1
宣五王文六王
The five sons of Emperor Xuan of Jin and the six sons of Emperor Wen.
2
平原王榦琅邪王伷 〈（子覲、澹、繇、漼）〉 清惠亭侯京扶風王駿 〈（子暢、歆）〉 梁王肜、文六王
Sima Gan, Prince of Pingyuan, and Sima You, Prince of Langya. (His sons Guan, Dan, Yao, and Cui)〉 Sima Jing, Marquis of Qinghui Pavilion, and Sima Jun, Prince of Fufeng. (His sons Chang and Xin)〉 Sima Rong, Prince of Liang, and the six sons of Emperor Wen (section heading).
3
宣五王
The five sons of Emperor Xuan of Jin.
4
宣帝九男，穆張惶後生景帝、文帝、平原王幹，伏夫人生汝南文成王亮、琅邪武王伷、清惠亭侯京、扶風武王駿，張夫人生梁王肜，柏夫人生趙王倫。 亮及倫別有傳。
Of the nine sons fathered by Emperor Xuan of Jin, his consort Empress Zhang, posthumously styled Wuxuan, gave birth to Sima Shi, the later Emperor Jing; Sima Zhao, the later Emperor Wen; and Sima Gan, Prince of Pingyuan. A concubine, Lady Fu, bore Sima Liang, Prince Wen Cheng of Runan; Sima You, Prince Martial of Langya; Sima Jing, Marquis of Qinghui Pavilion; and Sima Jun, Prince Martial of Fufeng. Another concubine, Lady Zhang, bore Sima Rong, Prince of Liang; Lady Bai bore Sima Lun, Prince of Zhao. Sima Liang and Sima Lun are treated in dedicated biographies elsewhere in this history.
5
平原王榦
Sima Gan, Prince of Pingyuan.
6
平原王榦，字子良。 少以公子魏時封安陽亭侯，稍遷撫軍中郎將，進爵平陽鄉侯。 五等建，改封定陶伯。 武帝踐阼，封平原王，邑萬一千三百戶，給鼓吹、駙馬二匹，加侍中之服。 咸甯初，遣諸王之國，幹有篤疾，性理不恆，而頗清虛靜退，簡於情欲，故特詔留之。 太康末，拜光祿大夫，加侍中，特假金章紫綬，班次三司。 惠帝即位，進左光祿大夫，侍中如故，劍履上殿，入朝不趨。
Sima Gan, Prince of Pingyuan, whose courtesy name was Ziliang. While still young he was made village marquis of Anyang in Wei on account of his princely station; he rose to colonel of the household in the guards army attached to the heir apparent, then to village marquis of Pingyang. When Wei reorganized its nobility into five ranks, his title was converted to earl of Dingtao. Upon Emperor Wu’s accession he was created prince of Pingyuan with eleven thousand three hundred taxable households, two sets of ceremonial trumpeters, two mounts for imperial son-in-law equipage, and the regalia of a palace attendant. Early in the Xianning era princes were sent out to their domains; Sima Gan was seriously ill and his moods were uneven, yet he was markedly detached, tranquil, and free of worldly cravings, so an exceptional order let him stay at the capital. Late in the Taikang era he was named grand master of splendid carriage with the additional title of palace attendant; he was specially granted use of the gold seal on purple ribbon and ranked with the three highest ministers at court. Under Emperor Hui he was promoted to left grand master of splendid carriage while retaining his palace attendant post; he might wear sword and shoes in the audience hall and approach the throne without the hurried court gait.
7
趙王倫輔政，以榦為衛將軍。 惠帝反正，復為侍中，加太保。 齊王冏之平趙王倫也，宗室朝士皆以牛酒勞冏，榦獨懷百錢，見冏乂之，曰：「趙王逆亂，汝能義舉，是汝之功，今以百錢賀汝。 雖然，大勢難居，不可不慎。」 冏既輔政，榦詣之，冏出迎拜。 榦入，踞其床，不命冏坐，語之曰：「汝勿效白女兒，」其意指倫也。 及冏誅，榦哭之慟，謂左右曰：「宗室日衰，唯此兒最可，而復害之，從今殆矣！」
When Sima Lun, Prince of Zhao, took charge of the government, he appointed Sima Gan general of the guard. After Emperor Hui’s restoration, Sima Gan resumed his post as palace attendant and was additionally named grand mentor. When Sima Jiong of Qi overthrew Sima Lun, the whole family and officialdom feted him with beef and wine; Sima Gan alone brought a string of a hundred cash coins, went to see Jiong, and said: “Sima Lun rose in treason, and you mustered for the right—that was your achievement; I therefore offer you this hundred-coin gift. Even so, supreme power is hard to hold; you must watch your step.” When Jiong had taken the regency, Gan called on him; Jiong came out to the gate and bowed in greeting. Gan stepped inside, threw himself cross-legged on Jiong’s couch without inviting him to sit, and said: “Do not turn into that ‘white-robed boy’ again”—a pointed reference to Sima Lun. After Jiong was put to death, Gan mourned him uncontrollably and told his attendants: “The house weakens by the day; he was the best among us, and they have cut him down again—we are finished.”
8
東海王越興義，至洛陽，往視幹，幹閉門不通。 越駐車良久，幹乃使人謝遣，而自於門間窺之。 當時莫能測其意，或謂之有疾，或以為晦跡焉。 永嘉五年薨，時年八十。 會劉聰寇洛，不遑贈諡，有二子，世子廣早卒，次子永乙太熙中封安德縣公，散騎常侍，皆為善士。 遇難，合門堙滅。
When Sima Yue of Donghai raised loyalist troops and reached Luoyang, he went in person to see Sima Gan, but Gan bolted his gates and refused him entry. Yue waited a long time in his carriage until Gan sent someone out with excuses to send him away, all the while Gan himself spied on Yue through a crack in the door. Contemporaries could make nothing of his behavior: some thought him deranged, others that he was hiding his true mind from the world. He died in Yongjia 5 (311 CE), aged eighty. Amid Liu Cong’s sack of Luoyang there was no time to settle his posthumous name and title. He left two sons: the heir, Guang, had died young; his second son, Yong, was created duke of Ande county during the Taixi era and served as cavalier attendant-in-ordinary—both were accounted virtuous men. They perished in the turmoil, and the whole line was wiped out.
9
琅邪王伷
Sima You, Prince of Langya.
10
平吳之役，率眾數萬出塗中，孫皓奉箋送璽綬，詣伷請降，詔曰：「琅邪王伷督率所統，連據塗中，使賊不得相救。 又使琅邪相劉弘等進軍逼江，賊震懼，遣使奉偽璽綬。 又使長史王恆率諸軍渡江，破賊邊守，獲督蔡機，斬道降附五六萬計，諸葛靚、孫奕皆歸命請死，功勳茂著。 其封子二人為亭侯，各三千戶，賜絹六千匹。」 頃之，並督青州諸軍事，加侍中之服。 進拜大將軍、開府儀同三司。
During the conquest of Wu he commanded tens of thousands west from Tuzhong until Sun Hao sent him a written surrender with the imperial seal and cords. The court edict read: “Sima You, Prince of Langya, commanded his host and held Tuzhong end to end, so that the enemy armies could not go to one another’s relief. He also ordered Liu Hong, administrator of Langya, and others to drive their columns toward the Yangtze; the Wu forces panicked and dispatched envoys bearing the counterfeit seal and ribbon of their pretended dynasty. He further sent his chief clerk, Wang Heng, at the head of several columns across the river, who smashed Wu’s river-line defenses, captured their commander Cai Ji, and shepherded fifty or sixty thousand capitulations along the way. Zhuge Jing and Sun Yi both surrendered and awaited execution. The merit stacked high. Let two of his sons be created village marquises with three thousand households apiece, and award them six thousand bolts of silk.” Soon afterward he was given concurrent command over all military affairs in Qingzhou and the ceremonial regalia of a palace attendant. He was promoted to grand general with the privilege of opening his own bureau and ceremonial parity with the Three Dukes.
11
伷既戚屬尊重，加有平吳之功，克己恭儉，無矜滿之色，僚吏盡力，百姓懷化。 疾篤，賜床帳、衣服、錢帛、秔梁等物，遣侍中問焉。 太康四年薨，時年五十七。 臨終表求葬母太妃陵次，並乞分國封四子，帝許之。 子恭王覲立。 又封次子澹為武陵王，繇為東安王，漼為淮陵王。
As senior imperial clansman who had also crushed Wu, You disciplined himself, lived simply, and showed no trace of swagger; his staff drove themselves for him, and the common folk warmed to his rule. When his illness turned grave, the throne sent him beds, hangings, clothing, money, silk, polished rice, and grain, and dispatched a palace attendant to inquire after his health. He died in Taikang 4 (283 CE) at fifty-seven. On his deathbed he memorialized, asking to bury his mother, the Dowager Consort, by the imperial mausoleum precinct and to split his princedom among four sons; the emperor approved. His son Sima Guan, titled Prince Gong, succeeded him. His second son Sima Dan was made prince of Wuling; Sima Yao, prince of Dong’an; and Sima Cui, prince of Huailing.
