Literature | Four seasons of literature and history
Heaven and earth are born with two poles, and man also has two sides.
To be honest, among the mainland feudal dynasties, "idiot" emperors like Sima Xin, the emperor of Jinhui, are indeed rare, but is he really as worthless as recorded in the wild history, and not quite! It's just some bizarre past that happened to him, which is really incomprehensible and even unimaginable.
Comics: Sima Zhi
The past of the "idiot emperor"
(1) Overview
After the "return of three points to Jin", the land of the Central Plains seems to have entered a period of peace, but behind this calm there seems to be an undercurrent. From the founding of the state by Sima Yan, the Wu Emperor of Jin, the four emperors passed on to the state in 51 years, and together with the later Eastern Jin Dynasty, it was called the Jin Dynasty.
It's just that in the long history of the long river, the Jin Dynasty was like a flash in the pan, and after a long period of division between the Wei and Jin dynasties, it achieved a brief unification.
There is a reason why the Western Jin Dynasty lasted only half a century. From the context of later historical development, we know that in addition to the founding emperor of the Western Jin Dynasty, Sima Yan, who created the "Reign of Taikang", the remaining three emperors, Sima Zhi, the Jin Hui Emperor, were called "Idiot Emperors", and the Jin Huai Emperor Sima Chi and the Jin Emperor Sima Ye were all puppet emperors, and the three emperors were all killed and died in the end. Some people say that the demise of the Western Jin Dynasty was mainly because of Sima Ye, the Emperor of Jin, but we who are familiar with this history know that the demise of the Western Jin Dynasty is mainly due to Sima Zhi, the Emperor of Jinhui.
Map of the Western Jin Dynasty
Sima Xin was the second son of Sima Yan, the emperor of Jin Wu, and his eldest son, Sima Zhuo, died early. Sima Xin was made crown prince in 267 and ascended the throne in 290 to Yuan Yongxi. Whether Emperor Jin Hui is an "idiot" or not, I don't think it can be characterized so generally, strictly speaking, Sima Xin is not a pathological "idiot", but a political "idiot". But one thing that happened to him basically showed that Sima Xin was indeed difficult to qualify for the position of Son of Heaven.
(2) Sima Cheng was put to the test
Sima Xin was not a qualified emperor, why did he say that? Let's take a peek at two allusions:
The first allusion is called "Why not eat minced meat?" "During the reign of Emperor Hui of Jin, there was a famine one year, and the people did not eat or drink, even to the point of cannibalism. Sima Zhi did not understand that the common people could not eat or drink, and asked the ministers, why did the common people not eat minced meat if they had no grain to eat? Minced meat is porridge. As the king of a country, without being aware of the feelings and opinions of the people, he actually asked such a ridiculous question, which has the feeling of not eating the fireworks of the world. In his opinion, he has endless delicacies of mountains and seas, and he thinks that the people are just like him, how is he not confused.
The second allusion is called "For whom is the toad called?" One day, Sima Zhi heard the toad in the pond calling, and asked the ministers around him who the toad in this pond was calling. The ministers around them answered very decently, calling for public on public territory and private on private territory. There is a way under the whole world, it is not the royal land, the shore of the land, it is not the royal courtier. If the emperor asks such a "soul" question, is it testing the courtiers, if he encounters a sycophant, answering that the toads under the sky are all for the emperor, is it a suspicion of cheating, this kind of "low-quality" question, it is also thanks to Sima Zhi that he can ask.
Stills: Sima Chen
Behind every successful man there is a woman who silently supports him, although this statement is not absolute, it is indeed reflected in the feudal dynasty, but Sima Xin and Crown Princess Jia Nanfeng are a negative teaching material.
In fact, Sima Yan was not optimistic about Sima Zhi at first, but in order to avoid bloodshed to the greatest extent, he did not dare to violate the ancestral motto of the "primogeniture system" without authorization, including passing some tests, and finally selected Sima Zhi. Many people are puzzled about how Sima Zhi, who is somewhat inferior in intelligence, could successfully complete the Sima Zhi exam questions, and behind this is the credit of Crown Princess Jia Nanfeng.
(3) I don't understand the etiquette of Zhou Gong, and my father makes a surprising move
Of course, the above two stories alone are not enough to characterize Sima Cheng as a person. And the next piece of history is really surprising, and even historical officials dare not write into the official history. Those who are familiar with the history of the Western Jin Dynasty know that Jia Nanfeng is not only ugly in appearance, but also fierce and domineering, and is a queen in history who is both promiscuous and cruel, and has vicious methods. Later, in the "Rebellion of the Eight Kings", she had an unshirkable responsibility.
In front of Jia Nanfeng, Sima Xin was simply like a decoration, and he had no ability to interfere in political affairs. Jia Nanfeng not only killed Yang Jun, but also killed Dazai Sima Liang, the Empress Dowager, and the Crown Prince, which finally triggered a mass opposition from the Sima family. When the courtiers exposed Jia Nanfeng's misdeeds in front of Sima Chen, Sima Zhi only promised and finally chose silence.
Sima Xin was so connived, putting Jia Nanfeng on the cusp of the storm, and at the same time harming himself, eventually leading the country into a period of turmoil and strife.
Story painting: Jia Nanfeng
In other words, in dealing with state affairs, Jia Nanfeng occupied the court of the Western Jin Dynasty, making Sima Xin like a transparent person, so what is the private life of the two? You may not believe it.
