#sima lun

[the-archlich]

I know that new emperors often posthumously made their fathers, grandfathers, etc. emperors as well, but I read that Sima Yan also made his uncle an emperor. Was that unusual? Couldn't that have caused succession problems by asserting that there's another legitimate 'imperial' branch of the family?

That was a little unusual, for exactly the reasons you'd expect; it sets up a potential rivalry within the royal family. Sun Quan avoided this by making Sun Ce a prince/king instead of an emperor, and although he was criticized for this it's hard to argue with the practicalities of the decision.

Sima Yan went the other way, and it did cause problems. There was always a contingent that supported Sima You as a potential emperor; first as a rival to Sima Yan, then to Sima Zhong. And of course, his son Sima Jiong seized control of the government (though he didn't go so far as to make himself emperor, after how badly it went for Sima Lun). Such rivalries were never good for the health of the country.

[mistypurplespark]

Chapter 26: Journey Home

Chapter 26.1: Journey Home “Get lost, go reincarnate.” Translator(s): Zryuu

Sima Lun bowed down and picked up the broken half of his sword on the ground, then slowly walked towards the two who were tied together on the pillar.

“Let them suffer a little more,” Feng Qianyi slowly said, “They’ll be getting away too easily if they die with just one stab.”

Chen Xing almost couldn’t breathe. Xiang Shu struggled to fight back and protected Chen Xing in his arms; as the vines sliced through his skin, blood would start gushing out of his fresh wounds one by one and began getting absorbed by the vines.

Chen Xing cried out in pain. That blood mixed with Xiang Shu’s, and the two of them were dripping with blood that smeared all over the vines. Yet for some reason, when the blood on Xiang Shu’s body and Chen Xing’s blood mixed together, it was as if the Heart Lamp sensed it at once -- it exerted a power hundreds of times stronger from his chest and burst out!

Xiang Shu shouted fiercely, while Chen Xing just felt like he was going to get crushed to death, yet he heard a loud snap next to his ears!

Two pillars broke at the same time, and the entire Hanguang Palace collapsed with a loud rumble! Beams, wooden pillars, along with the tiles in the halls, and all the brick walls were collapsing from being pulled on crazily by those vines!

In the next moment, from within the ruins, the giant pillars in Hanguang Palace were lifted up. Sima Lun struggled out from underneath a pile of tiles, but Xiang Shu’s entire body was already enveloped in the intense light of the Heart Lamp. His attire that had been black from head to toe instantly transformed into a snow white, gilded martial robe. Rays of golden light

were bursting out of his heavy iron sword -- the light was revolving around the sword from its handle to its tip, turning it into a golden sword.

Xiang Shu opened his eyes.

“Get lost, go reincarnate.” Xiang Shu said coldly.

The Protector Martial God appeared! Chen Xing was thoroughly stunned when he crawled out of the heap of broken tiles! He had only seen it before recorded in book, and thought that the so-called “Protector Martial God” was merely a name, but he didn’t expect it to actually be a description!

Then Xiang Shu wielded his sword in both hands and launched a move that crumbled the heavens!

Sima Lun’s armour instantly shattered, and he unleashed a mad roar -- his entire body was being burned by the scorching flames bursting out of Xiang Shu’s golden sword until there was almost nothing left of it.

“I’m finally free, thank you……” A low voice uttered as the corpse disintegrated into ashes and scattered into the air.

“You……you……” Chen Xing was instantly overjoyed and asked, “What happened?! What just happened??!”

“I don’t know!” Xiang Shu had already returned to normal, and he roared madly at Chen Xing, “Save the people first!”

The effects of being a Martial God lasted only for a brief moment, following which, no matter how Chen Xing spurred the Heart Lamp, he could no longer trigger any changes for him. Shadow warriors flocked over in throngs from all sides; Xiang Shu rushed towards the center of Hanguang Palace’s ruins, but millions of vines and thorns shot out from within the fallen bricks.

Feng Qianjun’s vines pushed against the roof of the palace, and blood was flowing down the corners of his mouth.

The heavy sword in Xiang Shu’s hand shone. He had wanted to rush forth several times, but he could never breach Feng Qianjun’s defense.

Chen Xing dragged Tuoba Yan out from the other side of the collapsed ruins. Fortunately, Tuoba Yan was clad in armour so the injuries he suffered weren’t too severe, and the thorns from before did not leave behind too many lacerations on his body.

“Wake up!” Chen Xing cried anxiously. He held up the Heart Lamp with one hand and pressed it against Tuoba Yan’s forehead.

Tuoba Yan suddenly woke up, and the first thing he did was hug Chen Xing and roll over on the spot to avoid the shadow warriors who had rushed over at the same time from behind Chen Xing.

“We need to restrain him!” Tuoba Yan glanced at Feng Qianjun.

Tuoba Yan picked up his halberd. Chen Xing said, “Take me over while Xiang Shu distracts him!”

Tuoba Yan took Chen Xing along with him; he wielded his halberd in one hand and began charging through the group of warriors and closed in on the center of Hanguang Palace. Xiang Shu’s field of vision were only filled with vines; he was afraid of getting entangled by Feng Qianjun again, so he could only watch out for an opportunity and broke free. He had just secured a retreat when Tuoba Yan rushed over.

“Go up!” Xiang Shu flipped over in the air and pushed Chen Xing up. Tuoba Yan drew near, avoided the vines, took half a step back, and swung his halberd out horizontally to give Chen Xing a boost. Chen Xing leveraged the momentum to go higher in a few steps, emitted an intense light from his palm, lifted his elbow, and slapped his palm on Feng Qianjun’s face.

“Expel!” Chen Xing’s voice rang out like the morning bells and evening drums. The light from the Heart Lamp quickly invaded Feng Qianjun’s body, and the resentment within dissipated with a blast. Feng Qianjun stumbled from Chen Xing’s slap, his eyes’ lucidity restored.

All of the vines disappeared. Tuoba Yan and Xiang Shu immediately turned around to resist the shadow warriors that had rushed forth.

Tens of thousands of shadow warriors who were guarding Weiyang Palace gushed over like a tsunami. Feng Qianjun was still standing, gasping for breath.

“Where’s your elder brother?!” Chen Xing shouted, “Capture him! Quick! We’ve already won!”

Another round of mad laughter burst out from within the ruins.

“Far, far from it——” Feng Qianyi’s sinister voice said, “The blood array was not completed, so I won’t hold onto anymore hope today. Exorcist, you will see my Lord one day, and the entire Divine Land will submit to him when the time comes——”

Feng Qianyi gradually rose from the ruins. It was as if his entire body had undergone a metamorphosis -- purplish black blood began trickling down from his eyes.

Feng Qianjun looked up and shouted in sorrow, “Stop! Gege!”

Tuoba  Yan  shouted,  “Can’t  hold  them  back  anymore!  Think  of something!!”

Feng Qianjun wielded the Senluo sabre at a slanted angle. With a cry full of grief, black flames burst out from his whole body once again, then all of the trees in Weiyang Palace, and even Chang’an City, were uprooted and turned into pitch black withered trees that rushed toward Hanguang Palace. Xiang Shu was taken aback; he had just turned back to look when Chen Xing said, “He has regained his rationality!”

Feng Qianjun seemed to be able to control his Senluo Wanxiang that had been refined with resentment. The area in front of Weiyang Palace turned into a battlefield for withered tree men and shadow warriors, and the pressure on the other three lightened in an instant.

“You deserve to be part of the Feng family,” Feng Qianyi hovered in mid air and said lightly, “A day will come when you will offer this sabre to my Lord……”

“Stop, please!” Feng Qianjun shouted.

Indignation could be seen in Feng Qianjun’s eyes. He let out another mad roar; black flames soared rapidly, and vines appeared from beneath the ground  that  flew  towards  his  older  brother  in  the  air.  Xiang  Shu immediately leaped onto the vines and dashed over on the vines. Chen Xing held up his Heart Lamp at once. While Xiang Shu had flown into the air, he leaned back, held his sword with both hands, and his body curved into a beautiful arc -- the massive sword in his hands shone with a resplendent light.

“……before this.” Feng Qianyi closed his eyes and had actually given up resisting. He spread both of his arms out.

Xiang Shu swung his sword down, and Feng Qianyi’s corporeal body had its tendons torn apart and his bones fractured. The black vapour that protected his body disintegrated because of the light from the Heart Lamp, and he suddenly fell.

All of the shadow warriors in Weiyang Palace lost the support of their resentment at the same time and got wrangled to death by the tree men.

Feng Qianyi fell to the ground like a kite that had its string cut. He let out a muffled sound, his eyes looking up into the sky above.

Xiang Shu landed, Feng Qianjun kept his sabre, and Tuoba Yan withdrew his halberd. Chen Xing’s whole body was throbbing with acute pain, and he was already on the verge of collapse.

Feng Qianyi mustered the last of his strength to say, “Too early……I can only blame myself, for being too anxious……”

Then all of the resentment throughout Feng Qianyi’s body dispersed; his eyes remained wide open as he died just like that.

Chen Xing rushed forward to shake Feng Qianyi vigorously and shouted, “Ai! Don’t die! Wake up!!!”

He hadn’t asked what he needed to yet. Without any evidence in hand, how would they be able to explain themselves when they got back?!

Tuoba Yan quickly pulled Chen Xing away. Feng Qianjun was still beside them after all. After witnessing his older brother’s death, they were afraid that Feng Qianjun would act recklessly and go out of control.

