Sima Wei ( zh, , s=司马威, t=司馬威; died July 301),

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 ...

Jingyao (景曜), childhood name A-pi (阿皮), was a son of Sima Hong (Prince Ping of Hejian), a grandson of

Sima Wang Sima Wang (205 – 16 August 271), courtesy name Zichu, posthumously known as Prince Cheng of Yiyang (义阳成王), was an imperial prince and military general of the Jin dynasty of China. He previously served in the state of Cao Wei during the ...

(Prince Cheng of Yiyang), and a great-grandson of

Sima Fu Sima Fu () (180 – 3 April 272), courtesy name Shuda, posthumously known as Prince Xian of Anping, was an imperial prince and statesman of the Jin dynasty of China. He previously served as an official in the state of Cao Wei during the Three Ki ...

, Prince Xian of Anping and a younger brother 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 ...

, regent of the

Cao Wei Wei () was one of the major Dynasties in Chinese history, dynastic states in China during the Three Kingdoms period. The state was established in 220 by Cao Pi based upon the foundations laid by his father Cao Cao during the end of the Han dy ...

state during the

Three Kingdoms The Three Kingdoms of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu dominated China from AD 220 to 280 following the end of the Han dynasty. This period was preceded by the Eastern Han dynasty and followed by the Jin dynasty (266–420), Western Jin dyna ...

era. Besides his heritage, Sima Wei was best known for being one of a few people (possibly the only one) to be requested for execution by

Emperor Hui of Jin Emperor Hui of Jin (; 259 – January 8, 307), personal name Sima Zhong (司馬衷), courtesy name Zhengdu (正度), was the second emperor of the Western Jin dynasty. Emperor Hui was a developmentally disabled ruler, and throughout his reign, th ...

Background and life under Emperor Wu

Sima Wei was born to Sima Hong in an unknown year. When Sima Hong's second cousin

Sima Yan Emperor Wu of Jin (; 236 – 16 May 290), personal name Sima Yan (), courtesy name Anshi (安世), was a 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, ...

(Emperor Wu of Jin and son of

Sima Zhao Sima Zhao () (; 211 – 6 September 265), courtesy name Zishang (子上), was a Chinese military general, politician, and regent of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Sima Zhao capably maintained control of Wei, whi ...

) usurped the throne from

Cao Huan Cao Huan () (246 – 302/303), courtesy name Jingming, was the fifth and last emperor of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period. On 4 February 266, he abdicated the throne in favour of regent Sima Yan (later Emperor Wu of the J ...

in February 266, Sima Hong, together with his younger brother

Sima Mao Sima Mao ( zh, , s=司马楙, t=司馬楙; died 14 July 311), courtesy name Kongwei (孔伟), was the youngest son of Sima Wang, Prince Cheng of Yiyang, and a grandson of Sima Fu, Prince Xian of Anping and a younger brother of Sima Yi, regent of ...

, father, uncles and grandfather, were made princes on 9 February. Sima Wang died in August 271, while Sima Fu died in April the following year. Sima Hong died on 7 March 276, and Sima Wei inherited his princedom. In October 277, the title of Prince of Hejian was given to Wei's cousin

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 ...

, while Sima Wei was appointed Prince of Zhangwu. In June or July 288, Sima Qi, son of Sima Yi (Wang's eldest son), lost his title of Prince of Yiyang due to an offence. Sima Wei was then appointed Prince of Yiyang.

During Emperor Hui's reign and death

In May 290, just under two years after Wei was appointed Prince of Yiyang, Emperor Wu died. Emperor Wu's successor, Emperor Hui was

developmentally disabled Developmental disability is a diverse group of chronic conditions, comprising mental or physical impairments that arise before adulthood. Developmental disabilities cause individuals living with them many difficulties in certain areas of life, espe ...

; his reign saw a series of regents who ruled on his behalf. Sima Wei's activities during the regencies of Yang Jun,

Sima Liang Sima Liang (司馬亮) (before 227 - 25 July 291), courtesy name Ziyi (子翼), formally Prince Wencheng of Ru'nan (汝南文成王), was briefly a regent during the reign of Emperor Hui during the Western Jin dynasty. He was the first of the ...

and

Wei Guan Wei Guan (220 – 25 July 291), courtesy name Boyu, was a Chinese military general and politician of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He served under the Jin dynasty after the end of the Three Kingdoms period. E ...

(who were co-regents), and Emperor Hui's wife Empress

Jia Nanfeng Jia Nanfeng (257 – 13 May 300), nicknamed Shi (峕), was a Chinese empress consort. She was a daughter of Jia Chong and the first wife of Emperor Hui of the Jin dynasty and also a granddaughter of Jia Kui. She is commonly seen as a villain ...

, were poorly documented. He obtained his first position towards the end of the ''Yuan'kang'' era (291-299). In May 300,

Sima Lun Sima Lun () (born before 250 – poisoned June 5, 301), courtesy name Ziyi (), was titled the Prince of Zhao () and the usurper of the Jin dynasty from February 3 to May 31, 301. He is usually not counted in the list of Jin emperors due to h ...

the Prince of Zhao deposed Empress Jia in a coup. Sima Wei then aligned himself with Lun. In late January 301, Sima Lun was ready to usurp the throne. He dispatched Sima Wei to force Emperor Hui to relinquish the imperial seal. On 3 February, Lun declared himself emperor. However, Sima Lun was unpopular as emperor. By late April or early May 301, the situation for Lun gradually worsened as

Sima Ying Sima Ying (司馬穎) (279 – December 306), courtesy name Zhangdu (章度), was a Jin dynasty imperial prince who served briefly as his half-brother Emperor Hui of Jin's regent and crown prince. He was the sixth of eight princes commonly assoc ...

won the

Battle of Huangqiao A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force c ...

and crossed the

Yellow River The Yellow River, also known as Huanghe, is the second-longest river in China and the List of rivers by length, sixth-longest river system on Earth, with an estimated length of and a Drainage basin, watershed of . Beginning in the Bayan H ...

to approach Luoyang. Officials in the capital were also beginning to openly express their frustration over Sima Lun and

Sun Xiu Sun Xiu (235 – 3 September 264), courtesy name Zilie, formally known as Emperor Jing of Wu, was the third emperor of the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period of China. Early life Sun Xiu was born in 235 to Wu's founding emper ...

, causing Sun to hole himself up in his office out of fear. Sun only moved to the office of the Masters of Writing after Sima Wei called him to discuss strategy. They ordered a full conscription of men in Luoyang to follow Sima Lun in battle. However, the conscripts later urged Sima Wei to kill Sun; Wei refused by secretly fleeing to his residence. Sima Lun was deposed on 30 May and forced to commit suicide six days later on 5 June. After his restoration to the throne, Emperor Hui said, "A-Pi broke my fingers, and stole my seal; he must be killed." Thus, Sima Wei was executed. After his death, Sima Qi was made Prince of Jiyang to serve as Sima Wang's heir.(后威诛，复立奇为棘阳王以嗣望。) ''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, Wei (Jingyao) Year of birth unknown 301 deaths Jin dynasty (266–420) imperial princes