12
覲字思祖，拜冗從僕射。 太熙元年薨，時年三十五。 子睿立，是為元帝。 中興初，以皇子裒為琅邪王，奉恭王祀。 裒早薨，更以皇子煥為琅邪王。 其日薨，復以皇子昱為琅邪王。 咸和之初，既徙封會稽，成帝又以康帝為琅邪王，康帝即位，封成帝長子哀帝為琅邪王。 哀帝即位，以廢帝為琅邪王。 廢帝即位，以會稽王攝行琅邪國祀。 簡文帝登阼，琅邪王無嗣。 及帝臨崩，封少子道子為琅邪王。 道子後為會稽王，更以恭帝為琅邪王。 帝既即位，琅邪國除。
Sima Guan, courtesy name Sizu, was appointed supernumerary attendant cavalryman at the palace. He died in the first year of the Taixi era (290 CE) at thirty-five. His son Sima Rui succeeded him—the man who became Emperor Yuan of Eastern Jin. Early in the restoration, the emperor appointed his own son Sima Pou Prince of Langya to carry on the sacrifices to the late Prince Gong. When Pou died young, another imperial son, Sima Huan, was named Prince of Langya in his place. Huan died the same day he received the title, so the princehood passed to yet another son, Sima Yu. Early in the Xianhe era, after the title had been transferred to Kuaiji, Emperor Cheng named Sima Yue (later Emperor Kang) Prince of Langya. When Kang came to the throne, he created Emperor Cheng’s eldest son, the future Emperor Ai, Prince of Langya. Upon Ai’s accession, the future Emperor Fei was installed as Prince of Langya. When Fei succeeded, the Prince of Kuaiji was deputized to oversee the sacrifices of the Langya princely house. Upon Emperor Jianwen’s enthronement the Langya princedom had no heir. On his deathbed he enfeoffed his youngest son, Sima Daozi, as Prince of Langya. Daozi was later reassigned as Prince of Kuaiji and Sima Gong (Emperor Gong) was named Prince of Langya instead. Once Gong took the throne, the separate Langya princedom was abolished.
13
武陵莊王澹字思弘。 初為冗從僕射，後封東武公，邑五千二百戶。 轉前將軍、中護軍。 性忌害，無孝友之行。 弟東安王繇有令名，為父母所愛，澹惡之如仇，遂譖繇于汝南王亮，亮素與繇有隙，奏廢徙之。 趙王倫作亂，以澹為領軍將軍。 澹素與河內郭俶、俶弟侃親善。 酒酣，俶等言張華之冤，澹性酗酒，因並殺之，送首於倫，其酗虐如此。
Sima Dan, Prince Zhuang of Wuling, courtesy name Sihong. He began as supernumerary attendant cavalryman at the palace and was later created duke of Dongwu with a revenue of fifty-two hundred households. He moved on to serve as general of the van and central protector of the army. He was suspicious and cruel, utterly lacking the virtues of filial piety and brotherly love. His younger brother Sima Yao, Prince of Dong’an, enjoyed a good name and their parents’ favor, which Dan resented bitterly. He denounced Yao to Sima Liang, Prince of Runan, who already disliked Yao, and persuaded him to memorialize for Yao’s removal and banishment. When Sima Lun, Prince of Zhao, rebelled, he appointed Sima Dan general who commands the army. Dan had long been on close terms with Guo Si of Henei and his brother Guo Kan. Once they were deep in their cups, Guo Si and the others began lamenting the injustice done to Zhang Hua; Dan, who was prone to drunken rages, had them all murdered on the spot and sent their heads to Sima Lun. Such was the savagery of his drinking fits.
14
覲弟澹
Sima Dan, younger brother of Sima Guan.
15
澹弟繇
Sima Yao, younger brother of Sima Dan.
16
東安王繇字思玄。 初拜東安公，曆散騎黃門侍郎，遷散騎常侍。 美須髯，性剛毅，有威望，博學多才，事親孝，居喪盡禮。 誅楊駿之際，繇屯雲龍門，兼統諸軍，以功拜右衛將軍，領射聲校尉，進封郡王，邑二萬戶，加侍中，兼典軍大將軍，領右衛如故。 遷尚書右僕射，加散騎常侍。 是日誅賞三百餘人，皆自繇出。 東夷校尉文俶父欽為繇外祖諸葛誕所殺，繇慮俶為舅家之患，是日亦以非罪誅俶。
Sima Yao, Prince of Dong’an, courtesy name Sixuan. He was first created duke of Dong’an, then served as cavalier attendant and gentleman at the yellow gate, and rose to cavalier attendant-in-ordinary. He had a handsome beard, a steely temperament, and natural authority; he was widely read and accomplished, devoted to his parents, and meticulous in observing mourning rites. When Yang Jun was struck down, Yao held the Cloud-Dragon Gate, coordinating several corps; for that service he was made general of the right guard and commander of the crack archers, promoted to prince of a commandery with twenty thousand households, and given concurrent posts as palace attendant, marshal general who oversees the armies, and right guard as before. He rose to right vice-director of the secretariat and was additionally named cavalier attendant-in-ordinary. On that single day more than three hundred men were executed or rewarded, every order flowing from Yao’s desk. Wen Yang, colonel of the eastern tribes, was the son of Wen Qin, whom Yao’s mother’s father, Zhuge Dan, had executed; fearing that Wen Yang might someday avenge his maternal kin, Yao had him put to death that same day on a trumped-up charge.
17
繇兄澹屢構繇于汝南王亮，亮不納。 至是以繇專行誅賞，澹因隙譖之，亮惑其說，遂免繇官，以公就第，坐有悖言，廢徙帶方。 永康初，征繇，復封，拜宗正卿，遷尚書，轉左僕射。 惠帝之討成都王穎，時繇遭母喪在鄴，勸穎解兵而降。 及王師敗績，穎怨繇，乃害之。 後立琅邪王覲子長樂亭侯渾為東安王，以奉繇祀。 尋薨，國除。
Yao’s elder brother Dan repeatedly slandered him to Sima Liang, Prince of Runan, but Liang refused to act. Now that Yao monopolized promotions and killings, Dan seized the opening to defame him; Liang believed the tale, stripped Yao of his offices while letting him keep his ducal title, then—with a charge of seditious speech—banished him to Daifang. Early in the Yongkang era he was recalled to court, his princedom restored, and successively served as director for the imperial clan, minister of the secretariat, and left vice-director. During Emperor Hui’s expedition against Sima Ying, Prince of Chengdu, Yao was at Ye in mourning for his mother and urged Ying to disband his host and submit. When the imperial army collapsed, Ying blamed Yao and had him killed. Later Sima Hun, marquis of Changle village—son of Sima Guan, Prince of Langya—was created Prince of Dong’an to maintain Yao’s ancestral sacrifices. He died soon afterward and the princedom was abolished.
18
繇弟漼
Sima Cui, younger brother of Sima Yao.
19
清惠亭侯京
Sima Jing, Marquis of Qinghui Pavilion.
20
扶風王駿
Sima Jun, Prince of Fufeng.
21
扶風武王駿，字子臧。 幼聰惠，年五六歲能書疏，諷誦經籍，見者奇之。 及長，清貞守道，宗室之中最為俊望，魏景初中，封平陽亭侯。 齊王芳立，駿年八歲，為散騎常侍侍講焉。 尋遷步兵、屯騎校尉，常侍如故。 進爵鄉侯，出為平南將軍、假節、都督淮北諸軍事，改封平壽侯，轉安東將軍。 咸熙初，徙封東牟侯，轉安東大將軍，鎮許昌。
Sima Jun, Prince Martial of Fufeng, courtesy name Zizang. Even as a small child he was quick-witted: at five or six he could compose notes and recite canonical texts, to the astonishment of everyone who met him. As an adult he was noted for integrity and rectitude and stood highest in reputation among the imperial kinsmen; during Wei’s Jingchu era he was created marquis of Pingyang village. When Cao Fang was installed as Prince of Qi, Jun—only eight—was named cavalier attendant-in-ordinary and tasked with lecturing to the heir. He was soon promoted to colonel of foot soldiers and colonel of camp-squadron cavalry while retaining his position as cavalier attendant-in-ordinary. Promoted to village marquis, he left the capital as general who pacifies the south with plenipotentiary credentials and overall command on the north Huai front, was reassigned as marquis of Pingshou, and then became general who pacifies the east. Early in the Xianxi era his title was shifted to marquis of Dongmou; he became grand general who pacifies the east and was stationed at Xuchang.
