Sima Daozi
Encyclopedia
Sima Daozi (364–403), formally Prince Wenxiao of Kuaiji (會稽文孝王), was a regent
during the reign of his nephew Emperor An of Jin
, being the younger brother of Emperor Xiaowu
.
the Prince of Kuaiji, and mother Consort Li Lingrong
. In 371, after the paramount general Huan Wen
deposed Emperor Fei
to showcase his power, he made Sima Yu emperor (as Emperor Jianwen). In 372, when Emperor Jianwen grew ill, he created Sima Yao crown prince
and Sima Daozi the Prince of Langye. He died soon thereafter, and Sima Yao assumed the throne as Emperor Xiaowu.
, and, after Jin forces repelled Former Qin forces at the Battle of Fei River
, thus guaranteeing the dynasty's continued survival, he soon came into a power conflict with Xie An
, who had served as Emperor Xiaowu's regent ever since Emperor Xiaowu's ascension; this conflict was aggravated by Xie An's son-in-law Wang Guobao (王國寶), whose cousin was Sima Daozi's wife and whom Xie disfavored, who therefore retaliated by slandering Xie before Emperor Xiaowu and Sima Daozi. Emperor Xiaowu therefore began to listen to Xie less, and in 385, Xie volunteered to lead an army and leave the capital to avoid further conflict with Sima Daozi. When Xie died later that year, Sima Daozi became the head of the government under Emperor Xiaowu, who entrusted his brother with most important affairs of state.
Both Emperor Xiaowu and Sima Daozi were described to be spending much of their times with drinking and feasting, rather than with important affairs of state. A number of politicians who wanted power gathered around Sima Daozi and flattered him, causing him to be less and less deferential to the emperor. He was also known for being obsessed with gathering wealth and for extravagance in living—including constructing an artificial hill in the back of his mansion, an excessively expensive and difficult task. Emperor Xiaowu eventually became angry about the situation, and he commissioned the well-known officials Wang Gong (王恭) and Yin Zhongkan (殷仲堪) to be provincial governors to counteract Sima Daozi's authority. The emperor and the prince at times suspected of each other, requiring intervention of their mother Empress Dowager Li. However, eventually they reconciled. It was around this time that Sima Daozi would, fatefully, inadvertently offend Huan Wen's son Huan Xuan
the Duke of Nan Commandery—as at one feast where Sima Daozi invited Huan Xuan as a guest, after Sima Daozi became drunk, he made the statement, "Was it not true that when Huan Wen became old, he planned treason?" Huan Xuan was so struck by the statement that he fell prostrate on the ground, fearing that Sima Daozi would kill him, and from this point he bore a grudge against the prince.
In 392, Sima Daozi was created the Prince of Kuaiji, to permit the greater title of Prince of Langye be given to Emperor Xiaowu's second son Sima Dewen
(the younger brother to the developmentally disabled
Crown Prince Sima Dezong
).
In 396, Emperor Xiaowu, after offending his favorite concubine Consort Zhang, was suffocated by her in his sleep. However, with the crown prince being developmentally disabled and with Sima Daozi being foolish and unthinking, no one investigated his death. Crown Prince Dezong took the throne as Emperor An, and Sima Daozi, as uncle, served as regent.
, Sima Yuanxian
, and entrusted the capital guards to Sima Yuanxian. He also gave military commands to his distant relatives Sima Shangzhi (司馬尚之) the Prince of Qiao and Sima Shangzhi's brother Sima Xiuzhi, as well as Wang Yu (王愉), in 398.
The giving of a military command to Wang Yu oddly drew a reaction from Wang Gong and Yin—as Wang Yu's command included four commanderies originally under the command of Yu Kai (庾楷), who became angry and managed to persuade Wang Gong and Yin that Sima Daozi's intention was to act against them as well. They therefore rose again, but Sima Daozi was able to persuade Wang Gong's general Liu Laozhi (劉牢之), who was in command of the elite Beifu Forces (北府兵), to suddenly turn against Wang Gong, capturing and executing him. Yin, hearing of Wang Gong's death, was in fear but considered proceeding anyway—and Sima Daozi, under suggestion by Huan Xuan's cousin Huan Xiu (桓脩), managed to cause dissension between Yin and his generals Huan Xuan and Yang Quanqi (楊佺期) by offering Huan and Yang key posts; although Huan and Yang nominally remained Yin's allies, Yin was forced to withdraw his troops, and from that point on no longer posed a major threat, as his domain had now been divided into three, with Huan and Yang each given a third.
