Sima Yu

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Sima Yu
Crown Prince of the Jin dynasty
Tenure16 October 290 [1] – 6 February 300 [2]
SuccessorSima Zang
Born278
Died300 (aged 21–22)
Spouse
Issue Sima Bin, Prince of Nanyang
Sima Zang, Prince Ai of Muyang
Sima Shang, Crown Prince Huaichong
Names
Family name: Sima 司馬
Given name: 遹
Courtesy name: Xizu 熙祖
Posthumous name
Crown Prince Minhuai 愍懷太子
Father Emperor Hui of Jin
Mother Xie Jiu

Sima Yu (司馬遹) (278 [3] – 27 April 300 [4] ), 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 he, then crown prince, was to marry his wife Jia Nanfeng, Zhong's father Emperor Wu gave him one of his own concubines, Consort Xie Jiu (謝玖), so that Consort Xie could teach him how to have sexual relations. [5] While Crown Princess Jia bore the crown prince four daughters, [6] Sima Yu was his only son.

When Sima Yu was four years old, there was a fire in the palace, and Emperor Wu walked up a tower to observe it. Sima Yu pulled him aside and said, "At night, when something unusual like this happens, we should take precautions. The light of the fire should not shine on the emperor." Emperor Wu was surprised by this perceptive observation by a child, and praised the young prince as very much like his own grandfather Sima Yi. [7] This was part of the reason why Emperor Wu let Crown Prince Zhong remain his heir. On 22 December 289, [8] he created Prince Yu the Prince of Guangling. After Emperor Wu died in May 290, Crown Prince Zhong ascended the throne as Emperor Hui, and Prince Yu was created crown prince at the age of 12 on 16 October. [9]

As Crown Prince Yu grew in age, however, he lost some of the good reputation that he had as a child, as he disliked studying and spent much time on building projects and games. Empress Jia, who had constantly been jealous of Crown Prince Yu and Consort Xie, did not discourage this behavior, but in fact encouraged it to further damage Crown Prince Yu's reputation. When Crown Prince Yu's staff would try to correct his ways, he would not listen to them. He also would not listen to them with regard to their advice to maintain strong relations with Empress Jia's family members. Empress Jia's mother Guo Huai had constantly advised Empress Jia to treat Crown Prince Yu well, as her own son, and she advocated marrying a daughter of Empress Jia's sister Jia Wu (賈午) to Crown Prince Yu. However, Empress Jia and Jia Wu opposed this, and instead married a daughter of the official Wang Yan to Crown Prince Yu. (Wang had two daughters, but Empress Jia had Crown Prince Yu marry the less beautiful one and had her nephew Jia Mi marry the more beautiful one.) After Lady Guo's death, the relationship between Empress Jia and Crown Prince Yu quickly deteriorated, as Jia Wu and another associate of Empress Jia, Emperor Wu's concubine Consort Zhao Can (趙粲), provoked difficulties between them. Further, Crown Prince Yu and Jia Mi never liked each other, and Jia Mi, as a result, also advised Empress Jia to depose Crown Prince Yu.

In early 300, Empress Jia agreed and took action. When Crown Prince Yu was in the palace to make an official petition to have his ill son Sima Bin (司馬彬) created a prince, Empress Jia forced him to drink a large amount of wine and, once he was drunk, had him write out a statement in which he declared intention to murder the emperor and the empress and to take over as emperor. Empress Jia presented the writing to the officials and initially wanted Crown Prince Yu executed—but after some resistance, she only had him deposed and reduced to status of a commoner on 6 February. On the same day, [10] Crown Prince Yu's mother Consort Xie was executed; his favorite concubine Consort Jiang Jun (蔣俊, Sima Bin's mother) was also executed. Wang Yan divorced his daughter from the crown prince, who wrote an extant, lengthy letter to her explaining the incident through which Empress Jia framed him.

In April 300, under the advice of a prince she favored -- Sima Lun the Prince of Zhao, Emperor Wu's uncle—Empress Jia decided to eliminate Crown Prince Yu as a threat. She sent assassins and had Crown Prince Yu assassinated on 27 April. He was buried with honors due a prince—under his pre-crown-prince title of Prince of Guangling. Sima Lun's intent was, however, to use this assassination as an excuse to overthrow Empress Jia, and he did so less than two weeks later, on 7 May. He had Crown Prince Yu reburied with the honors due a crown prince on 15 July 300 [11] and Yu was given the posthumous name "Minhuai". He also welcomed Crown Princess Wang back to the palace, along with Crown Prince Yu's surviving sons Sima Zang (司馬臧) (whom he had created crown prince on 12 June [12] ) and Sima Shang (司馬尚). However, when Sima Lun then usurped the throne briefly in 301, Crown Prince Zang was killed on 11 February. [13] After Emperor Hui's restoration later that year, Sima Shang was created crown prince in c.July, [14] but died on 7 May 302, [15] extinguishing Crown Prince Yu's line.