Xiang Shu was always on guard against Feng Qianjun. Feng Qianjun returned to normal very soon and sheathed his sabre.

“Your older brother’s dead.” Chen Xing said to Feng Qianjun. He inspected Feng Qianyi’s pupils — they were already dilated.

Feng Qianjun walked out of Hanguang Palace. The first signs of dawn were beginning to seep over the horizon, which illuminated the empty Chang’an. Corpses were strewn all over the huge Weiyang Palace. After Feng Qianyi died, the armour on the shadow warriors had disintegrated into black vapour and vanished, restoring their original appearance of  white bones and rotted flesh. The tree yaos summoned by the Senluo sabre had twisted the living corpses into fragmented pieces, so broken limbs littered the ground, and the remaining few living corpses that had been snapped in half were still struggling.

After escaping Chang’an, another night passed. When dawn broke, on the plain outside Ahfang Palace, the living corpse army finally made their grand arrival. But as soon as the sun rose, they lost their marching formation for some reason and began wandering around everywhere aimlessly as they searched for food to gnaw on, as if they were wild beasts not under anyone’s control.

The Great Qin army swarmed out in full force and stopped in front of Zaohe. After igniting their flaming arrows, they immediately released them at random and ignited the living corpses. The army then separated into two groups, outflanking the enemies on both the right and left sides to trap 300,000 living corpses within their encirclement, then drove the corpses towards the central area of the river bank.

At that moment, the last batch of people fleeing from Chang’an City mixed in with the group of living corpses. They had to avoid both the living corpses and the stray arrows from the army, so they kept pleading bitterly toward the outside as they begged the Qin army to let them go.

“Report——”

Fu Jian was clad in emperor’s armour from head to toe and was already waiting on high alert. He knew what the scout wanted to say before he even spoke and said sharply, “Not even one can be released! Chase anyone who has been bitten or scratched back into the encirclement!”

Wang Ziye and the other civil officials watched the battle at the side. On the east bank of Zaohe, anguished wailing shook the earth, and resentment soared into the sky. There was a dense, dark mass of 300,000 living corpses, their numbers even greater than that of the army, and they were still trying to break through their siege subconsciously. It was truly a magnificent sight. Some soldiers even got bitten while resisting the living corpses, and when they turned to look back in the next moment, they were already being driven back into the group of living corpses by their own comrades under Murong Chui’s stern command. Within the blink of an eye, living corpses swarmed all over them, tearing them into pieces as they gnawed on the soldiers.

Wang Ziye said, “Your Majesty, it’s about time.”

The encirclement was gradually closing in. All of the living corpses within a ten-mile radius had been driven into the center of a designated location. Under the Ahfang Palace behind Fu Jian, across a river, catapults used for besieging a city that were stored in a warehouse were already now in working order.

Fu Jian raised his emperor sword and shouted, “Shoot!”

Amidst the light of dawn, all of the catapults on the opposite side of the river launched an attack! Fire canisters obscured the sky as they flew toward the middle of the encirclement! Kerosene fell onto the ground, resulting  in  explosions  that  blew  up  countless  crimson  clouds  and successfully ignited the living corpse group. A gust of easterly wind blew by, and the fire began spreading rapidly. Throughout a one-mile radius, living corpses that were set on fire were provoked, and they began to frantically push outward!

“Guard! Guard!!” All the generals of Great Qin rode their galloping horses. Soldiers held up their shields and guarded the encirclement fiercely, and rows of soldiers surrounded the living corpses to prevent them from breaking through. Raging flames surged; countless figures were set ablaze within the flames as they frantically crashed into everything around them. Bouts of pained howls could be heard, and for a moment, no one could tell if the ones being burned were humans or the yaos called “drought fiends”. An involuntary chill coated people’s hearts.

Chapter 26.2: Journey Home

A gust of wind blew on the plains that curled up countless black embers that swirled into the sky.

Translator(s): Zryuu

The gales were getting stronger and stronger. Flaming tongues started to leap out of the encirclement. Thick smoke billowed and blotted out the sky. The soldiers on guard were shedding tears from all the smoke, and thick layers of clouds appeared in the sky.

Fu Jian’s intuition that had been honed through hundreds of battles and his experiences of braving through fire and water warned him like a fire alarm.

“Dispatch more men leeward!” Fu Jian ordered decisively, “Immediately!”

But issuing this order was still too late -- on the west side of the encirclement, the first gap appeared leeward. Flames began spreading from the living corpses to the soldiers on guard.

“Imperial guards, listen to my command!” Fu Jian was clad in a golden battle armour. He flipped onto a horse and shouted, “Follow Zhen and set out!”

The people on the other side of the river bank watched this scene in horror, and a disturbance started to stir. The encirclement had been broken through; the gap was getting bigger and bigger. Living corpses, enveloped in flames and the stench of being burnt, charged toward the river bank. Once they crossed the river, all of the remaining people of Chang’an would die there!

People began escaping in a panic, and this action triggered an even more serious disturbance. Fu Jian could no longer care for his people; if they lost this battle, then he could only abandon his people and the capital, and flee with the army! His prestige as an emperor would vanish from the face of the earth, and he was bound to become the joke of the whole world!

But right at that moment, everyone seemed to realise something. Someone began shouting, and everyone raised their heads and started looking around!

“Great Chanyu——!”

“The Great Chanyu is back!”

In the distance, from the direction of Chang’an City, a clear whistle could be heard!

More than 2,000 people gathered in front of a huge wooden bridge of Zaoshui. At this moment, it was as if they had all received an order at the same time as they rode their horses out.

Xiang Shu led the vanguard on a horse and by his side was Chen Xing who was riding on a horse as well. Chen Xing spurred his Heart Lamp, and its intense light shone brightly; the resentment that shrouded the plains of Zaoshui dispersed when it met the light, and the living corpses were driven back into the encirclement once again.

“16 tribes, listen to my orders——” Xiang Shu shouted in the Tiele language, “Guard Ahfang Palace!”

Former Hu subordinates that had been forced to move to the south and warriors who had been neglected by Fu Jian all voiced their agreement in unison. They turned their horses around and followed Xiang Shu. Even among the Xianbei people, there were a lot of people who responded unconsciously and also held up their weapons.

Murong Chui was instantly furious and shouted, “Keep your positions!”

Feng Qianjun’s mount galloped swiftly; he swung his Senluo sabre out, and its black light burst out, and countless pitch black vines sprang out of the ground. They reinforced the encirclement and trapped all of the living corpses that were on fire.

Xiang Shu carried his huge sword on his back and rushed over on his horse. Within just a mere thousand steps, he had already assembled a team. Fu Jian looked into the distance and saw that Tuoba Yan had returned too.

“Imperial guards!” Tuoba Yan wielded a halberd in hand while controlling the reins in another. He shouted, “Stand with me in battle, guard His Majesty! Protect Chang’an!”

The two reinforcement troops joined the battle. An encirclement took shape again, but the burning living corpses started fleeing west. They pounded fiercely against the siege and knocked a gap through once again! Tuoba Yan led the imperial guards and exerted his utmost to resist them; as long as they endured it for this short moment, they would win! Fu Jian roared, “They’ve all been set on fire! Retreat!”

“No!” Xiang Shu turned his horse around and roared angrily, “If the drought fiends enter the river, the Zao river will be poisoned! Who will take responsibility then?!”

The catapults released their last wave of kerosene. The raging flames began spreading again under the fierce gales. While the Qin army confronted their enemies, innumerable soldiers were burnt to death and scratched by the drought fiends. The Murong family suffered the greatest losses, and they looked to be on the verge of a crushing defeat. The earth was in an upheaval. Then, another batch of reinforcements arrived.

“Report—— Governor of Pingyang, Murong Chong has arrived——”

Within the blink of an eye, thousands of troops charged over from the eastern horizon, backlit by the sun. There were 100,000 cavalrymen dressed in battle armour that glistened in the sunlight; the young martial general in the lead wore a cloak as crimson as sunset clouds that fluttered in the wind. He led the Pingyang armoured cavalry and charged into the enemy’s ranks without a word!

“Fenghuang’er!” Fu Jian shouted.

The living corpses that were breaking through the west side were once again pushed back into the encirclement. At that moment, Xiang Shu held his heavy sword high and shouted, “Charge with me!”

The 16 Hu tribes let out a roar that shook the heavens; they followed Xiang Shu to launch their first round of assault and charged into the flaming

battlefield. Burning living corpses were instantly smashed into pieces, and this action immediately led to wave after wave of large assault battle arrays formed by the Qin army. The Murong family’s army, the imperial guards under Fu Jian, the guards led by the generals of Great Qin, and even Murong Chong’s Pingyang army relied on their armoured cavalry that rushed toward the living corpses and trampled all over them wildly.

The earth shook. The Qin army was like a tide that crushed them over and over again as if they were venting their frustrations. It was Chen Xing’s first time seeing such a scene. The sun had risen, and the clouds dispersed.

At this moment, the 300,000 living corpses finally vanished; they were made of dust, and to dust they returned as they crumbled into ash that scattered throughout the plains of Zaohe. They returned to the earth to nourish new life on this land, contributing to the flourishing of life there.

It was finally quiet. A gust of wind blew on the plains that curled up countless black embers that swirled into the sky.

Xiang Shu reassembled his team on an open space beside the river bank. Chen Xing felt so exhausted that he wanted to just lay down on the ground, but just as he was about to do so, Xiang Shu said, “Don’t get off your house.”