In late 398, the magician Sun Tai (孫泰), a friend of Sima Yuanxian's, who had gathered great following due to his magic, was exposed as planning a plot to take over the central government, and Sima Daozi ordered Sima Yuanxian to trap Sun Tai and execute him. Sun Tai's nephew Sun En (孫恩) fled to Zhoushan
Island and planned revenge.
In summer 399, Sima Yuanxian, wanting even greater power, took an opportunity when his father was very drunk to have Emperor An issue an edict transferring Sima Daozi's authorities to Sima Yuanxian. When Sima Daozi awoke from his stupor, he was enraged, but after that point his power became extremely limited, even though he nominally remained regent.
Later in 399, Sun En launched his rebellion and captured most of the eastern empire for a while, until Liu Laozhi led his Beifu Forces and defeated Sun, forcing him to flee back to Zhoushan. Still, the only region remaining under central government control was now laid waste.
In 401, Sima Yuanxian, apprehensive of Huan Xuan (who had by then defeated and executed Yin and Yang, taking over the entire western empire), declared Huan a renegade and launched a campaign against him. However, he relied on Liu's troops, and Liu, not trusting his good intentions, again turned sides and joined Huan, and in 402 the capital Jiankang
fell to Huan's forces. Sima Yuanxian was captured and executed, while Sima Daozi was exiled to Ancheng (安成, in modern Ji'an
, Jiangxi
). Around the new year 403, an official sent by Huan Xuan, pursuant to Huan Xuan's instructions, poisoned Sima Daozi to death.
Regent
A regent, from the Latin regens "one who reigns", is a person selected to act as head of state because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated. Currently there are only two ruling Regencies in the world, sovereign Liechtenstein and the Malaysian constitutive state of Terengganu...
during the reign of his nephew Emperor An of Jin
Emperor An of Jin
Emperor An of Jin , personal name Sima Dezong , was an emperor of the Eastern Jin Dynasty in China. He was described as so developmentally disabled that he was unable to speak, clothe himself, or be able to express whether he was hungry or full...
, being the younger brother of Emperor Xiaowu
Emperor Xiaowu of Jin
Emperor Xiaowu of Jin , personal name Sima Yao , courtesy name Changming , was an emperor of the Eastern Jin Dynasty in China...
.
Early life
Sima Daozi was born in 364, two years after his older brother Sima Yao was born to their father, Sima YuEmperor Jianwen of Jin
Emperor Jianwen of Jin , personal name Sima Yu , courtesy name Daowan , was an emperor of the Eastern Jin Dynasty in China. He was the younger brother of Emperor Ming and installed by military leader Huan Wen...
the Prince of Kuaiji, and mother Consort Li Lingrong
Empress Dowager Li Lingrong
Empress Dowager Li Lingrong , formally Empress Dowager Xiaowuwen was an empress dowager during Jin Dynasty...
. In 371, after the paramount general Huan Wen
Huan Wen
Huan Wen , courtesy name Yuanzi , formally Duke Xuanwu of Nan Commandery , was a general of the Jin Dynasty...
deposed Emperor Fei
Emperor Fei of Jin
Emperor Fei of Jin , personal name Sima Yi , courtesy name Yanling , was an emperor of the Eastern Jin Dynasty in China. He was the younger brother of Emperor Ai and later deposed by military leader Huan Wen...
to showcase his power, he made Sima Yu emperor (as Emperor Jianwen). In 372, when Emperor Jianwen grew ill, he created Sima Yao crown prince
Crown Prince
A crown prince or crown princess is the heir or heiress apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The wife of a crown prince is also titled crown princess....
and Sima Daozi the Prince of Langye. He died soon thereafter, and Sima Yao assumed the throne as Emperor Xiaowu.
During Emperor Xiaowu's reign
As the emperor's only surviving brother, Sima Daozi was in an honored position. In 380, when he was just 16, he was offered the position of prime minister, but he declined. In 383, he finally accepted the title while the empire was preparing for a showdown with the powerful rival Former QinFormer Qin
The Former Qin was a state of the Sixteen Kingdoms in China. Founded by the Fu family of the Di ethnicity, it completed the unification of North China in 376. Its capital had been Xi'an up to the death of the ruler Fu Jiān. Despite its name, the Former Qin was much later and less powerful than...