22
武帝踐阼，進封汝陰王，邑萬戶，都督豫州諸軍事。 吳將丁奉寇芍陂，駿督諸軍距退之。 遷使持節、都督揚州諸軍事，代石苞鎮壽春。 尋復都督豫州，還鎮許昌。 遷鎮西大將軍、使持節、都督雍涼等州諸軍事，代汝南王亮鎮關中，加袞冕侍中之服。
When Emperor Wu took the throne, he advanced Jun to prince of Ruyin with a revenue of ten thousand households and command over all Yu Province forces. When Wu’s Ding Feng attacked the Quepi reservoir defenses, Jun coordinated the troops that drove him back. He was raised to bearer of the imperial credentials with supreme command in Yangzhou, replacing Shi Bao at Shouchun. He was soon reassigned to overall command in Yu Province and returned to his headquarters at Xuchang. He was raised to grand general who guards the west, with plenipotentiary credentials and supreme command in Yong, Liang, and neighboring provinces, replacing Sima Liang in the defense of Guanzhong, and was invested with the nine-ornament regalia and court dress proper to a palace attendant.
23
駿善扶禦，有威恩，勸督農桑，與士卒分役，已及僚佐並將帥兵士等人限田十畝，具以表聞。 詔遣普下州縣，使各務農事。
Jun excelled at steadying the region: he mingled stern authority with kindness, urged farming and mulberry culture, shared the corvée work with the rank and file, and—together with his staff, commanders, and troops—each tilled ten mu apiece as a personal example, detailing it all in memorials to the throne. An edict went out to every prefecture and county urging them to take agriculture seriously.
24
咸甯初，羌虜樹機能等叛，遣眾討之，斬三千餘級。 進位征西大將軍。 開府辟召，儀同三司，持節、都督如故。 又詔駿遣七千人代涼州守兵。 樹機能、侯彈勃等欲先劫佃兵，駿命平虜護軍文俶督涼、秦、雍諸軍各進屯以威之。 機能乃遣所領二十部彈勃面縛軍門，各遣入質子。 安定、北地、金城諸胡吉軻羅、侯金多及北虜熱冏等二十萬口又來降。 其年入朝，徙封扶風王，以氐戶在國界者增封，給羽葆、鼓吹。 太康初，進拜驃騎將軍，開府、持節、都督如故。
Early in the Xianning era, when frontier tribesmen including Tufa Shujineng rebelled, he dispatched a force against them and took more than three thousand heads. He was promoted to grand general who campaigns west. He was allowed to open a private bureau and recruit staff, with ceremonial parity to the Three Dukes, while retaining his plenipotentiary credentials and supreme command. The court further instructed Jun to send seven thousand men to relieve the Liangzhou garrison. Shujineng and Hou Tanbo planned to strike the farming militias first; Jun told Wen Yang, protector of the army that pacifies the barbarians, to move columns from Liang, Qin, and Yong forward into new camps and cow them by a show of force. Jineng then marched the twenty tribal units he led to the camp gate with bonds on their wrists, and each division handed over hostages. Two hundred thousand more frontier people—the Di leaders Jiluo and Hou Jinduo from Anding, Beidi, and Jincheng, together with northern tribesmen such as Rejiong—also submitted. He attended court that year, was transferred to the title of prince of Fufeng, had Di households straddling his borders added to his appanage, and received a feathered canopy with full bands of trumpeters. Early in the Taikang era he was raised to general of agile cavalry while keeping his bureau, credentials, and overall command unchanged.
25
暢字玄舒。 改封順陽王，拜給事中、屯騎校尉、遊擊將軍。 永嘉末，劉聰入洛，不知所終。
Sima Chang, courtesy name Xuanshu. His title was shifted to prince of Shunyang, and he was named attendant at the palace gate, colonel of garrison cavalry, and general of roaming attack. When Liu Cong took Luoyang at the close of the Yongjia era, nothing more was heard of him.
26
暢弟歆
Sima Xin, younger brother of Sima Chang.
27
新野莊王歆字弘舒。 武王薨後，兄暢推恩請分國封歆。 太康中，詔封新野縣公，邑千八百戶，儀比縣王。 歆雖少貴，而謹身履道。 母臧太妃薨，居喪過禮，以孝聞。 拜散騎常侍。
Sima Xin, Prince Zhuang of Xinye, courtesy name Hongshu. After Prince Jun’s death, his elder brother Chang asked the throne to split the princedom so that Xin might receive a separate fief. During Taikang he was created duke of Xinye county with eighteen hundred households and ceremonial standing equal to a county-level prince. Though raised to high rank while young, he kept his conduct careful and principled. When his mother, Grand Consort Zang, died, he mourned so intensely that he surpassed the prescribed observances and was praised for his filial devotion. He was named cavalier attendant-in-ordinary.
28
趙王倫篡位，以為南中郎將。 齊王冏舉義兵，移檄天下，歆未知所從。 嬖人王綏曰：「趙親而強，齊疏而弱，公宜從趙。」 參軍孫洵大言於眾曰：「趙王凶逆，天下當共討之，大義滅親，古之明典。」 歆從之。 乃使洵詣冏，冏迎執其手曰：「使我得成大節者，新野公也。」 冏入洛，歆躬貫甲胄，率所領導冏。 以勳進封新野郡王，邑二萬戶。 遷使持節、都督荊州諸軍事、鎮南大將軍、開府儀同三司。
Sima Lun, having seized the throne, appointed him general of the southern center. When Sima Jiong of Qi raised loyalist forces and sent proclamations across the empire, Xin hesitated over which side to join. His intimate Wang Sui urged him: “Sima Lun is your close kinsman and the stronger party; Sima Jiong is more remote and weaker—you should side with Zhao.” His aide Sun Xun declared before everyone: “Sima Lun is a traitor whom all under Heaven should attack; duty to the state outweighs family ties—that principle is as old as the classics.” Xin accepted that counsel. He dispatched Sun Xun to Jiong, who came out, took his hand, and said, “It was the Duke of Xinye who allowed me to accomplish this great loyal act.” When Jiong marched into Luoyang, Xin buckled on mail himself and led his own troops to escort him in. For his service he was promoted from duke to prince of Xinye commandery with twenty thousand households. He rose to bearer of the imperial credentials, commander of all Jingzhou forces, grand general who guards the south, and privilege of opening a bureau with parity to the Three Dukes.
29
歆將之鎮，與冏同乘謁陵，因說冏曰：「成都至親，同建大勳，今宜留之與輔政。 若不能爾，當奪其兵權。」 冏不從。 俄而冏敗，歆懼，自結于成都王穎。
On the way to his posting he shared a carriage with Jiong to sweep the imperial tombs and urged him: “Sima Ying of Chengdu is your nearest kinsman and helped you win this great victory; you should keep him at court to share the regency. If you cannot do that, you must at least take his armies from him.” Jiong refused. When Jiong fell shortly afterward, Xin grew afraid and threw in his lot with Sima Ying of Chengdu.
30
歆為政嚴刻，蠻夷並怨。 及張昌作亂于江夏，歆表請討之。 時長沙王乂執政，與成都王穎有隙，疑歆與穎連謀，不聽歆出兵，昌眾日盛。 時孫洵為從事中郎，謂歆曰：「古人有言，一日縱敵，數世之患。 公荷籓屏之任，居推轂之重，拜表輒行，有何不可！ 而使奸凶滋蔓，禍釁不測，豈維翰王室，鎮靜方夏之謂乎！」 歆將出軍，王綏又曰：「昌等小賊，偏裨自足制之，不煩違帝命，親矢石也！」 乃止。 昌至樊城，歆出距之，眾潰，為昌所害。 追贈驃騎將軍。 無子，以兄子劭為後，永嘉末沒于石勒。
His administration in Jingzhou was severe and biting, and both native tribes and frontier peoples nursed grudges against him. When Zhang Chang rose in Jiangxia, Xin memorialized for permission to lead a punitive expedition. Prince Sima Yi of Changsha was then in charge but at odds with Sima Ying; he suspected Xin of colluding with Ying and blocked him from marching, while Zhang Chang’s forces swelled by the day. His aide Sun Xun warned him: “The proverb says: spare the foe for one day and you breed trouble for generations. You are the bulwark of the dynasty and hold the lever of command; once your memorial is in you may move—what stops you? Yet you let traitors flourish and invite unforeseeable disaster—is that how one “props up the throne and steadies the summer lands”?” As Xin was about to march, Wang Sui objected again: “Zhang Chang is a minor foe; a deputy can finish him—why defy the throne and risk your own skin under the stones?” Xin therefore stayed his hand. When Zhang Chang advanced on Fancheng, Xin rode out to meet him; his army broke and Chang cut him down. The court posthumously named him general of agile cavalry. He had no sons and adopted his nephew Shao as heir; at the close of Yongjia that line fell captive to Shi Le.
31
梁王肜
Sima Rong, Prince of Liang.
