the South and Chief Controller of military affairs in Miannan (沔南; in present-day Honghu,

Hubei Hubei is a province of China, province in Central China. It has the List of Chinese provincial-level divisions by GDP, seventh-largest economy among Chinese provinces, the second-largest within Central China, and the third-largest among inland ...

Administration of Qing province

Sima Lüe was eventually transferred to the office of General Who Pacifies the North and Chief Controller of Qing province. During this period, Sima Lüe drove out the Inspector of Qing province, Cheng Mu (程牧), and claimed the title for himself. When his eldest brother Sima Yue became active in the

War of the Eight Princes The War of the Eight Princes, Rebellion of the Eight Kings, or Rebellion of the Eight Princes ( zh, t=八王之亂, s=八王之乱, p=bā wáng zhī luàn, w=pa wang chih luan) was a series of coups and civil wars among kings/princes (Chinese: '' ...

, Sima Lüe and his brothers took their brother's side. On 4 February 305, as part of the Prince of Hejian,

Sima Yong Sima Yong (司馬顒) (before 274 - late January 307), courtesy name Wenzai (文載), was a Jin dynasty imperial prince and briefly a regent for Emperor Hui. He was the seventh of eight princes commonly associated with the War of the Eight Pri ...

's plan to reconcile with Sima Yue and end the civil war, he appointed Sima Lüe as General Who Guards the South and assigned him to guard Luoyang, although records indicate that Lüe never left his post for the capital. In 306, the Prefect of Jian County, Liu Bogen (劉伯根), became a bandit and rose an army in rebellion. He was able to entice the people into joining him and his numbers grew more than ten thousand. As Bogen led his followers towards his base in Linzi, Sima Lüe sent his general,

Liu Tun Liu Tun (died 311), courtesy name Changsheng, was an official of the Jin dynasty (266–420). During the War of the Eight Princes, he was one of the few ministers entrusted in managing the Eastern Court while Emperor Hui of Jin was kept in Chan ...

(son of Jin official Liu Yi) to intercept them. However, Liu Tun was defeated and fled to Luoyang. Lüe was unable to hold Linzi, so he retreated to defend

Liaocheng Liaocheng ( zh, s=, p=Liáochéng), is a prefecture-level city in western Shandong province, China. It borders the provincial capital of Jinan to the southeast, Dezhou to the northeast, Tai'an to the south, and the provinces of Hebei and Henan t ...

. The rebellion was soon quelled by the Chief Controller of

You province You Prefecture or You Province, also known by its Chinese language, Chinese name Youzhou, was a prefecture (''Zhou (country subdivision), zhou'') in North China, northern China during its imperial era. "You Province" was cited in some ancient so ...

, Wang Jun. On 18 May 307, during the reign of

Emperor Huai of Jin Emperor Huai of Jin (; 284 – March 14, 313), personal name Sima Chi (司馬熾), courtesy name Fengdu (豐度), was an emperor of the Jin dynasty. Emperor Huai was captured in July 311 ( Disaster of Yongjia) and later executed in 313 under t ...

, to better secure his grip over the empire, Sima Yue appointed Sima Lüe as the General who Attacks the South, Chief Controller of Jing Province and was garrisoned at Xiangyang, taking over the guarding of the province from the Inspector of Jing province, Liu Hong, who died the previous year.

Administration of Jing province

In 308, a refugee from

Jingzhao Commandery Jingzhao ( zh, 京兆) was a historical region centered on the ancient Chinese capital of Chang'an. Han dynasty In early Han dynasty, the governor of the capital Chang'an and its vicinities was known as ''You Neishi'' (), and the region was also ...

, Wang You (王逌) colluded with Hao Luo (郝洛) of the Sou people (叟人) to gather thousands of people to rebel at Guanjun County (冠軍; northwest of present-day

Dengzhou Dengzhou (), formerly Deng County (), is a city in Nanyang, Henan, China. It has an area of and a population of 1,500,000. The urban area is 35 km2, and the urban population is 300,000. The city is located in the southwest of Henan provinc ...

Henan Henan; alternatively Honan is a province in Central China. Henan is home to many heritage sites, including Yinxu, the ruins of the final capital of the Shang dynasty () and the Shaolin Temple. Four of the historical capitals of China, Lu ...

). Sima Lüe sent his general, Cui Kuang (崔曠) to lead Pi Chu (皮初) and Zhang Luo (張洛) to campaign against them, but they were tricked by Wang You and defeated. Sima Lüe then ordered Cao Shu (great-grandson of

Cao Xiu Cao Xiu (died 28 November 228), courtesy name Wenlie, was a Chinese military general of the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period of China. A distant younger relative of the warlord Cao Cao, Cao Xiu started his career in the late Easter ...

and grandson of Cao Zhao) to lead Cui Kuang against Wang You. During the battle, Cui Kuang, who commanded the rear, secretly retreated and left Cao Shu to fend for himself. Without reserves, Cao Shu was defeated and killed in battle, but Lüe decided to pardon Cui Kuang for his crime. Lüe then sent Han Song to lead Cui Kuang in attacking the rebels, and this time, Wang You surrendered. Soon after, Sima Lüe was granted privilege to appoint his own advisors and appointed Regular Mounted Attendant. Under his administration, bandits were rampant in Jing province, so much so that the imperial court had to appoint Liu Fan (劉璠), the son of Liu Hong, as the Interior Minister of Shunyang (順陽; south of present-day

Xichuan County Xichuan County () is a county in the southwest of Henan province, China, bordering the provinces of Hubei to the south and Shaanxi to the northwest. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Nanyang. Xichuan has an area of ...

), since his father was well-beloved in the region. Many people living between the Han and

Yangzi The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ) is the longest river in Eurasia and the list of rivers by length, third-longest in the world. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains of the Tibetan Plateau and flows including Dangqu, Dam Qu River the l ...

river went to live under Liu Fan. Sima Lüe died in April 309; his son Sima Ju (司馬據) inherited the title of Prince of Gaomi. He was posthumously appointed as Palace Attendant and Grand Commandant. He was also given the

posthumous name A posthumous name is an honorary Personal name, name given mainly to revered dead people in East Asian cultural sphere, East Asian culture. It is predominantly used in Asian countries such as China, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, Malaysia and Thailand. ...

of "Xiao" (孝).(永嘉三年薨，追赠侍中、太尉，子据立。) ''Jin Shu'', vol.37

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, Lüe Year of birth unknown 309 deaths Jin dynasty (266–420) generals Jin dynasty (266–420) imperial princes