Chen Xing smelled the scent of danger.

Sure enough, trouble came. After all the living corpses were cleared, the army of Pingyang and the Murong clan began gathering around them. A martial general walked out, took off his silver helmet, and threw it onto the ground, revealing his handsome face.

Yet the 16 Hu tribes behind Xiang Shu weren’t the slightest bit afraid. Both groups stood facing each other from far away, separated by a shoal.

Murong Chong’s black hair fluttered in the wind. His Xianbei skin was as white as milk from his face to his neck, and his eyes were like amber soaked in water. Chen Xing almost thought that he was a beautiful female general at first sight.

Both sides fell silent.

Xiang Shu sheathed his sword and carried it on his back. His martial robe was in tatters, and his body was riddled with wounds. The large army behind Murong Chong was both orderly and disciplined -- not even the whinnies of their horses could be heard, and they looked were looking at the other side quietly just like that.

Murong Chong spoke, his voice was very gentle, yet it possessed a cold and stern quality.

“I’ve long heard of the Great Chanyu’s outstanding martial skills that are unrivalled in the world,” Murong Chong slowly said, “You are known as the ‘enemy of all armies’. I just wonder how you would fare against my 100,000 cavalrymen?”

Chen Xing thought Xiang Shu wouldn’t answer at first, yet Xiang Shu twirled the reins of his horse around his hands twice and didn’t even spare Murong Chong a glance as he said indifferently, “Ever since entering the pass, I haven’t fought an army of over 10,000 men unarmed before, so I don’t know yet. Are you sure you want to fight today?”

Murong Chong replied, “It’s not a question of whether I want to fight, instead I’ll have to ask the Great Chanyu if the Murong family has ever offended the Great Chanyu before. Whether it be an attempt to kill or dismember, please enlighten me.”

Xiang Shu raised an eyebrow and finally glanced at Murong Chong, “Never.”

Murong Chong said angrily, “Then why did you kill my Jie?!”

The Murong clan began shouting one after another with utmost indignation. Murong Chui stood out from the ranks and said aloud, “Great Chanyu, ever since the Ancient Chi Le Covenant, the Murong clan has never dared to blaspheme the covenant we pledged our allegiance to with blood. Now that the disaster has been averted, you should give us an explanation ba.”

Xiang Shu didn’t answer and just frowned slightly. Chen Xing did want to explain what had happened, but they didn’t have any evidence in hand, and they didn’t have any clues as to who the “Lord” Feng Qianyi spoke of was either. At this time, even if they had spared Feng Qianyi’s life for him to talk and get him to confront the Murong family, the other side would definitely not admit that Princess Qinghe had participated in the conspiracy and would just accuse him of framing her.

Otherwise, the Murong clan would be deemed guilty by association as well. How could Fu Jian ignore a family that was plotting a rebellion against him?

“Murong Chong!” Fu Jian finally came forward and entered the field. “Listen to me.”

Murong Chong’s gaze shifted and remained on Fu Jian for a brief moment but very quickly returned onto Xiang Shu. He was full of doubt as he studied Chen Xing, who was beside Xiang Shu.

“Shulü Kong,” Fu Jian said to Xiang Shu, “Where’s the evidence?”

Xiang Shu answered coldly, “No evidence. You should know best who’s right and wrong.”

Fu Jian, “……”

Fu Jian took a deep breath and resisted the urge to go forward and hack Xiang Shu to death. Wang Ziye rushed over as well on a horse and slowly said, “The Governor of Pingyang has travelled for a long time to get here. Why don’t you report back to Ahfang Palace first, and later……”

“Go!” Xiang Shu shouted decisively. Everyone retreated one after another.

“Great Chanyu, I’ll seek your advice here today. Murong Chong obviously didn’t want to let Xiang Shu go. With an order, the 100,000 troops behind him opened up into a charging formation; they actually wanted to rely on their advantage in military strength to kill Xiang Shu on the spot and take revenge for Princess Qinghe!

“Who dares to move?!” Fu Jian roared angrily.

Xiang Shu didn’t say another word. He turned his horse around and charged out of the encirclement. A deputy general nocked an arrow on his bow, yet he was struck off his horse by Xiang Shu’s sword. The entire army erupted in an uproar immediately. Murong Chong was furious, his army formed a heavy siege as they chased after Xiang Shu!

Chen Xing spurred his horse to follow along. The ground quaked violently in an instant, and the gigantic Pingyang army began to speed up as they launched their surprise attack!

However, another group of cavalrymen instantly charged in during this interval. All of them dismounted one after another with their shields and spears raised up as they faced the 100,000 Pingyang armoured cavalry. Tuoba Yan took the lead and charged through his camp on this horse and shouted, “Imperial guards, obey my orders! Kill anyone who dares disobey the imperial decree!”

Murong Chong roared angrily, “Tuoba Yan! You traitor!”

Seeing as how the imperial guards the the Pingyang army had a clear barrier between them, Murong Chong wasn’t willing to challenge Fu Jian’s authority again no matter what, so he could only throw his weapon onto the ground hatefully.

Xiang Shu had already galloped away from the west bank of Zaohe and passed the huge wooden bridge. With the sound of a crisp whistle, people everywhere below Ahfang Palace got up one after another and looked toward the direction in which the former 16 Hu subordinates were leaving. Even more young people from Chang’an ran down the hill, flipped onto a horse, and chased after Xiang Shu.

Smoke and dust billowed. Under the eyes of nearly 600,000 Chang’an soldiers, Xiang Shu led thousands of soldiers and civilians to leave just like that, leaving a trail of dust in their wake.

“Jian Tou!”

“You’re on your own, we’ll meet again someday!”

Fu Jian’s gaze seemed conflicted as he watched Xiang Shu take his subordinates to gallop onto the Official Road and leave Chang’an.

Hooves struck the ground heavily on the Official Road, then they turned into the wilderness.

In the height of summer, the sun shone brightly, the grass grew tall and orioles soared through the sky. After they left Chang’an, clear skies for ten thousand miles could be seen in a flash, as if the azure sky had just been bathed.

Chen Xing looked back at the large troop behind that stirred up a billowing trail of dust: the old 16 Hu warriors were first, then it was the younger generation of the Hu people who were following Xiang Shu. Close to 6,000 people converged into a torrent that gushed out of Guanlong like a magnificent tide as they headed north.

“What are we doing?” Chen Xing spurred his horse and asked Xiang Shu, who was riding side by side with him.

Xiang Shu didn’t answer. He glanced at Chen Xing and deliberately slowed his horse down.

“Chang’an doesn’t welcome us, don’t you get that?” Xiang Shu said calmly. Chen Xing asked again, “Then where are we going now?”

Xiang Shu answered, “We’re going home!” “Going home?” Chen Xing was baffled.

“Chi Le Chuan!” A warrior reminded Chen Xing in Chinese. (the Han language)

Xiang Shu’s clear voice rang out.

“Chi Le Chuan—— Under the Yin Mountains——”

As soon as the song started, it immediately brought with it the vigorous overtone of lofty mountains and vast grasslands.

“The sky resembles an arched hut——” A bunch of Hu people followed behind Xiang Shu and Chen Xing as they sang aloud, “Covering the whole plain——”

Chen Xing was instantly struck by this song. The Xianbei dialect was originally a clear and elegant one, yet Xiang Shu sang in such an imposing manner that it sounded like an eagle crying out into the vast skies. The crowd sang in unison,

“The sky is so vast and blue, the wilderness is boundless too——”

“When the winds blow, the grass bends low; cattle and sheep will show

——”

“Jia!” Xiang Shu spurred his horse and barrelled away on his horse. Chen Xing rushed to catch up on his horse. The Official Road was perfectly straight as it led to the lofty and imposing pass in the north, and it led to the Great Wall under the imposing pass.

The boundless sea of grass on their way to the Great Wall blanketed the sky and earth. The extensive ranges of sacred mountains stretched out on the way out of the Great Wall. The huge pond of Hulunbuir glistened like gems, and the shimmering rivers appeared like jade belts.

At the end of the Divine Land where the arched hut covered the desolation, where the vast skies were blue and the wilderness was boundless too, there was naturally an expansive world there.

——Volume One·Senluo Wanxiang·End——

[shenmeizhuang-blog]

[fuyonggu]

ZZTJ Book 83 (299-300)

The fall of Jia Nanfeng and the rise of Sima Lun; rebellion in Shu; prelude to the War of the Eight Princes and the Sixteen Kingdoms.

[bookofjin]

Biography of Sima Lun, Part 2

[From JS059. I had not expected it to be so ... well, you can read for yourself.]

Lun was plain and less than ordinary, without knowledge and plans, and repeatedly granted authority to Xiu. Xiu's power and domination bestirred the imperial court. Under Heaven all served Xiu and made no requests to Lun. Xiu rose from a minor scribe in Langye, amassed to office in Zhao state, and used toadying and flattery to reach his goals. When he had carried out the balancing of the opportunity [?], he thereupon indulged his treacherous plans, killing many loyal and good, to thereby show off his private desires.

The Assistant Officer to the Minister of Retainers, You Hao had a grudge with Yin Hun. Hun lured Hao's slave Jin Xing, to falsely reported Hao had disloyal aspirations. Xiu did not thoroughly investigate, but arrested Hao and the Central Corrector of Xiangyang, Li Mai, and killed them. He greatly entertained Jin Xing, and used him as controller of his private troops. The Forward Commandant of Guards, Shi Chong [JS033], and the Gentleman of the Yellow Gates, Pan Yue [JS055] both were dissatisfied with Xiu. Both were executed. And so the lordly men of the capital district were unhappy in their lives.