32
梁孝王肜，字子徽，清修恭慎，無他才能，以公子封平樂亭侯。 及五等建，改封開平子。 武帝踐阼，封梁王，邑五千三百五十八戶。 及之國，遷北中郎將，督鄴城守事。
Sima Rong, posthumously styled Prince Xiao of Liang, courtesy name Zihui, was austere, cultivated, reverent, and careful, without remarkable gifts; as a princeling he was made marquis of Pingle village. When the five ranks of nobility were introduced, his title became viscount of Kaiping. Upon Emperor Wu’s accession he was created prince of Liang with five thousand three hundred fifty-eight households. When he took up his fief he was promoted to general of the northern center and put in charge of the defense of Ye.
33
時諸王自選官屬，肜以汝陰上計吏張蕃為中大夫。 蕃素無行，本名雄，妻劉氏解音樂，為曹爽教伎，蕃又往來何晏所，而恣為姦淫。 晏誅，徙河間，乃變名自結於肜。 為有司所奏，詔削一縣。 咸甯中，復以陳國、汝南南頓增封為次國。 太康中，代孔洵監豫州軍事，加平東將軍，鎮許昌。 頃之，又以本官代下邳王晃監青徐州軍事，進號安東將軍。
Since each prince could pick his own staff, Rong appointed Zhang Fan, the Ruyin clerk who handled the annual accounts, as his chief counselor. Fan had always been a scoundrel: his real name was Xiong; his wife Lady Liu was skilled in music and had trained entertainers for Cao Shuang; Fan also haunted He Yan’s salon and gave himself to every vice. After He Yan’s execution he was banished to Hejian, changed his name, and insinuated himself into Rong’s circle. The censorate impeached him, and an edict docked Rong one county from his fief. During Xianning his domain was enlarged with Chen and Nandun in Runan to the rank of a secondary princedom. During Taikang he succeeded Kong Xun as overseer of Yuzhou forces, was given the additional title of general who pacifies the east, and was stationed at Xuchang. Soon afterward, while keeping his existing posts, he replaced Prince Sima Huang of Xiapi as overseer of Qing and Xu forces and was promoted in title to general who pacifies the east.
34
元康初，轉征西將軍，代秦王柬都督關中軍事，領護西戎校尉。 加侍中，進督梁州。 尋徵為衛將軍、錄尚書事，行太子太保，給千兵百騎。 久之，復為征西大將軍，代趙王倫鎮關中，都督涼、雍諸軍事，置左右長史、司馬。 又領西戎校尉，屯好畤，督建威將軍周處、振威將軍盧播等伐氐賊齊萬年於六陌。 肜與處有隙，促令進軍而絕其後，播又不救之，故處見害。 朝廷尤之。 尋徵拜大將軍、尚書令、領軍將軍、錄尚書事。
Early in Yuankang he became general who campaigns west, succeeding Prince Sima Jian of Qin as commander of Guanzhong while also holding the colonelcy that protects the western Rong. He was additionally named palace attendant and given oversight of Liangzhou as well. He was soon recalled to serve as general of the guard, recorder of the secretariat, acting junior mentor to the heir apparent, with a guard of one thousand foot and one hundred horse. After a long interval he was once more grand general who campaigns west, replacing Sima Lun in Guanzhong as commander of Liang and Yong with full left and right chief clerks and majors. He also retained the western-Rong colonelcy, encamped at Haozhi, and directed Zhou Chu, general who establishes might, Lu Bo, general who rouses might, and others against the Di rebel Qi Wannian at Liumo. Rong bore a grudge against Zhou Chu, ordered him forward on a tight schedule while severing his line of retreat, and Lu Bo refused aid, so Zhou Chu was destroyed. The court laid the chief blame on him. He was soon recalled as grand general, director of the secretariat, general who commands the armies, and recorder of affairs.
35
肜嘗大會，謂參軍王銓曰：「我從兄為尚書令，不能啖大臠。 大臠故難。」 銓曰：「公在此獨嚼，尚難矣。」 肜曰：「長史大臠為誰？」 曰：「盧播是也。」 肜曰：「是家吏，隱之耳。」 銓曰：「天下咸是家吏，便恐王法不可復行。」 肜又曰：「我在長安，作何等不善！」 因指單衣補幰以為清。 銓答曰：「朝野望公舉薦賢才，使不仁者遠。 而位居公輔，以衣補幰，以此為清，無足稱也。」 肜有慚色。
At a large banquet Rong remarked to his aide Wang Quan, “My first cousin once removed, who serves as director of the secretariat, cannot bite off a big joint of meat. A big joint is hard to manage.” Wang Quan replied, “If you are the only one gnawing at it here, it is hard enough already.” Rong asked, “Then who is your chief clerk’s ‘big joint’?” The answer came: “Lu Bo.” Rong said, “He is only a household retainer—I kept quiet about it.” Quan shot back, “If the whole empire were made of ‘household retainers,’ I doubt the laws of the state could ever be applied again.” Rong added, “What wrong did I commit in Chang’an?” He pointed to his patched unlined gown and mended carriage blind as proof of his austerity. Quan answered, “The court and the people expect you to elevate the worthy and push the vicious away. Yet you sit among the highest ministers and offer patched clothes and blinds as your claim to purity—that is nothing to boast of.” Rong colored with embarrassment.
36
永康初，共趙王倫廢賈后，詔以肜為太宰、守尚書令，增封二萬戶。 趙王倫輔政，有星變，占曰「不利上相。」 孫秀懼倫受災，乃省司徒為丞相，以授肜，猥加崇進，欲以應之。 或曰：「肜無權，不益也。」 肜固讓不受。 及倫篡位，以肜為阿衡，給武賁百人，軒懸之樂十人。 倫滅，詔以肜為太宰，領司徒，又代高密王泰為宗師。
Early in Yongkang he joined Sima Lun in deposing Empress Jia; an edict named him grand mentor, acting director of the secretariat, and added twenty thousand households to his fief. While Sima Lun directed the government, a portent appeared in the stars; diviners read it as “ill for the senior minister.” Sun Xiu, fearing the omen would strike Lun, abolished the ministry of education and replaced it with a chancellorship for Rong—an empty promotion meant to satisfy the omen. Critics said, “Rong commands no real authority; the move accomplishes nothing.” Rong steadfastly refused the post. When Lun seized the throne he named Rong one of the “balancing pillars” of state, gave him a hundred tiger guards, and ten sets of hanging bells and stone chimes. After Lun’s fall an edict restored Rong as grand mentor and minister of education and made him succeed Prince Sima Tai of Gaomi as director for the imperial clan.
37
永康二年薨，喪葬依汝南文成王亮故事。 博士陳留蔡克議諡曰：「肜位為宰相，責深任重，屬尊親近，且為宗師，朝所仰望，下所具瞻。 而臨大節，無不可奪之志； 當危事，不能捨生取義； 湣懷之廢，不聞一言之諫； 淮南之難，不能因勢輔義； 趙王倫篡逆，不能引身去朝。 宋有蕩氏之亂，華元自以不能居官，曰「君臣之訓，我所司也。 公室卑而不正，吾罪大矣！」 夫以區區之宋，猶有不素餐之臣，而況帝王之朝，而有苟容之相，此而不貶，法將何施！ 謹案《諡法》'不勤成名曰靈」，肜見義不為，不可謂勤，宜諡曰靈。」 梁國常侍孫霖及肜親黨稱枉，台乃下符曰：「賈氏專權，趙王倫篡逆，皆力制朝野，肜勢不得去，而責其不能引身去朝，義何所據？」 克重議曰：「肜為宗臣，而國亂不能匡，主顛不能扶，非所以為相。 故《春秋》譏華元樂舉，謂之不臣。 且賈氏之酷烈，不甚于呂後，而王陵猶得杜門； 趙王倫之無道，不甚于殷紂，而微子猶得去之。 近者太尉陳准，異姓之人，加弟徽有射鉤之隙，亦得托疾辭位，不涉偽朝。 何至於肜親倫之兄，而獨不得去乎？ 趙盾入諫不從，出亡不遠，猶不免於責，況肜不能去位，北面事偽主乎？ 宜如前議，加其貶責，以廣為臣之節，明事君之道。」 於是朝廷從克議。 肜故吏復追訴不已，故改焉。
He died in the second year of Yongkang; his obsequies followed the model used for Sima Liang, Prince Wen Cheng of Runan. Academician Cai Ke of Chenliu argued over his posthumous name: “Rong stood as chief minister with grave duties, was both a senior kinsman and director for the imperial clan—the cynosure of court and country. Yet in moments that demanded steadfast integrity he showed no unshakable will; when crisis came he would not risk his life for what was right; when Crown Prince Minhuai was cast down he never spoke a word of protest; during the Huainan uprising he failed to use the situation to uphold the loyal side; when Sima Lun seized the throne he would not leave the court and wash his hands of it. In the state of Song, when the Dang clan stirred up disorder, Hua Yuan felt he could no longer hold office and said, “The bond between ruler and minister is precisely what I am charged to uphold. When the ruling house sinks and loses its rectitude, my fault is grave!” Even little Song still had ministers who refused an unearned salary—how much more should a Son of Heaven’s court do so—yet here was a chief counselor who clung to place; if he is not rebuked, what force has the law? He cited the Posthumous Epithet Canon: “He who wins a name without labor is styled Ling.” Rong saw what was right and did not act—he cannot be called diligent; he should receive the posthumous name Ling.” Sun Lin, attendant-in-ordinary of Liang, and Rong’s faction protested; the secretariat answered: “When the Jias tyrannized the government and Sima Lun usurped, both gripped the realm by force—Rong could not simply walk away—so how can you fault him for not leaving the court?” Cai Ke rejoined: “As a kinsman-minister, when the dynasty fell into chaos he did not put it right; when the sovereign was toppled he did not save him—that is no way to serve as chief minister. That is why the Spring and Autumn Annals condemns Hua Yuan and Yue Ju as “no longer ministers.” The Jias were cruel, but not more so than Empress Lü, and Wang Ling could still shut his doors; Sima Lun was wicked, but not more than King Zhou of Shang, and yet the Viscount of Wei could still depart. Not long ago Grand Commandant Chen Zhun, though unrelated to the throne and though his brother Chen Hui bore an old blood-feud against him, still pleaded illness and quit rather than serve a usurping court. How much less excuse had Rong, who was Lun’s own elder brother, for failing to withdraw? When Zhao Dun remonstrated and was ignored, he fled into exile yet still bore blame in the Annals—how much more one who never left his post but bowed north to a usurper? The prior verdict should stand: censure him in death to uphold the standard for ministers and make plain what it means to serve a ruler.” The court at first accepted Cai Ke’s recommendation. Rong’s old retainers kept pressing their grievances, so the posthumous decision was revised.