Family

Consort and issue(s):

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References

  1. ↑ Renwu day of the 8th month of the 1st year of the Yongxi era, per Emperor Hui's biography in Book of Jin and vol.82 of Zizhi Tongjian
  2. ↑ Renxu day of the 12th month of the 9th year of the Yuankang era, per Emperor Hui's biography in Book of Jin and vol.83 of Zizhi Tongjian. The day was also the last day of that year.
  3. ↑ According to Sima Yu's biography in Book of Jin, he was 23 (by East Asian reckoning) when he died. (因如厕，虑以药杵椎杀之，太子大呼，声闻于外。时年二十三。) Jin Shu, vol.53. Thus by calculation, his birth year should be 278.
  4. ↑ According to Sima Zhong's biography in Book of Jin, Sima Yu was killed on the guiwei day of the 3rd month of the 1st year of the Yongkang era of his reign. This corresponds to 27 Apr 300 on the Julian calendar. [(永康元年春三月)癸未，贾后矫诏害庶人遹于许昌。] Jin Shu, vol.04. Vol.83 of Zizhi Tongjian also dated his death to this date.
  5. ↑ (惠帝在东宫，将纳妃。武帝虑太子尚幼，未知帷房之事，乃遣往东宫侍寝，由是得幸有身。) Jin Shu, vol.31. Note that Sima Yu was born more than five years after Sima Zhong and Jia Nanfeng were wedded in April 272.
  6. ↑ (生河东、临海、始平公主、哀献皇女。) Jin Shu, vol.31
  7. ↑ (宫中尝夜失火，帝登楼望之，遹年五岁，牵帝裾入暗中曰：“暮夜仓猝，宜备非常，不可令照见人主。”帝由是奇之。尝对群臣称遹似宣帝，故天下咸归仰之。) Zizhi Tongjian, vol.82
  8. ↑ jiashen day of the 11th month of the 10th year of the Tai'kang era, per Sima Yan's biography in Book of Jin
  9. ↑ ([太熙元年]秋八月壬午，立广陵王遹为皇太子，...) Jin Shu, vol.04
  10. ↑ According to Sima Zhong's biography in Book of Jin, Sima Yu was deposed as Crown Prince and Lady Xie was killed on the renxu day of the 12th month of the 9th year of the Yuan'kang (erroneously recorded as "Yong'ping") era of his reign. This corresponds to 6 Feb 300 on the Julian calendar. [(元康九年)十二月壬戌，废皇太子遹为庶人，及其三子幽于金墉城，杀太子母谢氏。] Jin Shu, vol.04. Volume 83 of Zizhi Tongjian also dated the event to that same day.
  11. ↑ ([永康元年]六月壬寅，葬愍怀太子于显平陵。) Jin Shu, vol.04
  12. ↑ ([永康元年]五月，己巳，诏立临淮王臧为皇太孙，...) Zizhi Tongjian, vol.83
  13. ↑ (永宁元年春正月...癸酉，伦害濮阳王臧。) Jin Shu, vol.04
  14. ↑ ([永宁元年]五月，立襄阳王尚为皇太孙。) Jin Shu, vol.04. The month corresponds to 23 Jun to 21 Jul 301 in the Julian calendar. Vol.84 of Zizhi Tongjian also dated the event to that same month.
  15. ↑ (尚字敬仁。....。永宁元年八月，立为皇太孙。太安元年三月癸卯，薨...) Jin Shu, vol.53. Note that here, Sima Shang being made crown prince was dated to the 8th month of the 1st year of the Yong'ning era. Also, Zizhi Tongjian dated Sima Shang's death to the 3rd month of the 1st year of the Tai'an era, without a specific day.
  16. ↑ Lady Wang was killed during the Disaster of Yongjia in July 311. (及刘曜陷洛阳，以惠风赐其将乔属，属将妻之。惠风拔剑距属曰：“吾太尉公女，皇太子妃，义不为逆胡所辱。”属遂害之。) Jin Shu, vol.96
  17. ↑ (永康元年春正月....丙子，皇孙𧇃卒) Jin Shu, vol.04
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