The King of Huainan, Yun, and the King of Qi, Jiong, since Jiong and Xiu were haughty and presumptuous, within their breasts were not at peace. Xiu and others likewise were very envious of them. They therefore sent out Jiong to headquarter at Xu, and took away Yun's protective army [?]. Yun set out [?] in anger and raised troops to punish Lun. When Yun had been defeated and wiped out, Lun was promoted to the Nine Bestowments, and added to his fief 50 000 households. Lun falsely was pretending to yield, a decree dispatched the hundred officials to go to his office and earnestly. The Palace Attendants circulated the decree, and afterwards transmitted it.

He promoted Kua to General who Consoles the Army, General who Leads the Army; Fu to General of the Garrison Army and Acting as General who Protects the Army; Qian as General of the Army of the Centre, Acting as General of the Guards of the Left; Xu to be Palace Attendant. He also used Sun Xiu as Palace Attendant, General who Assists the State and Marshal to the Chancellor of State, Leader of the Right as before. Zhang Lin and others all were put in strategic posts.

He increased the troops of the Chancellor's Office to be 20 000, similar to the imperial guard. He also secretly hid soldiers and troops, the multitude exceeding 30 000. He erected at the eastern palace's three gates and four corners flowery oars [?], cutting off the road east and west of the palace to have an outside patrol Someone spoke to Xiu, saying:

The Cavalier in Regular Attendance Yang Zhun and the Attendant Gentleman of the Yellow Gates Liu Kui desire to serve the King of Liang, Rong to thereby execute Lun.

There happened to be a change in the stars. He therefore moved Rong to be Imperial Chancellor, residing in the office of the Minister over the Masses. He shifted Zhun and Kui to be outer officials.

Lun was without learning and did not know books. Xiu likewise, due to his mean talents for cunning and deceit, was covetous, excessive, and eager for profit. They were together in setting up affairs, both were followers of perverse flattery [?]. They only contended for honour and profit, without deep plans or profound schemes. Kua was shallow, shabby, coarse and crude. Fu and Qian were ignorant, fractious, stubborn and unmanageable. Xu was foolish, talkative, light-weight and tumultuous. Yet they all were exceptionally shrewd, and mutually detested and slandered each other.

Xiu's son Hui, 20 years old, became Colonel who Shoots at Sound. He wed the Emperor's daughter, the Princess of Hedong. Mourning for the Princess's mother had not yet been set, [he?] expediently accepted the engagement rites. Hui in body appeared lacking and crude, beneath that of a slave [?]. Earlier he had sold horses to sons of rich families west of the city [?]. The hundred families soon heard of him wedding the Princess, and could not but be shocked and alarmed. [The Princess of Hedong's mother was a certain Jia Nanfeng.]

Lun and Xiu were both mislead by shamans and ghosts, and listened to advise from the bewitching and evil. Xiu made the Serrated Gates [guard?] Zhao Feng pretend to be Emperor Xuan's spiritual voice, and instructed to soon enter the Western Palace [become emperor]. He also said Emperor Xuan at Beimang was assisting and aiding the King of Zhao, and hence separately set up a temple for Emperor Xuan at Mount Mang. [He?] talked of the rebellious plan being possible to complete [?].

Used the Supervisor of Affairs for the Heir-Apparent, Pei Shao, the General of the Army of the Left,  Bian Cui, and others, 20 people, as Assistant Officer Palace Gentlemen; with subordinate staff also of 20 people. Xiu and others parcelled off [?] the various armies, dispersing belly and heart.

They made the  Cavalier in Regular Attendance, the King of Yiyang, Wei double as [?] Palace Attendant, setting out to receive decrees and instructions, falsely making a decree of abdication. They sent the Envoy Holding the Tally, the Prefect of the Masters of Writing Man Fen, and the Supervisor, Cui Sui, as assistants, to  receive the imperial signet and ribbon of the August Emperor thereby abdicating the throne to Lun. Lun feigned yielding and did not accept. Hence the various kings of the imperial clan and the crowd of excellencies and ministers spoke of auspicious signs and astronomy to accordingly recommend him to advance. Lun therefore accepted it. The [General of?] the Guards of the Left, Wang Yu, with the [General of the] Army of the Front, Sima Ya, led armoured soldiers to enter the hall, explained [?] to the Marshals of the Three Sections, displaying accordingly power and rewards. None dared to disobey.

That night, they sent Zhang Lin others to garrison and defend the various gates. The King of Yiyang, Wei, Luo Xiu and others pressured and took by force the Son of Heaven's imperial signet and ribbon. The drip of the night [clock] was not yet exhausted, when inside and outside the hundred officials used the imperial carriage and regulated cart to welcome Lun.

Emperor Hui drove the Cloud Mother Chariot [?], with an honour escort of several hundred people, and from the Western Gate of the Flowery Forest set out to reside in Jingyong fort. The Master of Writing, He Yu the Combined Palace attendant and Cavalier in Regular Attendance, the King of Langye, Rui, and the Attendant Gentleman of the Palace Writers, Lu Ji [JS054], followed, arriving at the fort and then turned around. They made Zhang Heng guard the Emperor, utterly secluding him.

Lun, accompanied by 5 000 troops, entered the main gate himself, and climbed the Grand Utmost Hall. Man Fen, Cui Sui and Yue Guang advanced with the imperial signet and ribbon to Lun. He then usurped the rank of Emperor. There was a great amnesty, and changed the inaugural to Jianshi [“Establishing Beginnings”].

That year, for Virtuous and Good, Square and Proper, Straight Speaking, Flowery Talent, Filial and Upright, and Good Commander, none were examined. They planned for magistrates to reach the four regions and sent instructions for those being in the capital district [?]. [Those] in the Grand School 16 and above, or in school for 20 years, all were appointed magistrates. The commanderies and counties' 2 000 shi, Prefects, Chiefs and those who had resigned [?], all were enfeoffed as marquises. The commanderies' mainstays and guidelines became Filial and Upright. The counties' mainstays and guidelines became Upright and Loyal.

Used the Heir Kua, as Heir-Apparent; Fu as Palace Attendant, Great Minister of Agriculture, Acting Army-Protector and King of Jingzhao; Qian as Palace Attendant, Great General Leading the Army and King of GuangPing; Xu as Palace Attendant, General who Assists the Army and King of Bacheng; Sun Xiu as Palace Attendant, Overseer of the Palace Writers, General of Agile Cavalry, Same Ceremonies as the Three Ministers. Zhang Lin and others of the various factions all climbed to be ministers and generals, and were also ranked among the great fiefs. The remainder of the co-conspirators all leaped up in ranks out of sequence, not possible to describe them all. Arriving at the slave soldiers, they for their service likewise were promoted accordingly in rank and position.

At every morning assembly, sable-tails and cicada wings overflowed the seats. At the time people were saying of their appearance [?]: “[If there] are not enough sables, continue with dog tails.” [?]

Yet since caution moreover their favour defeated the happiness among the people's feelings [?], storages of the offices and armouries were not filled for bestowals, gold and silver melted and cast were not given for stamping. For that reason there was marquises of white tablets [?], lordly men in shame yielded to their compositions [?], the hundred families likewise knew it would not last.

Lun personally sacrificed at the Grand Temple. Returning, there happened to be a great wind. A whirlwind broke off the flag and cover. Sun Xiu had already set up affairs of the irregular. Lun respected and esteemed him. Xiu lived within the office where Emperor Wen had resided in his time as Chancellor of State. In affairs there was no great and small, he had to be consulted and then they were carried out. [As for] Lun's decrees and orders, Xiu always changed and altered them, had them taken by force, and from books with green paper made decrees. Those sometimes acted on in the morning and changed in the night numbered four [?]. The hundred officials shifted easily and moved with the flow.

At the time there was a pheasant which entered within the halls, and from the eastern stairs of the Grand Utmost went up the hall. They drove it away, it further flew to beneath the western bell. After a moment it flew away. Again when Lun was above the hall he obtained a strange bird, nobody asked knew its name. When the day turned towards evening, west of the palace there was a small boy in white clothes who said this was precisely the Liu bird [?]. Lun sent to record the small boy and together with the bird shut them in and put them the prison room. At daylight when they opened for inspection, the door was like before, but both boy and bird were missing from the place. Above Lun's eye there was a tumour [liu], at the time it was considered to be the strange bird.

At the time the King of Qi, Jiong, the King of Hejian, Yong, and the King of Chengdu, Ying, each embraced stubborn troops, each occupying a single region. Xiu knew Jiong and the others surely had different plans, and therefore selected from his person fraction members and Lun's old magistrates to be aides and assistants to the three kings and as commandery wardens.

Xiu originally had a grudge with Zhang Lin. Although on the outside they pushed each other forward in honour, on the inside he truly hated him. When Lin became General of Guards, he deeply resented not obtaining [the honour of] Opening Office. He secretly sent a note to Kua, drawing up advice that Xiu was monopolizing authority, his actions were going against the hearts of the multitudes, the meritorious subjects were all small men, he disturbed and made chaos in the imperial court, and insisted on a single time [?] to execute him. Kua used the letter to report to Lun, and Lun accordingly showed it to Xiu. Xiu recommended Lun to execute Lin, and Lun followed it. And so he requested the imperial clan to assemble in the  Flowery Forest Park, and summoned Lin, Xiu and Wang Yu to enter. In that way he seized Lin and killed him, and executed his three kindred.