, and, after Jin forces repelled Former Qin forces at the Battle of Fei River
Battle of Fei River
The Battle of Fei River or “Feishui” was a battle in 383, where Fu Jiān of the Di Former Qin Empire was decisively defeated by the numerically inferior Jin army of Eastern Jin....
, thus guaranteeing the dynasty's continued survival, he soon came into a power conflict with Xie An
Xie An
200px|right|thumb|Statue of xie anXie An , courtesy name Anshi , formally Duke Wenjing of Luling , was a Jin Dynasty statesman who, despite his lack of military ability, led Jin through a major crisis—attacks by Former Qin...
, who had served as Emperor Xiaowu's regent ever since Emperor Xiaowu's ascension; this conflict was aggravated by Xie An's son-in-law Wang Guobao (王國寶), whose cousin was Sima Daozi's wife and whom Xie disfavored, who therefore retaliated by slandering Xie before Emperor Xiaowu and Sima Daozi. Emperor Xiaowu therefore began to listen to Xie less, and in 385, Xie volunteered to lead an army and leave the capital to avoid further conflict with Sima Daozi. When Xie died later that year, Sima Daozi became the head of the government under Emperor Xiaowu, who entrusted his brother with most important affairs of state.
Both Emperor Xiaowu and Sima Daozi were described to be spending much of their times with drinking and feasting, rather than with important affairs of state. A number of politicians who wanted power gathered around Sima Daozi and flattered him, causing him to be less and less deferential to the emperor. He was also known for being obsessed with gathering wealth and for extravagance in living—including constructing an artificial hill in the back of his mansion, an excessively expensive and difficult task. Emperor Xiaowu eventually became angry about the situation, and he commissioned the well-known officials Wang Gong (王恭) and Yin Zhongkan (殷仲堪) to be provincial governors to counteract Sima Daozi's authority. The emperor and the prince at times suspected of each other, requiring intervention of their mother Empress Dowager Li. However, eventually they reconciled. It was around this time that Sima Daozi would, fatefully, inadvertently offend Huan Wen's son Huan Xuan
Huan Xuan
Huan Xuan , courtesy name Jingdao , nickname Lingbao , formally Emperor Wudao of Chu , was a Jin Dynasty warlord who briefly took over the imperial throne from Emperor An of Jin and declared his own state of Chu in 403, but was defeated by an uprising led by the general Liu Yu in 404 and killed...
the Duke of Nan Commandery—as at one feast where Sima Daozi invited Huan Xuan as a guest, after Sima Daozi became drunk, he made the statement, "Was it not true that when Huan Wen became old, he planned treason?" Huan Xuan was so struck by the statement that he fell prostrate on the ground, fearing that Sima Daozi would kill him, and from this point he bore a grudge against the prince.
In 392, Sima Daozi was created the Prince of Kuaiji, to permit the greater title of Prince of Langye be given to Emperor Xiaowu's second son Sima Dewen
Emperor Gong of Jin
Emperor Gong of Jin was last emperor of the Eastern Jin Dynasty in China. He became emperor in 419 after his developmentally disabled brother Emperor An was killed by the regent Liu Yu, and during his brief reign, actual power was in Liu Yu's hands. In 420, under pressure from Liu Yu, he...
(the younger brother to the developmentally disabled
Developmental disability
Developmental disability is a term used in the United States and Canada to describe lifelong disabilities attributable to mental or physical impairments, manifested prior to age 18. It is not synonymous with "developmental delay" which is often a consequence of a temporary illness or trauma during...
Crown Prince Sima Dezong
Emperor An of Jin
Emperor An of Jin , personal name Sima Dezong , was an emperor of the Eastern Jin Dynasty in China. He was described as so developmentally disabled that he was unable to speak, clothe himself, or be able to express whether he was hungry or full...
).
In 396, Emperor Xiaowu, after offending his favorite concubine Consort Zhang, was suffocated by her in his sleep. However, with the crown prince being developmentally disabled and with Sima Daozi being foolish and unthinking, no one investigated his death. Crown Prince Dezong took the throne as Emperor An, and Sima Daozi, as uncle, served as regent.
