Emperor Gong of Jin
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Emperor Gong of Jin Eastern Jin | |
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Father | Emperor Xiaowu |
Mother | Empress Dowager Ande |
Emperor Gong of Jin (
Early life
Sima Dewen was the second son of
During Emperor An's reign
Sometime during Emperor An's reign, Sima Dewen married his wife, Chu Lingyuan, who was from an aristocratic family. She had two daughters, Sima Maoying, later created the Princess Haiyan, and the later Princess Fuyang.
Throughout Emperor An's early reign, Sima Dewen received increasingly honorific offices, but had little actual power, as the power was initially in the hands of his uncle, the regent Sima Daozi the Prince of Kuaiji, and later in the hands of Sima Daozi's son Sima Yuanxian. The situation continued after Sima Yuanxian was overthrown by the warlord Huan Xuan in 402.
In 403, Huan Xuan forced Emperor An to yield the throne to him, temporarily ending Jin. Huan Xuan established a new state of Chu, and he created Emperor An the Prince of Pinggu (平固王) and Sima Dewen the Duke of Shiyang
As the years went by, Liu Yu gradually concentrated more and more power in his hands, destroying rivals including Liu Yi (劉毅), Zhuge Zhangmin (諸葛長民), and
Late that year, Liu Yu, intending to seize the throne and believing a prophecy stating, "There will be two more emperors after Changming" (Changming, which meant "dawn," was the courtesy name of Emperor Xiaowu), became intent on killing Emperor An and replacing him with Sima Dewen. However, because Sima Dewen continuously attended to his brother, assassins whom Liu Yu sent to poison Emperor An did not have the opportunity to do so. However, around the new year 419, Sima Dewen was ill and had to be at his own house, and Liu Yu's assassin Wang Shaozhi (王韶之) took the opportunity to kill Emperor An. Liu Yu then declared Sima Dewen emperor, as Emperor Gong.
Reign
Emperor Gong's reign was a brief and powerless one. He created his wife Princess Chu empress in spring 419. He also promoted Liu Yu, then carrying the title Duke of Song, to the Prince of Song, which Liu Yu initially declined but accepted in fall 419. In spring 420, Liu Yu, then at
After abdication
Liu Yu created Sima Dewen the Prince of Lingling and built a palace for him near Jiankang. He had the general Liu Zunkao (劉遵考), a distant cousin, lead a group of guards, ostensibly to protect the prince but instead to keep him under watch.
Soon, Liu Yu, still believing Sima Dewen to be a threat, sent Sima Dewen's former attendant Zhang Wei (張偉) a bottle of poisoned wine, ordering him to poison Sima Dewen. Zhang, not wanting to carry out the order, drank the wine himself and died. Meanwhile, however, in order to prevent any likelihood that Sima Dewen would have a male heir, Liu Yu ordered Princess Chu's brothers Chu Xiuzhi (褚秀之) and Chu Danzhi (褚淡之) to poison any male children whom Princess Chu or Sima Dewen's concubines would bear. Sima Dewen himself feared death greatly, and he and Princess Chu remained in the same house, cooking their own meals, with Princess Chu paying for the material herself. Assassins whom Liu Yu sent initially could find no chance to kill the former emperor.
In fall 421, Liu Yu sent Chu Danzhi and his brother Chu Yuzhi
As for the title of "Prince of Lingling", it remained in the Sima clan until it was abolished by Emperor Wu of Liang in April 502, when he ascended the throne.[8] The last known Prince of Lingling was Sima Yaoshi (司马药师), who died on 30 March 490.[9]
Era name
- Yuanxi (元熙, Yuánxī): 11 February 419 – 10 July 420
Family
Consorts and Issue:
- Empress Gongsi, of the Chu clan of Henan (恭思皇后 河南褚氏; 384–436), personal name Lingyuan (靈媛)
- Princess Haiyan (海鹽公主; 403–439), personal name Maoying (茂英)
- Married Liu Yifu (406–424)
- Princess Fuyang (富陽公主)
- Princess Haiyan (海鹽公主; 403–439), personal name Maoying (茂英)
Ancestry
Sima Jin (256–290) | ||||||||||||||||
Empress Dowager Ande (362–390) | ||||||||||||||||
References
- ^ According to Sima Dewen's biography in Book of Jin, he ascended the throne on the same day as his brother's death, which took place on 28 Jan 419. (安帝崩....是日,即帝位) Jin Shu, vol.10
- ^ According to Sima Dewen's biography in Book of Jin, he was killed aged 36 (by East Asian reckoning) on the dingchou day of the 9th month of the 2nd year of the Yongchu era of Liu Yu's reign. However, there is no dingchou day in the month; the month corresponds to 12 Oct to 10 Nov 421 in the Julian calendar. (宋永初二年九月丁丑...有间,兵人逾垣而入,弑帝于内房。时年三十六。) Jin Shu vol. 10. Thus by calculation, his birth year should be 386.
- ^ According to Sima Dewen's biography in Book of Jin, he renounced the throne on the renxu day of the 6th month of the 2nd year of the Yuanxi era of his reign. This corresponds to 5 Jul 420 in the Julian calendar. [(元熙)二年夏六月壬戌,刘裕至于京师。傅亮承裕密旨,讽帝禅位,草诏,请帝书之。帝欣然谓左右曰:“晋氏久已失之,今复何恨。”乃书赤纸为诏] Jin Shu, vol.10
- ^ According to Sima Yao's biography in Book of Jin, Sima Dewen was made Prince of Langye on the gengyin day of the 11th month of the 17th year of the Taiyuan era of Yao's reign. This corresponds to 27 Dec 392 in the Julian calendar. ([太元十七年十一月]庚寅,...,封皇子德文为琅邪王。) Jin Shu vol. 09.
- ^ Zhang Senkai (張森楷), a late-Qing era commentator to Song Shu, commented in his "Jiao Kan Ji" that in his opinion, Sima Dewen's daughter Maoying was likely to be 36-37 years old (by East Asian reckoning) when she died in 439. (《校勘记》云:“按少帝死年十九,则妃于时亦当二十左右。后十六七年至元嘉十六年卒,应年三十六七,不应四十七,疑有误。”) By this theory, Maoying should be born during her father's tenure as Duke of Shiyang.
- ^ 10 July 420 on the Julian calendar
- ^ In Chu Yuzhi's biography in Book of Song, he is addressed by his courtesy name Shudu (叔度) as his "Yu" is the same character as Liu Yu's name, as acknowledged in the biography ((叔度名与高祖同,故以字行.) Song Shu, vol. 52.); volume 28 of Nan Shi records his name as "裕之".
- ^ Book of Liang, vol.02
- ^ renchen day of the 2nd month of the 8th year of the Yong'ming era, per vol.03 of Book of Southern Qi