38
文六王
The six sons of Emperor Wen of Jin.
39
文帝九男，文明王皇后生武帝、齊獻王攸、城陽哀王兆、遼東悼惠王定國、廣漢殤王廣德，其樂安平王鑒、燕王機、皇子永祚、樂平王延祚不知母氏。 燕王機繼清惠亭侯，別有傳。 永祚早亡，無傳。
Emperor Wen fathered nine sons. Empress Wang the civil and illustrious bore Sima Yan, who became Emperor Wu; Sima You, Prince Xian of Qi; Sima Zhao, Prince Ai of Chengyang; Sima Dingguo, Prince Dao Hui of Liaodong; and Sima Guangde, Prince Shang of Guanghan. The mothers of Sima Jian, Prince Ping of Le’an; Sima Ji, Prince of Yan; the imperial son Yongzuo; and Sima Yanzuo, Prince of Leping, are not recorded. Sima Ji, Prince of Yan, inherited the Qinghui pavilion marquisate; his life is narrated in another chapter. Yongzuo died in childhood and has no biography.
40
齊王攸
Sima You, Prince of Qi.
41
齊獻王攸，字大猷，少而岐嶷。 及長，清和平允，親賢好施，愛經籍，能屬文，善尺牘，為世所楷。 才望出武帝之右，宣帝每器之。 景帝無子，命攸為嗣。 從征王淩，封長樂亭侯。 及景帝崩，攸年十歲，哀動左右，大見稱歎。 襲封舞陽侯。 奉景獻羊後於別第，事後以孝聞。 復曆散騎常侍、步兵校尉，時年十八，綏撫營部，甚有威惠。 五等建，改封安昌侯，遷衛將軍。 居文帝喪，哀毀過禮，杖而後起。 左右以稻米乾飯雜理中丸進之，攸泣而不受。 太后自往勉喻曰：「若萬一加以他疾，將復如何！ 宜遠慮深計，不可專守一志。」 常遣人逼進飲食，司馬嵇喜又諫曰：「毀不滅性，聖人之教。 且大王地即密親，任惟元輔。 匹夫猶惜其命，以為祖宗，況荷天下之大業，輔帝室之重任，而可盡無極之哀，與顏閔爭孝！ 不可令賢人笑，愚人幸也。」 喜躬自進食，攸不得已，為之強飯。 喜退，攸謂左右曰：「嵇司馬將令我不忘居喪之節，得存區區之身耳。」
Sima You, posthumously Prince Xian of Qi, courtesy name Dayou, showed remarkable intelligence even as a boy. As a man he was calm, even-tempered, and fair; he befriended the worthy and gave freely; he loved canonical learning, could write well, and excelled at correspondence—his contemporaries set him up as a pattern. His talent and prestige outshone those of Emperor Wu, and Emperor Xuan repeatedly singled him out for praise. Because Emperor Jing had no issue, he designated You as his successor. He earned the village marquisate of Changle for his part in the expedition against Wang Ling. When Emperor Jing died, You was only ten; his mourning touched everyone present and drew universal admiration. He succeeded to the marquisate of Wuyang. He housed Empress Yang Jingxian in a separate mansion and won renown for the filial care he showed her. He subsequently held the posts of cavalier attendant-in-ordinary and colonel of foot soldiers. At eighteen he soothed and inspected his command; awe and kindness attended his rule. When the five noble ranks were introduced he was transferred to marquis of Anchang and promoted to general of the guard. Mourning Emperor Wen, he wasted himself past what ritual allowed and could rise from his couch only with a walking staff. His attendants tried to feed him rice and dry provisions kneaded with restorative pills; he wept and refused them. The empress dowager went in person to urge him: “If you should fall ill on top of this, what will become of you? You must look ahead and think broadly—you cannot fix on a single course of grief.” She kept sending servants to make him eat, while Marshal Xi Xi urged him: “The sages taught that one may mourn without destroying one’s nature. Moreover, you stand as the emperor’s nearest kinsman and shoulder the burden of chief counselor. A commoner still guards his life for his ancestors’ sake; how much more should you, who uphold the realm and aid the throne, drown yourself in endless sorrow to outdo Yan Hui and Min Ziqian! Do not give the wise cause to mock you and the foolish cause to cheer.” Xi himself brought a meal; You had no choice but to force down a little food for his sake. When Xi left, You told his attendants, “Marshal Xi means to keep me mindful of mourning propriety so that this frail body may survive.”
42
武帝踐阼，封齊王，時朝廷草創，而攸總統軍事，撫寧內外，莫不景附焉。 詔議籓王令自選國內長吏，攸奏議曰； 「昔聖王封建萬國，以親諸侯，軌跡相承，莫之能改。 誠以君不世居，則人心偷幸； 人無常主，則風俗偽薄。 是以先帝深覽經遠之統，思復先哲之軌，分土畫疆，建爵五等，或以進德，或以酬功。 伏惟陛下應期創業，樹建親戚，聽使籓國自除長吏。 而今草創，制度初立，雖庸蜀順軌，吳猶未賓，宜俟清泰，乃議復古之制。」 書比三上，輒報不許。 其後國相上長吏缺，典書令請求差選。 攸下令曰：「忝受恩禮，不稱惟憂。 至於官人敘才，皆朝廷之事，非國所宜裁也。 其令自上請之。」 時王家人衣食皆出禦府，攸表租秩足以自供，求絕之。 前後十餘上，帝又不許。 攸雖未之國，文武官屬，下至士卒，分租賦以給之，疾病死喪賜與之。 而時有水旱，國內百姓則加振貸，須豐年乃責，十減其二，國內賴之。
When Emperor Wu took the throne, You was created prince of Qi. The government was still being organized, yet You held supreme military authority and brought calm inside and outside the capital; everyone looked to him and rallied. The court debated an edict that would let each prince pick his own chief officials; You memorialized as follows: “The ancient sage-kings enfeoffed myriad domains to bind the lords to the throne; their precedent runs in an unbroken line and ought not be altered lightly. When rulers do not stay long in one place, hearts turn to opportunism; when the people lack a steady sovereign, customs grow hollow and thin. Therefore the late emperor, scanning the enduring pattern of rule, sought to revive the model of the ancients: he carved out domains, drew borders, and instituted five noble ranks—some to honor virtue, some to repay merit. Yet Your Majesty, answering Heaven’s call and founding the dynasty, has planted your kinsmen across the map and now proposes to let each prince remove his own senior officers. The foundation is still fresh and the statutes new: though Ba–Shu has yielded, Wu remains outside the fold. We should wait until the realm is tranquil before debating a return to antique practice.” He sent this memorial three times running; each time the throne refused. Later his state chancellor reported vacancies among senior staff; the secretary of his princely household asked to fill them by appointment. You issued an order: “I am ashamed to receive such favor; my sole anxiety is that I may not prove worthy. The assessment and placement of officials is the court’s business, not something a prince’s administration should decide. Let them apply through the central government.” At that time the Wang princes’ clothing and rations all came from the palace treasury; You memorialized that his land rents were enough to live on and asked to be excused from those grants. He sent more than ten such memorials; the emperor still refused. Though You never took up residence in his fief, he split his rents and taxes to support every civil and military subordinate down to the rank and file, and gave gifts for sickness, death, and mourning. Whenever flood or drought struck his appanage, he offered extra relief and deferred repayment until a good harvest, forgiving two-tenths of the debt; his people depended on him.