It is not difficult to find a common phenomenon in history, at the beginning of the establishment of the new dynasty, the establishment of the reserve will be regarded as a top priority, and the prosperity of the heirs is particularly important. Of course, Sima Yan knew that this matter was powerful, because it was related to the lifeblood of the Western Jin Dynasty. But since Sima Xin was with Crown Princess Jia Nanfeng, there has been no imperial grandson. If you don't know the world in government affairs, you can have a group of courtiers to give advice, but if you don't know the etiquette of Zhou Gong, how is it good? In the end, Sima Yan thought of a trick: he sent his concubine Xie Jiu to guide the crown prince to perform the Zhou Gong ceremony.
The child in the belly of the imperial princess
Some people were simply puzzled by Sima Yan's approach, and asked his concubine to guide his son to perform the Zhou Gong ceremony, which was not only ethically inconsistent, but also had no precedent in previous dynasties. However, since the Great Sage Zhou of the Western Zhou Dynasty publicly created the tradition of "primogeniture", all subsequent dynasties have greatly followed this tradition, and in order to maintain this deep-rooted ancestral system, Sima Yan had to choose Sima Zhi. Just as the so-called unfilial piety has three, no descendant is great, not to mention the family of the emperor, if there is no son and a half daughter, how can Jiangshan continue?
For this son with poor IQ, Sima Yan was forced to make this decision. At first, Xie Jiu refused, although Xie Jiu was not Sima Zhi's biological mother, but from the perspective of moral ethics, she was also considered Sima Zhi's half mother, but the Son of Heaven ordered, who dared to violate it? It's just that what is unexpected is that soon after Xie Jiu entered the prince's mansion, he became pregnant. This matter quickly caused heated discussions in the palace, all speculating who the child in the princess's belly was.
Network picture
Although Xie Jiu and Sima Jiu had an "unclear" relationship, in Sima Yan's view, no matter who the child was, the blood of the "Sima" family flowed, so Sima Yan expressed lightness on this matter and advocated that Xie Jiu give birth to the child.
It was just that Jia Nanfeng's heart was cruel, so Xie Jiu chose to return to the palace to give birth to a son, and later this child was born, and it was indeed Sima Xin's son (that is, Sima Sui). After Sima Xin ascended the throne, Sima Sui should have become the "prince", and Jia Nanfeng also became the "controller" behind the Jin Dynasty. After all, the paper could not contain the fire, and later a court minister told Jia Nanfeng the news.
Jia Nanfeng felt humiliated, and then directly killed the concubine and Sima Sui. It was precisely because of Jia Nanfeng's misdeeds that it eventually led to the outbreak of the "Rebellion of the Eight Kings" and the "Five Hu Chaohua (Five Hu into China)", which caused the entire Jin Dynasty to fall into the abyss of irreparable disaster.
Rebellion of the Eight Kings of the Western Jin Dynasty
Let's talk about the Western Jin Dynasty
Sima Yan and Empress Yang Yan are both dragons and phoenixes among people, how can they give birth to a son with a low IQ, this has always been a place where many people are puzzled. If innate aptitude is irreversible, then acquired cultivation can slowly change character.
The so-called "if virtue is not worthy of the position, there will be aftermath." The world of the Sima family was originally unscrupulous, and it was the Jiangshan that forced the Cao family to "Zen Jean", and Sima Yan was majestic and strategic, striving to govern, ushering in the "rule of Taikang", but Sima Zhiwen could not secure the state, Wu could not determine the country, and his father laid down the rivers and mountains, but he could not keep the rivers and mountains.
You know, the transformation of successive dynasties from chaotic times to ruling the world requires a certain amount of skill and political ability. Sima Yan is not a comatose monarch, and with his political vision, it is impossible for him to hand over Jiangshan to an "idiot" son, so it is certain that Sima Yan is not what we call an "idiot", but his IQ is indeed not high, and his focus is not on the throne. Sima Xin also wanted to show his majesty, and after he succeeded to the throne, he also wanted to buy people's hearts, so he took certain measures, such as exempting the people from taxes for one year, and upgrading all the official positions in the world, but because he did not have the ability to govern, plus the abbot Yang Jun and Jia Nanfeng fought for power, so a court farce continued to be staged.
Stills: Sima Yan
The transition from ruling to chaotic times seems to be in the blink of an eye. Sima Xin was incompetent, Empress Jia Nan was in power, and the dynasty was chaotic, which eventually caused the clan to compete with foreign relatives for power. The policy of women's authoritarian rule promoted by Jia Nanfeng became the direct trigger of the "Rebellion of the Eight Kings".
The "Rebellion of the Eight Kings" lasted for sixteen years from beginning to end, during which there were wars and turmoil, the later imperial court was no longer able to control the whole country, the areas affected by the war became larger and larger, and the common people were in dire straits, these political instability contributed to the Five Hu Chaos and the Sixteen Kingdoms Era.
Sima Zhi ruled for 17 years and was finally killed by Sima Yue, the king of the East Sea, who died at the age of 48. Looking back at history can be tasted, but if Sima Zhi can be smarter, he will not allow this matter to develop, power will fall, let alone be poisoned. Sima Yan's decision-making mistakes, coupled with Sima Chen's inability to govern the world, the Western Jin Dynasty was like a flash in the pan, and finally disappeared into the torrent of history.
(The picture comes from the Internet, and the infringement must be deleted.) ）