[Presumably, since Zhang Lin was General of Guards it was too risky just to order him executed.]

[advisorsalliance]

鹰视．狼顾│Sima Yi．Sima Zhao．Sima Lun

[zl181]

Comprehensive Biography of Sima Fang

Sima Fang, styled Jiangong (司馬防字建公; 149 - 219), was a civil official. He was the patriarch of the Sima clan and his descendants would go on to rule parts of China for around 150 years.

Ancestry

Sima Fang came from Xiaojing Village, Wen County, Henei Commandery.[1][2] One of the ancestors of Sima Fang was Sima Ang, a general for the Nation of Zhao during the Chu-Han Conflicts. He was made King of Yin and had his capital at Henei, where his descendants remained. Sima Ang's eighth generational descendant was Sima Jun, styled Shuping (司馬鈞字叔平), who served the Han as General who Conquers the West. Sima Jun's son was the Grand Administrator of Yuzhang; Sima Liang, styled Gongdu (司馬量字公度), whose son, Sima Jun, was the father of Sima Fang.[1]

Early life

When he was young, he served his province and commandery, later to serve as Prefect of Luoyang and Intendant of Jingzhao.[1][2] He enjoyed the Book of Han's Biographies of Famed Ministers and was able to recite several tens of ten thousands words from it, which is a lot.[2]

He later became Right Assistant to the Masters of Writing. Around 175, he recommended Cao Cao to be Commandant of the North of Luoyang. Some suggested Sima Fang chose Cao Cao because he knew Cao Cao would defend Luoyang well from invaders.[3]

Around 190, in response to the Guandong Coalition, Dong Zhuo moved the capital from Luoyang to Chang'an. At the time, Sima Fang was Archivist Secretarial Censor and had to move west to Chang'an with many other officials. He was concerned about the unrest in China, so he sent Sima Lang to lead his family back to Wen County.[4]

Meeting Cao Cao at Ye

Around Summer 216, when Cao Cao became King of Wei, he summoned Sima Fang to Ye for a cordial drink. He said to Sima Fang,

"Am I currently still able to perform as a Commandant or not?"

Sima Fang replied,

"At the time I recommended you, O Great King, you were capable of performing as a Commandant. That is all."

Cao Cao laughed loudly in response.[3]

Relationships with his sons

Sima Fang was known for his extremely strict upbringing for his sons. Even as they grew older, they still listened to him out of respect and possibly fear. If Sima Fang did not order them to go forward, they did not dare go forward; if Sima Fang did not order them to sit, they did not dare sit; if Sima Fang did not gesture for them to answer, they did not dare speak.[2]

Final years

When he was older, he transferred to become Commandant of Cavalry. It is stated he secluded himself in his humble house, that he closed his gates and was mindful of his behavior.[2]

He died in 219.[2]

Postmortem events

His grandson, Sima Lun, who was Emperor for a short time, wanted to honor Sima Fang as Emperor. Whether anything came of this is unknown.[3]

He had eight sons: Sima Lang, Sima Yi, Sima Fu, Sima Kui, Sima Xun, Sima Jin, Sima Tong, and Sima Kui. They were called the 'Eight Das' because all their style names had Da (達) at the end.[1][2][5]

Personality

By nature, he was very direct but was usually fair. It is said that even in feasts, he maintained a solemn appearance.[2]

Family

He had eight sons: Sima Lang, Sima Yi, Sima Fu, Sima Kui, Sima Xun, Sima Jin, Sima Tong, and Sima Kui. They were called the 'Eight Das' because all their style names had Da (達) at the end.[1][2][5]

Legacy

Sima Fang sending Cao Cao was a good idea, as Cao Cao was known for prosecuting or executing anyone who broke the rules in his jurisdiction, and even the wealthy and powerful were not exempt, significantly lowering the corruption in the capital. In addition, Sima Fang's strict upbringing of Sima Yi, which most likely included studying ancient histories and biographies as well as social etiquette, probably gave him a good education, leading to Sima Yi's future successes.

Personal Info

Name: Sima Fang

Style name: Jiangong[1][2]

Birth date: 149[2]

Death date: 219[2]

References

[1] - 【宣皇帝諱懿，字仲達，河內溫縣孝敬里人，姓司馬氏。...楚漢間，司馬卬為趙將，與諸侯伐秦。秦亡，立為殷王，都河內。漢以其地為郡，子孫遂家焉。自卬八世，生征西將軍鈞，字叔平。鈞生豫章太守量，字公度。量生潁川太守雋，字元異。雋生京兆尹防，字建公。帝即防之第二子也。」】《晉書•卷一》

[2] - 【（司馬彪《序傳》曰：...父防，字建公，性質直公方，雖閑居宴處，威儀不忒。雅好《漢書名臣列傳》，所諷誦者數十萬言。少仕州郡，歷官洛陽令、京兆尹，以年老轉拜騎都尉。養志閭巷，闔門自守。諸子雖冠成人，不命曰進不敢進，不命曰坐不敢坐，不指有所問不敢言，父子之間肅如也。年七十一，建安二十四年終。有子八人，朗最長，次即晉宣皇帝也。）】《三國志注•卷十五》

[3] - 【（《曹瞞傳》曰：為尚書右丞司馬建公所舉。及公為王，召建公到鄴，與歡飲，謂建公曰：「孤今日可復作尉否？」建公曰：「昔舉大王時，適可作尉耳。」王大笑。建公名防，司馬宣王之父。臣松之案司馬彪《序傳》，建公不為右丞，疑此不然，而王隱《晉書》云趙王篡位，欲尊祖為帝，博士馬平議稱京兆府君昔舉魏武帝為北部尉，賊不犯界，如此則為有徵。）】《三國志注•卷一》

[4] - 【是時董卓遷天子都長安，卓因留洛陽。朗父防為治書御史，當徙西，以四方雲擾，乃遣朗將家屬還本縣。】《三國志注•卷十五》

[venicepearl]

Yang Xianrong (羊獻容) (died 322), posthumous name (as honored by Han Zhao) Empress Xianwen (獻文皇后, literally "the wise and civil empress"), was an empress—uniquely in the history of China, for two different dynastic empires and two different emperors. Her first husband was Emperor Hui of Jin, and her second husband was Liu Yao of Han Zhao. Also unique was the fact that she was deposed four times and restored four times as the empress of the Western Jin (five, if one counts the brief usurpation by Sima Lun against her husband in 301).

[chaoticbluebirdconnoisseur]

Five Mineral Drug

Five mineral powder (or wushi), also known as cold food powder (or hanshi), was one of the most widely used drugs in medieval China.  I have read the paper Lebensstil und Drogen im chinesischen Mittelalter by Rudolf G. Wagner and thought that those who can’t speak German might want to know more about it as well. In this, I will explain how it was found and popularized, the people who took this, symptoms, side effects, etc.

So I picked out a few texts and translated the translations from German to English. Keep in mind that the translation had gone from being originally written in Middle Chinese to being translated to German by Wagner, and then being translated by me in English. This is not an official translation, and I don’t want it to be treated as such. I tried finding alternative translations but in the end, I had to resort to translating most of it myself. My translations (which are Wagners translations) are marked with a ・ .

And also for those not bright enough: DO NOT RECREATE THIS TRASH! DO NOT ATTEMPT TO CONSUME IT! Jesus

Five Mineral Drug Before He Yan

There is not much known about the History before He Yan’s lifetime, but we have the following statement by Qin Zhengzu in his work Hanshi san lun ・ :

Although the recipe for the cold food powder originates in the Han Dynasty, there were not many who used it. But when the shangshu (He Yan) achieved godly mental abilities (because of the drug), it spread immensely throughout the era.

In Chao Yuanfang’s work Chaoshi Zhubing Yuanhuo [1] which citates Huangfu Mi ・ :

Where the drug came from is not known. Some say Hua Tuo invented it, others say it was Zhang Ji. If one examines the truthfulness on these accounts, it was plausible for Hua Tuo’s talent to invent simple recipes (which does not apply to the five mineral powder). In a text written by Zhang Ji, there is a recipe called Houshi Hei (Black Powder by Sir Hou) and a Zushi Ying recipe, both of those, have a similar composition like the Five Mineral Powder, and the codes of conduct (for the ingestion) are more or less the same. According to those two recipes, the plant-based and the mineral-based, I deduce the origins stem from Zhang Ji and not Hua Tuo.

Remarkable is that Huangfu Mi had to speculate even though He Yan was dead for only 30 years. Rudolf G. Wagner comments that Huangfu’s explanation could ring true because Zhang Ji was known as a doctor specialized in Shanghan diseases (cold diseases). Summarized we know that the drug was probably invented in the Han Dynasty and that it was meant to be used as medicine.

He Yan and the Popularization of The Five Mineral Drug

He Yan (d. 249) was the grandson of He Jin and grandnephew of Empress Dowager He. His mother Lady Yin, who was formerly the wife of He Xian, became the concubine of Cao Cao. Although he was closely affiliated with the imperial clan (through his mother and his wife Princess Jinxiang), he was largely unrecognized by them, Wendi of Wei even calling him a ‘false son'. He stayed out of government until Mingdi of Wei’s death. He Yan cultivated a circle of friends of scholarly interests, on which he exerted influence. His contemporaries include Wang Bi, Xiahou Xuan, Deng Yang, Li Sheng, and Zhuge Dan.