43
遷驃騎將軍，開府辟召，禮同三司。 降身虛己，待物以信。 常歎公府不案吏，然以董禦戎政，復有威克之宜，乃下教曰：「夫先王馭世，明罰敕法，鞭撲作教，以正逋慢。 且唐虞之朝，猶須督責。 前欲撰次其事，使粗有常。 懼煩簡之宜，未審其要，故令劉、程二君詳定。 然思惟之，鄭鑄刑書，叔向不韙； 范宣議制，仲尼譏之。 令皆如舊，無所增損。 其常節度所不及者，隨事處決。 諸吏各竭乃心，思同在公古人之節。 如有所闕，以賴股肱匡救之規，庶以免負。」 於是內外祗肅。 時驃騎當罷營兵，兵士數千人戀攸恩德，不肯去，遮京兆主言之，帝乃還攸兵。
He was promoted to general of agile cavalry, allowed to open a bureau and recruit staff, with ceremonial parity to the Three Dukes. He humbled himself, kept an open mind, and dealt with others in good faith. He often lamented that high ministers never audited their clerks, yet military administration required stern discipline; so he issued a directive: “The kings of old governed by clear penalties and strict laws, using the rod to correct slack and delay. Even the courts of Yao and Shun needed oversight and accountability. I had meant to codify these points so that rough standards would exist. Fearing tedium or excessive brevity, I had not settled the essentials, so I asked Messrs. Liu and Cheng to draft a careful version. On reflection, when Zichan of Zheng cast the penal code in bronze, Shu Xiang condemned it; when Fan Xuanzi of Jin framed new regulations, Confucius mocked the idea. Let everything revert to the old rules—no additions, no cuts. Where standing regulations do not reach, decide case by case. Let every clerk give his utmost and aspire to the old standard of selfless service to the throne. Where gaps appear, look to your superiors for correction—perhaps that will spare you blame.” After this, discipline inside and outside his bureau became strict and orderly. When the court proposed to disband his camp guard, several thousand veterans who loved him refused to go; they waylaid the metropolitan intendant to plead their case, and the emperor returned his troops to him.
44
攸每朝政大議，悉心陳之。 詔以比年饑饉，議所節省，攸奏議曰：「臣聞先王之教，莫不先正其本。 務農重本，國之大綱。 當今方隅清穆，武夫釋甲，廣分休假，以就農業。 然守相不能勤心恤公，以盡地利。 昔漢宣歎曰：'與朕理天下者，惟良二千石乎！ '勤加賞罰，黜陟幽明，于時翕然，用多名守。 計今地有餘羨，而不農者眾，加附業之人復有虛假，通天下謀之，則饑者必不少矣。 今宜嚴敕州郡，檢諸虛詐害農之事，督實南畝，上下同奉所務。 則天下之穀可復古政，豈患于暫一水旱，便憂饑餒哉！ 考績黜陟，畢使嚴明，畏威懷惠，莫不自厲。 又都邑之內，遊食滋多，巧伎末業，服飾奢麗，富人兼美，猶有魏之遺弊，染化日淺，靡財害穀，動復萬計。 宜申明舊法，必禁絕之。 使去奢即儉，不奪農時，畢力稼穡，以實倉廩。 則榮辱禮節，由之而生，興化反本，于茲為盛。」
Whenever the court debated weighty policy, he laid out his views with full care. An edict cited successive crop failures and called for austerity measures; You replied: “The kings of old taught that every policy must begin by setting the root straight. Put farming first and honor the fundamental—that is the state’s great guideline. The frontiers are quiet; soldiers can stack their arms; grant broad furloughs so they can return to the plow. Yet many prefects and chancellors still fail to work wholeheartedly for the common good and leave the land’s yield untapped. Emperor Xuan of Han once sighed, “Who will help Us rule the realm? Only capable commandery governors!” He enforced rewards and punishments, promoted the able and dismissed the dull, and the realm responded—hence his many celebrated governors. Today there is land to spare, yet multitudes leave it idle; fictitious registrations swell the rolls; count the empire on that basis and the hungry will be legion. Order every province and commandery to root out fraud that injures farming, verify acreage under cultivation, and align high and low in a single effort. Then the nation’s granaries can approach ancient plenty—why panic over a single season of flood or drought? Rigorously grade officials, promote and dismiss on merit, and everyone will fear your majesty yet feel your kindness—none will fail to exert themselves. Inside the capital idlers multiply by the day: clever crafts and useless trades, clothes and ornaments of garish luxury, rich men hoarding every pleasure—bad habits left over from Wei that shallow example has not yet purged, wasting coin and grain by the myriad. Reissue the old prohibitions and enforce them to the letter. Turn people from extravagance to thrift, keep them from missing the farming seasons, and put their strength into the fields so the granaries fill again. Then honor and disgrace, ritual and restraint, will follow of themselves—here is the true way to renew custom and return to fundamentals.”
45
轉鎮軍大將軍，加侍中，羽葆、鼓吹，行太子少傅。 數年，授太子太傅，獻箴于太子曰：「伊昔上皇，建國立君，仰觀天文，俯察地理，創業恢道，以安人承祀，祚延統重，故援立太子。 尊以弘道，固以貳己，儲德既立，邦有所恃。 夫親仁者功成，邇佞者國傾，故保相之材，必擇賢明。 昔在周成，旦奭作傅，外以明德自輔，內以親親立固，德以義濟，親則自然。 嬴廢公族，其崩如山； 劉建子弟，漢祚永傅。 楚以無極作亂，宋以伊戾興難。 張禹佞給，卒危強漢。 輔弼不忠，禍及乃躬； 匪徒乃躬，乃喪乃邦。 無曰父子不間，昔有江充； 無曰至親匪貳，或容潘崇。 諛言亂真，譖潤離親，驪姬之讒。 晉侯疑申。 固親以道，勿固以恩； 修身以敬，勿托以尊。 自損者有餘，自益者彌昏。 庶事不可以不恤，大本不可以不敦。 見亡戒危，睹安思存。 塚子司義，敢告在閽。」 世以為工。
He was transferred to grand general who guards the army, given the additional titles of palace attendant and feather-canopy escort with trumpets, and made acting junior mentor to the heir apparent. A few years later he was named grand mentor to the heir apparent and presented an admonition: “The high sovereigns of old founded states and set up rulers, reading heaven above and earth below, widening the enterprise and the Way so the people would be safe and sacrifices unbroken; because the mandate must run on, they named a crown prince. They honored him to spread the Way and set him up as their second self; once the heir’s virtue is planted, the state has a pillar to lean on. Cherish the humane and merit is won; cozy up to sycophants and the state capsizes—so the mentor’s talent must be chosen from the worthy and clear-sighted. Under King Cheng of Zhou, the Duke of Zhou and the Duke of Shao tutored the boy king: abroad they shone with virtue, at home they bound the house with kinship—duty knit the bond, affection came of itself. Qin cast off its princes and fell like an avalanche; Han enfeoffed sons and brothers and its mandate endured. Chu was thrown into chaos by Fei Wuji; Song met catastrophe through the plot of Gongshu Yili. Zhang Yu’s smooth flattery in the end ruined mighty Han. When aides are disloyal, ruin strikes one’s own person; not only the man himself—he loses his state as well. Never say father and son cannot be set at odds—remember Jiang Chong; never say nearest kin cannot turn traitor—remember Pan Chong. Honeyed speech muddies the truth; dripping slander parts parent from child—think of Li Ji. Duke Xian of Jin came to doubt his heir Shen Sheng. Bind kin with principle, not with doting; cultivate the person with reverence, not with borrowed dignity. Humility leaves room; self-seeking blinds you. No task is too small to mind; the great foundation cannot be neglected. Learn danger from ruin, survival from peace. The heir attends to duty; I venture to set this before your gate.” His contemporaries judged the piece a masterpiece.
