Western Jin

Sima Yan (236–290), courtesy name Anshi, came from Wen County in Henei Commandery. A son of Sima Zhao and Wang Yuanji, he founded the Western Jin dynasty. He inherited the political power accumulated by his family in Cao Wei and accepted the abdication of Cao Huan in 266 (Taishi 1 of Jin). He ordered the conquest of Wu in 279 (Xianning 5 of Jin); Wu surrendered the following year, ending the division of the Three Kin

Sima Zhong, Emperor Hui of Jin (259–January 8, 307), courtesy name Zhengdu, was a native of Wen County, Henei Commandery (present-day Wen County, Henan Province). He was the second emperor of the Western Jin and the second legitimate son of Sima Yan, Emperor Wu of Jin; his mother was Empress Wuyuan, Yang Yan. He was appointed crown prince in 267, the third year of the Taishi era, and formally ascended the throne in 2

Sima Chi (284–March 14, 313), courtesy name Fengdu, was a native of Wen County, Henei Commandery (present-day Wen County, Henan). He was the third emperor of the Western Jin, the twenty-fifth son of Emperor Wu of Jin, Sima Yan, and a younger half-brother of Emperor Hui of Jin, Sima Zhong. In 290, the first year of the Taixi era, he was enfeoffed as Prince of Yuzhang, and in 304, the first year of the Yongxing era, he

Sima Ye (300–February 7, 318), also written Sima Ye, courtesy name Yanqi, was a native of Wen County in Henei Commandery (present-day Wen County, Henan) and the last emperor of the Western Jin. He was a grandson of Emperor Wu of Jin, Sima Yan, and the son of Sima Yan, Prince Xiao of Wu. In 311, the fifth year of the Yongjia era, Former Zhao captured Luoyang. After moving from refuge to refuge, Sima Ye was escorted to

Sima Rui (276–January 3, 323), courtesy name Jingwen, was a native of Wen County, Henei Commandery and the founding emperor of the Eastern Jin. He was a great-grandson of Sima Yi, posthumously honored as Emperor Xuan of Jin, and the son of Sima Jin, Prince Gong of Langya. His mother was Xiahou Guangji, consort of the Prince of Langya. He received the posthumous title Emperor Yuan and the temple name Zhongzong and was

Sima Shao (299–325), courtesy name Daoji, was a native of Wen County, Henei Commandery and was born in Kaiyang County of Langya Kingdom. He was the second emperor of the Eastern Jin and the eldest son of the dynasty's founder, Emperor Yuan Sima Rui. During a reign of less than three years, his greatest achievement was the suppression of Wang Dun's rebellion in 324, the second year of the Taining era, which stabilized

Yang Hu (221–December 27, 278), courtesy name Shuzi, was a native of Pingyang in Taishan, present-day Yangliu Town in Xintai, Shandong. He was a renowned Western Jin general, strategist, and politician, later respectfully called “Grand Tutor Yang.” He came from the prominent Taishan Yang clan of the Han and Wei periods and was a maternal grandson of the late-Han scholar Cai Yong. His elder sister Yang Huiyu married S

Sima Zhao (211–September 6, 265), courtesy name Zishang, was a native of Wen County, Henei Commandery (present-day Wen County, Henan). He was a powerful official of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period and one of the founders of the political order that led to the Western Jin. He was the second son of Sima Yi, later honored as Emperor Xuan of Jin, and Zhang Chunhua, later Empress Xuanmu; the full younger brother

Tao Kan (259–July 30, 334), courtesy name Shixing (also recorded as Shiheng), was originally from Poyang County in Poyang Commandery, present-day Poyang County, Jiangxi, and later moved to Xunyang County in Lujiang Commandery, present-day Jiujiang, Jiangxi. He was an important military commander from the Western Jin into the Eastern Jin. Rising from modest origins during a period of disorder, he advanced through mili

Jia Chong (217–May 19, 282), courtesy name Gonglu, was a native of Xiangling in Pingyang, in present-day Xiangfen, Shanxi. He was an official from the Cao Wei period of the Three Kingdoms through the Western Jin and a son of Jia Kui, Governor of Yu Province under Cao Wei. Jia Chong became one of the founding meritorious officials of the Western Jin. Born into the Jia clan of Pingyang, he inherited the title Marquis o

Zhou Qi (258–313), courtesy name Xuanpei, was a native of Yangxian in Yixing (present-day Yixing, Jiangsu). He was a leading member of the Jiangdong aristocracy in the late Western Jin and the head of the Zhou clan of Yixing. His grandfather was Zhou Fang, Administrator of Poyang under Eastern Wu, and his father was Zhou Chu, who served under the Western Jin as Palace Aide to the Censor-in-Chief and General Who Pacif

Yu Yi (305 – August 16, 345), courtesy name Zhigong, a native of Yanling, Yingchuan (present-day Yanling County, Henan), was a general, imperial in-law, and calligrapher of the mid-Eastern Jin, brother of the General Who Conquers the West Yu Liang and of Empress Yu Wenjun, consort of Emperor Ming of Jin; men called him Little Yu, or Yu of the Western Campaign. Strikingly handsome in bearing and possessed of statecraf

Sima Shi (208–March 23, 255), courtesy name Ziyuan, was a native of Wen County in Henei (present-day Wen County, Jiaozuo, Henan). He was a powerful official of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period and one of the founders of the political order that later became the Western Jin dynasty. He was the eldest son of Sima Yi, later honored as Emperor Xuan of Jin, and Empress Xuanmu Zhang Chunhua. After the establishment

Jia Nanfeng was the empress of Emperor Hui of Jin. She exercised political power, became a central figure in the conflict between the Jia and Yang factions and the War of the Eight Princes, controlled the Western Jin court, and was later killed by Sima Lun, Prince of Zhao.

Sima Yong (birth year unknown–306), courtesy name Wenzai, was a native of Wen County, Henei, present-day Wen County, Henan. He was a Western Jin imperial prince and senior official and one of the participants in the War of the Eight Princes. He was a grandson of Sima Fu, Prince Xian of Anping and younger brother of Sima Yi, and a son of Sima Gui, Prince Lie of Taiyuan. In 277, the third year of the Xianning era, he w

Yue Guang was a prominent Western Jin scholar-official known for pure conversation. He is the protagonist of the anecdote later summarized by the idiom “mistaking the reflection of a bow in a cup for a snake,” and he rose to Prefect of the Masters of Writing.