At the regency of Cao Shuang, he and his circle would take great influence in the years from 240 to 249, which was known as the Zhengshi era. He and Wang Bi (226-249)achieved great scholarly achievements in Neo-Daoism, also known as Xuanxue. The cultural, scholarly, and scientific advancements were unparalleled and imitated in later years. But the regime by Cao Shuang and his co-regent Sima Yi (179-251) would prove to be highly unstable. Cao Shuang and his circle came to represent the new elites with Xuanxue as their philosophy, and Sima Yi represented the orthodox Confucian landholders, who would feel threatened by He Yan and his friends who represented in many the new powerholders. Internal strifes in Cao’s faction and Sima Yi’s short retreat from the court would result in a coup d'état against Cao. Cao Shuang, He Yan, his supporters, and their families were all executed.

For a more thorough analysis on He Yan, I highly recommend DaolunofShiji’s A Case For He Yan.

He Yan was described in the He Yan Biezhuan:” His figure and face were of outstanding beauty; when he went outside, for a walk, onlookers would fill the streets; many said he was a genius”. Further, the Weilüe states: “...in all activities white cosmetic powder did not leave his hands, when walking he looked back at his shadow.” As a dandy, outstanding debater, and philosopher, he would dictate the beauty and philosophical trends, of not only his day but for the next centuries. For example, the former standards of attractiveness were in the Late Han Dynasty a warriorlike appearance with great strength to accompany it. Because of He Yan, the standards changed to a more docile and graceful appearance.

As a trendsetter, with no doubt many admirers, he introduced the drug in the Wei elite with his description of the drug cited in the Shishuo Xinyu: “Whenever I take five-mineral powder, not only does it heal any illness I might have, but I am also aware of my spirit and intelligence becoming receptive and lucid.” It’s popularity rose in the Wei-Jin elite as following anecdotes describe:

Chao Yuanfang’s work which cites Huangfu Mi in Chaoshi Zhubing Yuanhuo・ :

In youngest times, the shangshu He Yan devoted himself to music and appreciated sex, when he took the drug for the first time, his consciousness gained more clarity and his physical strength increased. In the capital (of Wei), everyone passed the drug around... After the death of He Yan, those who took the drug multiplied, and it didn’t slow down with time.

The drug not only aids ‘spirit and intelligence’ but also increases the enjoyment of music and sex.

Cao Shuang’s biography in the Sanguozhi [2]:

Shuǎng’s drink and food and chariots and clothing, imitated the Imperial carriage; craftsmen treasures and toys, filled up his house; wives and concubines filled his Rear Courtyard, and he also secretly took the Former Emperor’s Talent concubines of seven to eight women, and his offices and officials, teachers and workers, drums and horns, elite family’s sons and daughters of thirty-three people, all became his performers and musicians. He forged Imperial Order documents, sending out Talent concubines of fifty seven women to Yè terrace, and having the Former Emperor’s Fair concubines teach and practice performance. He usurped the Grand Musician’s musical instruments, and the Military Store’s prohibited weapons. He made cavern residences, fine engraving all around, repeatedly with [Hé] Yàn and the rest meeting inside, drinking liquor and making merry. 

Rudolf G. Wagner analysis that this scene is also in correlation to the five mineral powder, mainly being in a ‘cavern residence’ which helps with the side effects of the powder (I will explain the side effects later on). Also, the ‘Talented Concubines’ (who are Mingdi’s concubines), the excessive wine drinking, and the musical instruments indicate that the circumstance has been applied to fit the positives of using the drug and to alleviate the side effects.

Of course, this lifestyle would take a toll on He Yan’s health, as the powder that could ‘heal any illness’ betrayed him. As Guan Lu observed, not only He Yan but also his colleague Deng Yang were greatly weakened. The anecdote is in the Guan Lu biezhuan which you can find in his Sanguozhi biography[3]:

Deng Yang's gait is that of one whose sinews are loosed from his bones, and his pulse is unsteady. When he would stand, he totters as a man without limbs. This is the aspect of a disembodied soul. He Yan looks as if his soul was about to quit its habitation. He is bloodless, and what should be solid in him is mere vapor. He looks like rotten wood. This is the aspect of a soul even now in the dark valley.

Also the He Yan Biezhuan further states:” He had such a weakened constitution, that he couldn’t wear heavy silk anymore.” It is plausible that it is attributed to the drugs, the heavy silk could either produce more heat than he could handle, or it could apply pressure to the ulcers, you get from this drug, (but then again we will talk about the side effects later). Hao Yicheng (1757-1825) commented that if Sima Yi didn’t killed him, that he would have passed away anyway, because of the consequences of his drug use.

He Yan’s Legacy in Relation to the Drug

He Yan was the most important person concerning the rise of the drug in Wei-Jin circles. He was blamed for the moral decay of the elite, and over the centuries, criticized regularly for it. The following memorials bear witness to it:

Pei Wei’s (267-300) (whose father Pei Xiu passed away because of the drug, we will get to that later) memorial, which can be found in the Jinshu 35, criticizes Wang Yan and others for their admiration and imitating the actions of He Yan and Ruan Ji. It is explicitly mentioned that their rolemodels like themselves ran around naked, being unable to follow the rites.

Fan Ning, in the reign of Emperor Jianwen (reg. 371-373), presented in a memorial, which you can find in the Jinshu 75, in which he criticized He Yan and Wang Bi ‘That the faults of He Yan and Wang Bi are greater than Jie’s and Zhou’s faults’. Those two ‘terrible last rulers’ were considered evil, but only corrupted their own generation. He Yan and Wang Bi, on the other hand, exceeded the faults of ‘barbarians’ because their negative influence in all areas, corrupted the elite, the execution of He Yan and the establishment of a new dynasty affecting nothing to the problem. He is also implying that because the Jin elite followed He Yan’s and Wang Bi’s teachings, they couldn’t defend the north from the ‘barbarians’.

Sun Simiao (581-682) wrote in his treatise ‘Declaration of the Toxicity of the Five Mineral Powder’ which is in the Qian Jin Yao Fang ・ :

The revival medicine cold food powder or five mineral powder, according to old reports, were not known to recipe specialists, but (its use) began with the Marquis He after the end of the Han.

Since Huangfu Mi among those, who were tricked by this temptation, there were none, whose back didn’t inflame, whose bones didn’t disintegrate and who didn’t subject themselves to destruction. Since I can remember, it hasn’t struck only one from those who I knew, who came from the capital.

Su Shi (1036-1101) wrote in his memorial ‘The Memorial of Shangyang’ Lun Shangyang the following ・ :

It began with He Yan, that the people took stalactites and wushi (different word for fuzi: aconite), and gave themselves uncontrolled to wine and sex, to prolong their life. (He) Yan was in his youth rich and honored, how should one be surprised, that he took the cold food powder, to satisfy his desires? What he caused with that (that the powder spread), was enough to kill people and to destroy families. Every single day. How awful it is to die from the cold food powder - But what can I alone do? Those who take the cold food powder and whose backs are decaying (are so numerous), that they step on each other's feet!

Yu Zhengxie (1775–1840) wrote in his work Guisi Cungao the following, comparing the five mineral powder to opium ・ :

The nobles and dignitaries haven’t asked themselves if they have an illness or not, but it became fashionable with He Yan to take this drug without reason. The people of Wei and Jin took this drug and were not able to come back to their senses until the end of their lives...

The powder of Wei and Jin and the ‘pill’ of Tang and Song are the worst and are comparable with today’s opium. Under the Jin, Tang, and Song the governments, however, haven’t banned (these drugs), whereas today opium is banned; That’s how one can see that only the present government is handling the problem correctly.

The Recipe

First, we examine He Yan’s Five Mineral Powder Recipe, referenced in Sun Simiao’s (581-682) work Qian Jin Yi Fang, where mentioned in a note that if two components (sulfur and red clay containing silicon) are removed from the Wushi Gengsheng San recipe, you are left with Sanshi Gengsheng, Marquis He’s original recipe. The ingredients are listed here:

Zhongru (stalactite) 2.5 liang

Baishi Ying (milky quartz) 2.5 liang

Haige (oyster shell) 2.5 liang

Zishiying (amethyst) 2.5 liang

Fangfeng (Siler divaricum) 2.5 liang

Gualou (Trichosanthes kirilowii) 2.5 liang

Ganjiang (Zingiber officinale) 1.5 liang

Baishu (Atractylis ovata) 1.5 liang

Jiegeng (Platycodon grandiflorum) 5 fen

Xixin (Asarum Sieboldi) 5 fen

Renshen (Panax ginseng) 3 fen

Fuzi (Aconitum L.) cooked, with the removed shell 3 fen

Guixin (cinnamon tree bark from a smaller branch)

And very important is expensive wine.

As Wagner points out, his list of ingredients isn’t exact, because of the many variables the identification of those ingredients has (pharmacological variables, terms describing the ingredients, the provenance of the plants, etc.). But we can establish the most important ingredients: stalactite, aconite, and herbs such as ginger, ginseng, etc..

In Xi Kang’s (223-262) biography in the Jinshu 49, we see that stalactite could be consumed on its own ・ :

Xi Kang also met with Wang Lie, and together they went to the mountains. Lie found a stone, with the form resembling a sugar hat. Lie took half of the stone and gave the other half to Xi Kang. Both froze and turned to stone.