46
咸寧二年，代賈充為司空，侍中、太傅如故。 初，攸特為文帝所寵愛，每見攸，輒撫床呼其小字曰「此桃符座也」，幾為太子者數矣。 及帝寢疾，慮攸不安，為武帝敘漢淮南王、魏陳思故事而泣。 臨崩，執攸手以授帝。 先是太后有疾，既瘳，帝與攸奉觴上壽，攸以太后前疾危篤，因歔欷流涕，帝有愧焉。 攸嘗侍帝疾，恆有憂戚之容，時人以此稱歎之。 及太后臨崩，亦流涕謂帝曰：「桃符性急，而汝為兄不慈，我若遂不起，恐必不能相容。 以是屬汝，勿忘我言。」
In Xianning 2 (276 CE) he succeeded Jia Chong as minister of works while retaining his posts as palace attendant and grand mentor. Emperor Wen doted on him: whenever he saw You he would pat the couch and cry his pet name, “This is Taofu’s place!”—more than once he nearly named him heir. On his deathbed he fretted over You’s safety and, weeping, rehearsed for Emperor Wu the tragedies of Liu Chang, Prince of Huainan, and Cao Zhi, Prince Si of Chen. As death approached he took You’s hand and placed him in Emperor Wu’s keeping. When the empress dowager recovered from a grave illness, Emperor Wu joined You in offering her a longevity toast; You wept openly, remembering how near death she had been, and the emperor was abashed. While attending the ailing emperor he wore a look of constant grief, which contemporaries praised as rare filial feeling. On her deathbed she wept and warned the emperor: “Taofu is quick-tempered, and you as his elder brother have not been kind; if I pass away, I fear you two will not endure each other. So I lay this charge on you—do not forget what I have said.”
47
及帝晚年，諸子並弱，而太子不令，朝臣內外，皆屬意於攸。 中書監荀勖、侍中馮紞皆諂諛自進，攸素疾之。 勖等以朝望在攸，恐其為嗣，禍必及己，乃從容言於帝曰：「陛下萬歲之後，太子不得立也。」 帝曰：「何故？」 勖曰：「百僚內外皆歸心于齊王，太子焉得立乎！ 陛下試詔齊王之國，必舉朝以為不可，則臣言有征矣。」 紞又言曰：「陛下遣諸侯之國，成五等之制者，宜先從親始。 親莫若齊王。」 帝既信勖言，又納紞說，太康三年乃下詔曰：「古者九命作伯，或入毗朝政，或出禦方嶽。 周之呂望，五侯九伯，實得征之，侍中、司空、齊王攸，明德清暢，忠允篤誠。 以母弟之親，受台輔之任，佐命立勳，劬勞王室，宜登顯位，以稱具瞻。 其以為大司馬、都督青州諸軍事，侍中如故，假節，將本營千人，親騎帳下司馬大車皆如舊，增鼓吹一部，官騎滿二十人，置騎司馬五人。 余主者詳案舊制施行。」 攸不悅，主簿丁頤曰：「昔太公封齊，猶表東海； 桓公九合，以長五伯。 況殿下誕德欽明，恢弼大籓，穆然東軫，莫不得所。 何必絳闕，乃弘帝載！」 攸曰：「吾無匡時之用，卿言何多。」
In his later years Emperor Wu’s sons were all frail, while the heir apparent lacked virtue; officials inside and outside the palace looked to You as the better choice. Xun Xu, who supervised the secretariat, and the palace attendant Feng Dan had both crawled up by flattery; You detested them. They saw that the court favored You and feared that if You succeeded, they would suffer; so they said casually to the emperor, “When Your Majesty is gone, the heir apparent will never be enthroned.” The emperor asked, “Why do you say that?” Xun Xu replied, “Every official at court and in the provinces is loyal to the Prince of Qi—how could the heir ever take the throne? Issue an edict sending the Prince of Qi to his fief: the whole bureaucracy will protest—then you will see that I spoke the truth.” Feng Dan added, “If you mean to send princes to their domains and complete the five-rank system, you should start with your nearest kinsman. No one is closer than the Prince of Qi.” The emperor trusted Xun Xu and took Feng Dan’s advice; in Taikang 3 he promulgated an edict: “Of old the nine bestowals created a hegemon: some stayed at court to assist government, others went out to hold the four quarters. As with Lü Wang of Zhou, who could punish the five marquises and nine hegemons, so now the palace attendant, minister of works, and Prince of Qi, You, combine luminous virtue with steadfast loyalty. As the emperor’s uterine brother who has borne the burden of chief minister, aided the founding, and labored for the dynasty, he should hold a station that matches the world’s expectations. He is therefore appointed grand marshal and commander of all Qingzhou forces, retaining his palace attendant title and plenipotentiary credentials, with his original thousand-man guard, household cavalry, tent majors, and heavy wagons unchanged, plus an extra band of trumpeters, twenty mounted attendants, and five cavalry majors. Let the appropriate bureaus study precedent and carry out the rest.” You took the order ill; his chief clerk Ding Yi comforted him: “When the Grand Duke of Qi received his fief, his domain still stretched to the eastern sea; Duke Huan’s nine coalitions made him first among the five hegemons. How much more yourself, whose virtue is broad and luminous, who strengthens a great bulwark—when you quietly turn your carriage east, no one under your rule will want for anything. Need the crimson gates of the capital alone define the ruler’s sway?” You answered, “I have no power to set the age right; spare me the speeches.”
48
明年，策攸曰：「於戲！ 惟命不于常，天既遷有魏之祚。 我有晉既受順天明命，光建群後，越造王國於東土，錫茲青社，用籓翼我邦家。 茂哉無怠，以永保宗廟。」 又詔下太常，議崇錫之物，以濟南郡益齊國。 又以攸子寔為北海王。 於是備物典策，設軒懸之樂、六佾之舞，黃鉞朝車乘輿之副從焉。
The following year a formal patent addressed him: “Alas! Heaven’s mandate is not fixed: it has already moved from Wei. Our Jin, having received Heaven’s clear mandate, has exalted its princes and founded this kingdom in the east, granting you the dark soil of Qing to shield the dynasty. Be diligent and never slack—thus you will long guard the ancestral shrines.” A further edict told the court of sacrifices to fix the regalia of investiture and added Jinan commandery to enlarge the princedom of Qi. His son Sima Shi was simultaneously created prince of Beihai. The full insignia of enfeoffment followed—tally and patent, hanging bells and stone chimes, eight files of dancers, the yellow battle-axe, and the secondary equipage of the imperial carriage.
49
攸以禮自拘，鮮有過事。 就人借書，必手刊其謬，然後反之。 加以至性過人，有觸其諱者，輒泫然流涕。 雖武帝亦敬憚之，每引之同處，必擇言而後發。 三子：蕤、贊、寔。
He held himself strictly to ritual and seldom erred. If he borrowed a book, he corrected its errors in his own hand before giving it back. His nature ran deeper than most: mention his painful memories and he would weep. Even Emperor Wu treated him with wary respect; whenever they sat together the emperor weighed every word. His sons were Sima Rui, Sima Zan, and Sima Shi.
50
蕤字景回，出繼遼東王定國。 太康初，徙封東萊王。 元康中，曆步兵、屯騎校尉。 蕤性強暴，使酒，數陵侮弟冏，冏以兄故容之。 冏起義兵，趙王倫收蕤及弟北海王寔系廷尉，當誅。 倫太子中庶子祖納上疏諫曰：「罪不相反，惡止其身，此先哲之弘謨，百王之達制也。 是故鯀既殛死，禹乃嗣興； 二叔誅放，而邢衛無責。 逮乎戰國，及至秦漢，明恕之道寢，猜嫌之情用，乃立質任以禦眾，設從罪以發奸，其所由來，蓋三代之弊法耳。 蕤、寔，獻王之子，明德之胤，宜蒙特宥，以全穆親之典。」 會孫秀死，蕤等悉得免。 冏擁眾入洛，蕤于路迎之。 冏不即見，須符付前頓。 蕤恚曰：「吾坐爾殆死，曾無友于之情！」
Sima Rui, courtesy name Jinghui, was transferred to continue the line of Prince Dingguo of Liaodong. Early in Taikang his title was shifted to prince of Donglai. During Yuankang he served as colonel of foot soldiers and colonel of garrison cavalry. Rui was a violent drunk who repeatedly humiliated his younger brother Sima Jiong, who bore with him for fraternal duty’s sake. When Jiong raised loyalist troops, Sima Lun seized Rui and his brother Sima Shi, prince of Beihai, and had them jailed for execution. Zu Na, a gentleman of the heir’s household under Lun, memorialized: “Guilt does not pass to the innocent; evil dies with the doer—that is the merciful rule of the sages and the standing law of every dynasty. Gun was put to death, yet his son Yu rose to greatness; the Guan and Cai uncles were punished, yet their fiefs of Xing and Wei were not blamed. By Warring States and Qin–Han times magnanimity had faded and suspicion ruled: hostages and collective guilt became tools—bad customs left over from the three earlier dynasties. Rui and Shi are sons of Prince Xian, shoots of bright virtue; they deserve a general amnesty in keeping with the law on gentle treatment of kin.” Soon afterward Sun Xiu died, and Rui and his brother went free. When Jiong marched into Luoyang with his army, Rui went out on the road to welcome him. Jiong refused to see him at once and made him wait at the vanguard until credentials were issued. Rui fumed, “I nearly died for you, and you show not a spark of brotherly feeling!”
