Biography of Sima Yi, Emperor of the Jin Dynasty How Sima Yi, the Deposed Emperor of jin, died

Sima Yi (342 – 386 CE), courtesy name Yanling, second son of Sima Yan, Emperor of Jin, half-brother of Sima Pi, Emperor of Jin, mother of Zhou Guiren, was the seventh emperor of the Eastern Jin Dynasty and the only emperor of the Eastern Jin Dynasty to be deposed during his reign.

In February of the third year of Xingning (365 AD), Sima Pi died. In February of the same year, Sima Yi took the throne, reigned for 6 years, and was deposed by Huan Wen. After being deposed, he was demoted to the King of the East Sea. In the second year of Xian'an (372 AD), he was demoted to the title of Duke of Haixi. He died in the eleventh year of taiyuan (386 AD) at the age of forty-five. Sima Yishi was called the Deposed Emperor, also known as the Duke of Haixi.

Biography of Sima Yi

Early life

Sima Yi was born in the eighth year of Xiankang (342 AD), and was crowned king of the East Sea in the year of his birth. In the eighth year of Yonghe (352 AD), he was appointed as a regular attendant of the Scattered Horse, and soon became a general of the Zhen Army. In the fourth year of Shengping (360), he was appointed as a general of the Che Riders.

On May 22, the fifth year of Shengping (361 CE), Emperor Mu of Jin died childless, and Sima Yi's brother Sima Pi was made emperor as Emperor Of Jin. On May 27, the Jin Emperor renamed Sima Yi the Prince of Lang.

In July of the first year of Longhe (362 AD), he was transferred to the post of Shizhong (侍中), the Great General of the Hussars ,開府宜同三司.

Ascension to the throne

On February 22, the third year of Xingning (365 AD), sima pi of the Jin dynasty died, and because Sima Pi had no heirs, empress dowager Chu Pi of Chongde issued an edict on February 23 that Sima Yide was both talented and the younger brother of the emperor, and should inherit the throne. So the hundred officials went to the Palace of the Lang Evil Emperor to greet Sima Yi, and Sima Yi took the throne on the same day and pardoned the world. On March 29, the Jin Emperor was buried in Anping Mausoleum. The next year, he changed his name to Yuan Taihe.

How did Sima Yi die

When Sima Yi ascended the throne, Huan Wen took control of the imperial government, and Huan Wen intended to depose Sima Yi and establish himself as emperor, but Sima Yi himself had no fault to speak of. In November of the sixth year of Taihe (371 AD), Huan Wen pointed out that Sima Yi was impotent and unable to have children, and his male favorites Xianglong, Ji Hao, Zhu Lingbao, etc. were serving in the palace, and the three sons born to the harem may not be the emperor's children, so he forced Empress Dowager Chongde to depose Sima Yi as the King of the East Sea. On the same day, Huan Wen sent Liu Heng, a loose rider, into the palace to confiscate the national seal and force Sima Yi to leave the palace. It was mid-autumn, the weather was still relatively warm, Sima Yi walked out of the West Hall in a single dress, took an ox cart out of the Divine Beast Gate, and the courtiers cried and said goodbye. Huan Wen ordered his men to lead hundreds of soldiers to escort him back to the former Donghai King's Mansion.

In the first month of the second year of Xian'an (372 AD), he was demoted to the title of Duke of Haixi. In April of the same year, Sima Yi was moved to Xichaili, Wu County, and was supervised by Shi Diao Yi and Yushi Guyun of Wu. People at the time sympathized with him, and many people claimed to be under his command, gathering people to rebel against the imperial court. After Sima Yi learned of these circumstances, he lived in seclusion, closed the door to thank guests, lived cautiously, and tried to avoid suspicion.

One morning in November of the second year of Xian'an (372 CE), Lu Hu sent his disciple Xu Long to Sima Yi's residence in secret, claiming to be under the secret edict of the empress dowager to welcome Sima Yi back to Beijing for restoration. Sima Yi listened to some heartbeat and wanted to agree. At this time, his family members came out to strongly discourage him, so he refused to go out again and rebuked Xu Long. Sima Yi knew that there was no hope of restoration, and he was afraid of another disaster, so he deliberately behaved mediocrely for peace, and indulged in wine at home all day. The imperial court was humiliated by Sima Yi, and finally avoided the disaster of killing himself.

On October 16, 386, sima Yi died of illness in Wu County (in present-day Wuzhong District and Xiangcheng District, Suzhou, Jiangsu Province) at the age of forty-five.