Donald Holzman, in his book La vie et la pensée de Hi K’ang identifies the ‘stone resembling a sugar hat’[4] as a stalactite, which is in He Yan’s recipe.

Little side note ‘turned to stone’ is indeed comparable with the slang ‘getting stoned’.

Pharmacological Effects

Before we turn to the preparation of the drug, I’d like to point out the fact that we only vaguely know what components lead to the psychoactive effect. Wagner wrote in his paper that he tried to have people knowledgeable in these regards, research with him, but it didn’t work out. If you want to learn more in this regard, I can’t help you.

Preparation of the Drug and Codes of Conduct

According to Huangfu Mi the minerals have to be prepared (I assume grinding it into a powder) and then they have to rest for 30 days. The plants are prepared on the day of ingestion.

The following texts are in Chao Yuanfang’s work Chaoshi Zhubing Yuanhuo and in Sun Simiao’s work Qian Jin Yi Fang ・ :

Those who take the Hanshi powder, take the amount of 2 liang, this amount is divided into three pastes.

At sunrise, he takes with hot, excellent wine the first paste. When the sun has moved one chang (meaning two hours), in turn, he takes the other paste. When the sun has moved a second chang, he takes the last paste, having used up everything.

After a while, he should wash his hands and feet with cold water. When the energy of the drug is working, one will feel numb. Thereupon he undresses and bathes in cold water. When the power of the drug gets stronger and the body is cooled, the mind opens to clarity, and one recovers from the hardships, even for those who lie weakened and suffering in their bed, it will improve before the day ends.

There are people of weak or strong constitution, and there is different tolerability of the drug for many. If the person using the drug is emaciated and weak, he can eat a little before taking the drug. But when the person is strong, he doesn’t need to eat...

One always has to dress cold, drink cold, eat cold, and sleep cold. The colder the better. If the drug didn’t had an effect yet, one shouldn’t bathe cold yet; if one bathes in this situation, it will result in a painful cold, blocking the drug’s effect, leaving the person shivering. Rather (if the drug is blocked) one should drink warm wine, jump, dance, and rub themselves, to achieve the effect, if one starts to get warm, then they should bathe. If the (situation where the drug hasn’t reached the effect) has been dealt with, one should stop and not overdo (the cooling). Also one should eat cold multiple times (a day), not only in the morning and evening. If one refrains from eating and getting so hungry, then it’s causing the person, to get cold, and only if he eats he will warm up.

The ingredients suggest a high content of calcium, explaining the feverish symptoms. For those symptoms of heat, it was also common to just remove the clothes and go around naked.

Further we are informed that 2 liang isn’t an universal dosage, about that Huangfu Mi writes, which is cited in Chao Yuanfang’s work Chaoshi Zhubing Yuanhuo ・   :

As far as seniors and children are concerned, who can’t tolerate (the normal amount, 2 liang) - here you can set the dosage under 2 liang. When the person is robust, you can set the dosage above two liang... Even though this medicine is excellent and can double the strength and spirit, it is indeed difficult to correctly dosage it.

Cao Xi (Yes from the imperial family) wrote also an explanation on the correct codes of conduct, which could criticize Huangfu’s suggestions which is quoted in Tamba Yasuyori’s work Ishimpo [5] ・ :

In general, one has to, when someone is taking the cold food drug, when it becomes too strong, consistently (focus on the condition) of the one taking the drug, and administer (fitting) healing recipes.

The body and liquids of the human flesh are (for different people) differing like earth and wind (as they are different in other places)Although it is said (by Huangfu Mi?), that one should drink wine, there are people who can do that, and those who cannot.

Although it is said (by Huangfu Mi?), one always has to stay cool, there are bodies of people, there are ones who can bear the cold, and those who can’t.

Although it is said (by Huangfu Mi?), one should eat and drink a lot, there are for food and drink different amounts (of digestibility).

Although it is said (by Huangfu Mi?), one should always exercise, there are different stabilities of the bone, ones who are strong and ones who are weak.

Because the people are thick and thin, old and young, have in their bodies illnesses or not, those who have much warmth and those who have much coldness, one cannot treat (the side effects) them with the same method.

A strong rise of the drug has many aspects and produces hundreds of illnesses.

As those symptoms can be useful in identifying anecdotes where someone is ‘under the influence’, as we turn to the next section.

The Stoned Nobles

Yes, Huangfu Mi called them “The Nobles turned to Stone”.

As it is mentioned the drug spread in He Yan’s lifetime and long after that. In the Guan Lu biezhuan there is instance recorded where Pei Hui asked his subordinate Zhao Kongyao why he isn’t looking well, Zhao replied ・ :”I have the misfortune, that no drug-minerals are remaining in my body.”

As Qin Zhengzu writes in his work Hanshi san lun ・:”Those who took (the powder), searched each others company.” The nobles of that time met in ‘drugparties’ which were most of the time called ‘wineparties’. The language describing those gatherings resembled those of wineparties. For example it is mentioned in the Jinshu 35 that Shi Chong (249-300) once wanted to sue Sun Lishu for not having acted according to the rites at his wineparty, but Pei Kai admonished Shi Chong by saying ・ :”You gave someone a wild drug and expect correct ritual behavior - isn’t that wrong?”

Then we of course have the parties by Cao Shuang, being prime examples of drug use. Of course the one mentioned in the Sanguozhi but also the one mentioned in Zhong Hui’s biography for his mother ・ :

At this time the Great General Cao Shuang alone held the goverment; he gave himself daily to wine until he became heavily drunk. The elder brother of Hui, the shizhong (Zhong) Yu told what happened on these parties. My mother (Zhong Hui’s mother) said:’ When they are having their fun, they are just having their fun, but it won’t last long. When those of high rank, aren’t arrogant and follow the rules and regulations, then they aren’t getting themselves in trouble. If they overdo it, a tragedy will happen. (Those who are in the government) have an excessive wastefulness. This is not the way to keep wealth and high positions’.

The seven sages of the bamboo grove were also known to be fond of the drug. We know of course that Xi Kang took stalactites, the other members showed also similar symptoms described in the following texts:

Wang Yin’s Jinshu biography cited in the Shishuo Xinyu ・ :

At the end of Wei, Ruan Ji drank heavily, neglecting himself completely, showed his hair in an unkempt state in public, and sat naked with sprawled out legs.

Liu Ling’s love for wine is well recorded, but we see him naked here as well, indicating of course this is a incident of drug use, it’s cited in the Shishuo Xinyu [6] :

Liu Ling was an inveterate drinker and indulged himself to the full. Sometimes he stripped of his clothes and sat in his room naked. Some men saw him and rebuked him. Liu Ling said, “Heaven and earth are my dwelling, and my house is my trousers. Why are you all coming into my trousers?”

Not only in the nobility was the drug popular, but emperors also took this. Emperor Huidi of Jin once had a party with youths of the nobility, it’s cited in the Jinshu 27 ・ :

Huidi hosted in the Yuankang era (291-299) a wine party with the high ranking and entertainment seeking youths (of the elite), they let their hair down and undressed in front of the slaves serving as concubines. Those who wouldn’t participate in it fell from grace, those who rejected it were criticized. Only a few nobles wouldn’t participate in it because of embarrassment, and they were presented as they would lack reverence (towards their ruler).

Interesting to see that not only the use of the drug only had a small opposition, but those who refused to participate in those drug parties were put under pressure. It was not only Huidi of Jin who used the five mineral powder but also emperor Tuoba Gui who personally beat those to death who argued against his drug use and displayed their corpses in the ‘hall of heavenly peace’.

After the fall of Western Jin the nobles took their drug culture with them south, as it is described in an anecdote with ‘The Eight Da’ which is cited in the Jinshu 49 [7]:

Humu Fuzhi, Xie Kun, Ruan Fang, Bi Zhuo, Yang Man, Huan Yi and Ruan Fu were sitting together naked and with disheveled hair in a closed room; they had already been drinking for several days. (Guang) Yi (Humu Fuzhi’s protege whom they had not seen for years, arrived and) was about to push the door open and to enter, but the guardian did not allow him (to come in). He thereupon stripped himself outside the door, put off his hat, (crept) into the dog-hole and looked at them, shouting loudly. (Humu) Fuzhi was startled and said:’Other people definitely cannot do so. That must be our Mengzi (i.e. Guang Yi)’. He immediately called him in, and together with him they (went on) drinking day and night, without stopping. Their contemporaries called them ‘the Eight da’.

The Five Mineral Drug and Women

Wagner comments on the question if women took the drug as well, that they were only sexual objects or musicians. They were not members of the circle who took them for psychoactive purposes.

But that doesn’t mean they didn’t consume it. Certainly, they didn’t participate in parties like the scholar gentry, but they used it like most as medicine. In Chao Yuanfang’s work Chaoshi Zhubing Yuanhuo [8] it says:

When a pregnant woman catches cold and suffers from serious pain in her body, and she cannot be moved because of her condition, taking a dose of Cold Food Powder in warm wine and having a cold bath can do her good. After this, if she feels numbness somewhere on her body, the area should be washed with cold water, if she feels cold, drink some doses of wine...

Considering the fact that He Yan ignored the drug’s intended purposes, it is probable that not all women of that time weren’t so strict on using it purely as medicine either.