51
及冏輔政，詔以蕤為散騎常侍，加大將軍，領後軍、侍中、特進，增邑滿二萬戶。 又從冏求開府，冏曰：「武帝子吳、豫章尚未開府，宜且須後。」 蕤以是益怨，密表冏專權，與左衛將軍王輿謀共廢冏。 事覺，免為庶人。 尋詔曰：「大司馬以經識明斷，高謀遠略，猥率同盟，安復社稷。 自書契所載，周召之美未足比勳，故授公上宰。 東萊王蕤潛懷怨妒，包藏禍心，與王輿密謀，圖欲譖害。 收輿之日，蕤與青衣共載，微服奔走，經宿乃還。 奸凶赫然，妖惑外內。 又前表冏所言深重，雖管蔡失道，牙慶亂宗，不復過也。 《春秋》之典，大義滅親，其徙蕤上庸。」 後封微陽侯。 永甯初，上庸內史陳鍾承冏旨害蕤。 死，詔誅鍾，復蕤封，改葬以王禮。
Once Jiong held power, an edict named Rui cavalier attendant-in-ordinary and grand general, with concurrent posts as commander of the rear army and palace attendant, specially advanced, and a fief of twenty thousand households. Rui then asked Jiong for the right to open his own bureau; Jiong replied, “The princes of Wu and Yuzhang, sons of Emperor Wu, still lack that privilege—you must wait.” Rui’s resentment deepened; he secretly accused Jiong of arrogating power and conspired with Wang Yu, general of the left guard, to depose him. The plot was uncovered and Rui was reduced to commoner status. Soon an edict declared: “The grand marshal, learned and decisive, led the loyalists and restored the altars. No deed recorded on bamboo or silk, not even the Duke of Zhou’s or Shao’s, matches his merit; hence he was given the highest office. Sima Rui of Donglai nursed secret envy, hid a wicked heart, and plotted with Wang Yu to slander and murder him. When Wang Yu was seized, Rui fled in a cart beside a servant in blue clothes, in disguise, and only returned after a night abroad. His treachery was flagrant and his deceit spread through the court. The memorial he earlier lodged against Jiong was venomous in the extreme—worse than the revolt of Guan and Cai or the malice of Ya and Qing. The Spring and Autumn Annals teach that great duty may cut kinship ties—banish Sima Rui to Shangyong.” He was later re-enfeoffed marquis of Weiyang. Early in Yongning the internal historian of Shangyong, Chen Zhong, acting on Jiong’s orders, murdered him. When word came, the court executed Chen Zhong, restored Rui’s title, and reburied him with princely honors.
52
蕤弟贊
Sima Zan, younger brother of Sima Rui.
53
贊字景期，繼廣漢殤王廣德後。 年六歲，太康元年薨，諡沖王。
Sima Zan, courtesy name Jingqi, was appointed heir to Prince Guangde of Guanghan. He died in Taikang 1 at the age of six and was posthumously titled Prince Chong.
54
贊弟寔
Sima Shi, younger brother of Sima Zan.
55
城陽王兆
Sima Zhao, Prince of Chengyang.
56
城陽哀王兆，字千秋，年十歲而夭。 武帝踐阼，詔曰：「亡弟千秋，少聰慧，有夙成之質，不幸早亡，先帝先後特所哀湣。 先後欲紹立其後，而竟未遂，每追遺意，情懷感傷。 其以皇子景度為千秋後，雖非典禮，亦近世之所行，且以述先後本旨也。」 於是追加兆封諡。 景度以泰始六年薨，復以第五子憲繼哀王后。 薨，復以第六子祗為東海王，繼哀王后。 薨，咸甯初又封第十三子遐為清河王，以繼兆後。
Sima Zhao, posthumously Prince Ai of Chengyang, courtesy name Qianqiu, died at ten. When Emperor Wu took the throne he issued an edict: “My late brother Qianqiu was bright as a child and showed precocious gifts, but died too young; the late emperor and empress especially pitied him. The late empress wished to continue his line but never managed it; whenever I recall her purpose my heart grieves anew. Let my imperial son Jingdu continue his line—irregular, yet common in recent times, and it fulfills the late empress’s wish.” Zhao was then given a posthumous title and augmented fief. Jingdu died in the sixth year of Taishi; the fifth son, Xian, was appointed to continue Prince Ai’s line. When he died, the sixth son, Zhi, was made prince of Donghai to carry on Prince Ai’s sacrifices. After he died, early in Xianning the thirteenth son, Xia, was created prince of Qinghe to continue Zhao’s line.
57
遼東王定國
Sima Dingguo, Prince of Liaodong.
58
廣漢王廣德
Sima Guangde, Prince of Guanghan.
59
樂安王鑒
Sima Jian, Prince of Le’an.
60
樂平王延祚
Sima Yanzuo, Prince of Leping.
61
樂平王延祚，字大思，少有篤疾，不任封爵。 太康初，詔曰：「弟祚早孤無識，情所哀湣。 幼得篤疾，日冀其差，今遂廢痼，無復後望，意甚傷之。 其封為樂平王，使有名號，以慰吾心。」 尋薨，無子。
Sima Yanzuo, Prince of Leping, courtesy name Dasi, suffered from a serious chronic illness and was unfit to bear a princely title. Early in Taikang an edict read: “My brother Yanzuo was orphaned young and knows little; I pity him deeply. He has long been gravely ill; I daily hoped he would improve, but the malady is now incurable, and my grief is deep. Create him prince of Leping so that he has rank and title and my heart may be eased.” He died soon afterward, leaving no heir.
62
史臣曰：平原性理不恆，世莫之測。 及其處亂離之際，屬交爭之秋，而能遠害全身，享茲介福，其愚不可及已！ 琅邪武功既暢，飾之以溫恭，扶風文教克宣，加之以孝行，抑宗室之可稱者也。 齊王以兩獻之親，弘二南之化，道光雅俗，望重台衡，百辟具瞻，萬方屬意。 既而地疑致逼，文雅見疵，紞勖陳蔓草之邪謀，武皇深翼子之滯愛。 遂乃褫龍章於袞職，徙侯服於下籓，未及戒塗，終於憤恚，惜哉！ 若使天假之年而除其害，奉綴衣之命，膺負圖之托，光輔嗣君，允厘邦政，求諸冥兆，或廢興之有期，征之人事，庶勝殘之可及，何八王之敢力爭，五胡之能競逐哉！ 《詩》云「人之雲亡，邦國殄瘁，」攸實有之； 「讒人罔極，交亂四國，」其荀馮之謂也。
The historian remarks: Sima Gan’s moods were unreadable; his contemporaries could never plumb him. Yet amid the turmoil of the age and the princes’ feuds he kept clear of harm and died in his bed—a “stupidity” no one could match! Sima You of Langya tempered martial glory with warmth and courtesy; Sima Jun of Fufeng spread civil virtue and added filial devotion—both stand out among the clan. The Prince of Qi, doubly tied to the two princes styled Xian, embodied the moral influence of the “South” hymns; his virtue lit court and countryside and all eyes turned to him as pillar of state. Then jealousy of his power hemmed him in, his grace was twisted into fault, Feng Dan and Xun Xu spun their “tangled weeds” intrigue, and Emperor Wu’s stubborn love for his heir prevailed. So the dragon regalia of high office was stripped from him and he was shunted to a petty fief; before he could even take the road he died of grief—how pitiful! Had he lived longer and those intrigues been lifted—had he taken the regent’s stitched robe and the dynastic chart’s charge, steadied the heir, and set the government right—by Heaven’s signs the rise and fall of Jin might have run a different course, and by human effort the cruelty of the age might have been tamed: then the War of the Eight Princes might never have flared and the Five Hu might never have torn the realm apart! The Book of Odes says, “When such men depart, the state is wasted”—that was true of Sima You; “Slanderers know no limit and throw the four quarters into chaos”—that fits Xun Xu and Feng Dan.
63
贊曰：文宣孫子，或賢或鄙。 扶風遺愛，琅邪克己。 澹諂凶魁，肜參釁始。 幹雖靜退，性乖恆理。 彼美齊獻，卓爾不群。 自家刑國，緯武經文。 木摧于秀，蘭燒以薰。
The summation reads: Among the grandsons of Emperors Wen and Xuan, some shone and some sank. Fufeng left a legacy of kindness; Langya disciplined his own heart. Dan was chief among the cruel sycophants; Rong helped open the first rift. Gan seemed detached, yet his nature defied steady norms. But Prince Xian of Qi was singular—no common mortal. He brought order from his household, weaving martial vigor with civil pattern. The great tree breaks under the weight of its own foliage; the orchid is consumed by its own fragrance—such was the fate of excellence in a poisoned age.