As Emperor An's regent
Sima Daozi, as regent, greatly trusted Wang Guobao and his cousin Wang Xu (王緒) because of their flattery, and his regency quickly developed a reputation for being corrupt and incompetent. Wang Gong, whom Emperor Xiaowu entrusted with the armies of the northeastern part of the empire, considered starting a rebellion to overthrow Wang Guobao and Wang Xu. In 397, Wang Guobao and Wang Xu suggested to Sima Daozi that the armies that Wang Gong and Yin Zhongkan were in charge of be reduced; Wang Gong and Yin, who was in command of the western provinces, in response, mobilized their forces and declared that Wang Guobao and Wang Xu should be executed. Sima Daozi, in fear, forced Wang Guobao to commit suicide and executed Wang Xu. Wang Gong and Yin then retreated. From this point on, Sima Daozi trusted no one but his teenage heir apparentHeir apparent
An heir apparent or heiress apparent is a person who is first in line of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting, except by a change in the rules of succession....
, Sima Yuanxian
Sima Yuanxian
Sima Yuanxian , formally Heir Apparent Zhong of Kuaiji , was briefly a regent of Jin Dynasty , during the reign of his developmentally-disabled cousin Emperor An....
, and entrusted the capital guards to Sima Yuanxian. He also gave military commands to his distant relatives Sima Shangzhi (司馬尚之) the Prince of Qiao and Sima Shangzhi's brother Sima Xiuzhi, as well as Wang Yu (王愉), in 398.
The giving of a military command to Wang Yu oddly drew a reaction from Wang Gong and Yin—as Wang Yu's command included four commanderies originally under the command of Yu Kai (庾楷), who became angry and managed to persuade Wang Gong and Yin that Sima Daozi's intention was to act against them as well. They therefore rose again, but Sima Daozi was able to persuade Wang Gong's general Liu Laozhi (劉牢之), who was in command of the elite Beifu Forces (北府兵), to suddenly turn against Wang Gong, capturing and executing him. Yin, hearing of Wang Gong's death, was in fear but considered proceeding anyway—and Sima Daozi, under suggestion by Huan Xuan's cousin Huan Xiu (桓脩), managed to cause dissension between Yin and his generals Huan Xuan and Yang Quanqi (楊佺期) by offering Huan and Yang key posts; although Huan and Yang nominally remained Yin's allies, Yin was forced to withdraw his troops, and from that point on no longer posed a major threat, as his domain had now been divided into three, with Huan and Yang each given a third.
In late 398, the magician Sun Tai (孫泰), a friend of Sima Yuanxian's, who had gathered great following due to his magic, was exposed as planning a plot to take over the central government, and Sima Daozi ordered Sima Yuanxian to trap Sun Tai and execute him. Sun Tai's nephew Sun En (孫恩) fled to Zhoushan
Zhoushan
Zhoushan or Zhoushan Archipelago New Area; formerly transliterated as Chusan, is a prefecture-level city in northeastern Zhejiang province of Eastern China. The only prefecture-level city of the People's Republic of China consisting solely of islands, it lies across the mouth of the Hangzhou Bay,...
Island and planned revenge.
In summer 399, Sima Yuanxian, wanting even greater power, took an opportunity when his father was very drunk to have Emperor An issue an edict transferring Sima Daozi's authorities to Sima Yuanxian. When Sima Daozi awoke from his stupor, he was enraged, but after that point his power became extremely limited, even though he nominally remained regent.
Later in 399, Sun En launched his rebellion and captured most of the eastern empire for a while, until Liu Laozhi led his Beifu Forces and defeated Sun, forcing him to flee back to Zhoushan. Still, the only region remaining under central government control was now laid waste.
In 401, Sima Yuanxian, apprehensive of Huan Xuan (who had by then defeated and executed Yin and Yang, taking over the entire western empire), declared Huan a renegade and launched a campaign against him. However, he relied on Liu's troops, and Liu, not trusting his good intentions, again turned sides and joined Huan, and in 402 the capital Jiankang
Jiankang
Jiankang was the capital city of the Eastern Jin Dynasty and Southern Dynasties. Its walls are extant ruins in the modern municipal region of Nanjing.-History:...
fell to Huan's forces. Sima Yuanxian was captured and executed, while Sima Daozi was exiled to Ancheng (安成, in modern Ji'an
Ji'an
- External links :* *...
, Jiangxi
Jiangxi
' is a southern province in the People's Republic of China. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze River in the north into hillier areas in the south, it shares a border with Anhui to the north, Zhejiang to the northeast, Fujian to the east, Guangdong to the south, Hunan to the west, and Hubei to...
). Around the new year 403, an official sent by Huan Xuan, pursuant to Huan Xuan's instructions, poisoned Sima Daozi to death.