Also worth mentioning is that women took other substances like cinnabar, in the tomb of Wang Danhu 200 pills were found, which contained cinnabar. Cinnabar was mainly used in alchemy to either achieve immortality, or immortality of the corpse (to preserve it). But in the Tang dynasty, it replaced the five mineral powder, for it was also psychoactive.[9]

Five Mineral Drug and the Common People

To clarify, the five mineral powder was a luxury commodity. The powder itself wasn’t cheap and you had to mix it with expensive wine. There were no people who could profit from peasants getting addicted, there was no point in getting someone addicted to a substance he couldn’t even in the slightest afford. The five mineral powder was in every aspect a status symbol.

And because it was a status symbol people who couldn’t afford the powder would feign to suffer from the side effects of the powder. An anecdote from the Taiping Guangji 247 states ・ :

In the Northern Wei under Xiaowendi (reg. 471-500) the princes and high dignitaries, in high numbers, took the mineral drug, they were called the Shifa, for those ‘where the mineral drug is coming up strongly’. However, there were also people, who had a fever but were not rich and high standing, but also claimed they took minerals and that the fever derived from that. Contemporaries frequently suspected that those people imitated the looks from the rich and high standing.

There was once a man who lied down in front of the gates of the market and with all seriousness assured, that he had a fever so that the people congregated around him to take a look at him. When his companion wondered (about his simulation), he told him:’The drugs are coming up strongly (I am a Shifa).’ His companion asked:’When did the high lord take the minerals?’ The man replied:’Yesterday evening I bought rice, in it I found a mineral; That one I ate and now it is coming up too strongly.’ Everyone started laughing (because the effect of the powder starts immediately, exposing himself). Since then there were only a few, who pretended to suffer from the drug.

Effects of the Five Mineral Powder

As mentioned five mineral powder was originally used as a medicine, but through He Yan, it was used as a lifestyle drug. It was recommended to be used for everyone, literally everyone. Embryos, children, adults, seniors, healthy people, sick people, weak people, and strong people. And it seems that it was not just recommended in treating every disease you might have, but also to achieve godly abilities, good looks, a lucid mind, strength and of course using it per se was a sign of extreme wealth.

Shi Huiyi (372-444) wrote, which is cited in the Ishimpo by Tamba Yasuyori ・:

The five mineral powder is among the supreme drugs. One can excellently prolong their life, nourish life, and bring harmony to one's intellect. How could (one say) that the drug can only heal illnesses?

Cao Xi wrote, which is cited in Qin Zhengzu’s work Hanshi san lun ・ :

Those who are in today’s high rank, see the basic recipe of the drug and are calling out:’This is the divine powder, with which you can hold on to your life.’ And then comes the day, where they are taking it, undress, stand in the wind and pour cold water over them.

Side Effects of the Five Mineral Powder

Wudi sent an urgent message, in which he demanded that Huangfu Mi accepts a government post. Mi answered with a submittal, referring to himself as ‘the hidden one in the grass’: ‘Since I am weakened and emaciated, I am unclear about the direction of the way. Because of my illness, I removed my hairpins, my hair is (dense) like a forest... My humble self has nothing excellent about me, I cause catastrophe’s and seek my ruin, in fear of my serious illness. Half of my body is already numb, and my right leg couldn’t support myself for 19 years. I also take the cold food powder drug and missed and confused the codes of conduct; my pain (caused by this), my suffering, my bitterness, and my sorrows last for seven years. Even in the coldest weather, I undress and eat ice, and when summer comes, it is unbearably warm, and I am shaken by the coughing. At times I am exceedingly feverish, at times I have the coldest chills; Pus is running out my ulcers, and my arms and legs are heavy. In the meantime, my suffering only got worse, as I am gasping for my life...

In the Jinshu 51 ・ Huangfu Mi describes his ailings caused by the drug, in a submittal, hoping to avoid office. He took this drug in hopes to cure his old disease (most likely a stroke), but only worsened his overall condition. As Huangfu Mi describes further implications, cited in Chao Yuanfang’s work Chaoshi Zhubing Yuanhuo ・ :

At times hands and feet hurt, and all joints want to loosen(?). On the body ulcers, form and knots raise. One sits at the bed and sits for a long time, without moving. Extreme heat is everywhere on the body and collects on one point. At times there are hard sores. When it gets worse, they turn to ulcers. When one recognizes that, the person has to wash it with cold water and rub a cold stone (over the sores). In an easy case the sores disappear after a short time; In the worst case one has to pour water over it for a few days without pause, and then it will improve. When the person has been watered for a while, he will recover eventually. But when the bumps are getting bigger and there is no improvement, one should take a knife whetstone and hold it to fire until it glows, then throw the stone in bitter wine. When the stone is in the bitter wine the stone shatters. Thereon one should grind the stone, and apply the stone mixture to the ulcers; When it has been done three times it will improve. Then one takes big worms from the toilet, grind them, and warm them up and apply the mixture to the ulcers, also that is not necessary to do more than three times, and then the healing is improved.

Huangfu Mi doesn’t write where the ulcers form but it is highly likely that they form on the back. Su Shi writes of decaying backs and according to Huangfu Mi, a son of Wang Su (195–256), Wang Liangfu, died because ‘ulcers ate his back away’.

Of course, the well-known side effect is getting feverish but there are far more, according to Chao Yuanfang’s work Chaoshi Zhubing Yuanhuo other side effects include ・ :

Swelling of the stomach, until it wants to explode

Inflamed buttocks

Stabbing pain in the heart, like needles

Dizziness, frequent falling

Pain on all limbs

Difficulty to urinate

Difficulty to defecate

Stiffening of the joints, until one cannot move or stretch

Defecating without knowing

Pain in the eyes, like needles

Tinnitus and liquids exiting the ear

Pain in the mouth, tongue is tensing, and the mouth getting so dry you can’t eat

Rotting of the testicles

Sweating secretion under the arms and ulcers (on the lymph nodes?)

Hypersomnia without being capable to wake up oneself

Swallowing a cough up, leading to an injury to the throat and to bleeding

The feeling of cold and heat change for months

Screaming loudly with a wide openend mouth and with wide openend eyes

Blindness

Insomnia

Stiffening of muscles and skin, until they are dry and feel like wood

Tendency for the eyes to pop out

Some of them can be deadly. But next to the physiological side effects, there are also the psychological side effects. Huangfu Mi writes the following, cited in Chao Yuanfang’s work Chaoshi Zhubing Yuanhuo ・ :

In general, those who take these drugs, when it came up too strongly, even when they are usually intelligent, they are getting dumb. When they are abandoned, they won’t get better. The number of those who died isn’t comprehensible. In general speaking for the stoned nobles, there are ten wrong attitudes (before ingesting the drug): 1.That they are starring angrily; 2.That they have fears or worries; 3. That they cry; 4.That they suppress defecation; 5. That they suppress hunger; 6.That they suppress thirst; 7.That they suppress heat; 8.That they suppress cold; 9.That they overexert themselves; 10.That they are sitting stiff and don’t move When one is against these ten wrong attitudes, one has to, when one wants to raise the effect of the drug, but is already stiff, always has to relax and bring harmony to the limbs; also one cannot read bitter things and not think of something worrying. If one is capable of doing that, the drug won’t come up too strongly and everything will better

If you fail in getting relaxed, similar to LSD, you are getting a ‘bad trip’. Huangfu Mi writes, which is also cited in Chao Yuanfang’s work Chaoshi Zhubing Yuanhuo ・ :

One time I felt like that, when I was sitting in front of my food and tears just kept falling. I took a knife and wanted to kill myself, but was unable to go through with it because my family noticed and took the knife away. I retreated, checked myself, and forced myself to eat and to drink cold water, after that the (desperation) stopped. That it didn’t come to a tragedy, hang on a single thread.

Wang Wei (398-425) once treated his brother with the five mineral drug, but he passed away as a consequence. Wang Wei blamed himself and wrote in a letter which is cited in the Songshu ・ :

In the past year, the powder came up too strongly; on the climax tears came to my eyes, day and night without stopping

And of course, we have Tuoba Gui, when he started taking the five mineral drug his reign was considered ‘a bad trip’

Everyone was aware of the side effects, but they didn’t attribute that as an inevitable consequence but as a case of an overdosing. It was considered safe to use as long as it was used correctly. How it was considered safe to use knew no one.

First Aid In Case of Overdose

At times it can happen, that one falls unconscious and doesn’t recognize people or circumstances. If one (wants) to move its mouth, one can’t open it. The ill person doesn’t know himself and relies on the help of others. In this case, it is necessary that one takes hot wine, for it now depends on his life. But if he can’t drink (the hot wine because of the stiff mouth), one has to kick his teeth in and force the wine down his throat. When the throat is blocked, and the wine flows out, one should not stop (pouring it in). When (the wine) flows out again, one should pour it again and repeats it for perhaps half a day. When the wine gets down, he will regain conscience, but if one stops, without the person drinking the wine, one kills the person.

This is a recommendation by Huangfu Mi cited in Chao Yuanfang’s work Chaoshi Zhubing Yuanhuo ・, it is probably self-explanatory that kicking the teeth of another person while unconscious, will at least provoke animosity, especially when the person unconscious is of higher rank like Pei Xiu. Huangfu Mi writes about his death in Chao Yuanfang’s work ・ :

Pei Xiu from Hedong took the drug and missed the codes of conduct. But because he attained the rank of Sangong, no one dared to force him to treat the (side effects of the drug). He was already beyond the stage of confusion, so that he wasn’t able to realize (what should have been necessary to do), and no one in his entourage knew how to help him. The treatment they chose for him was (giving him instead of warm wine, which would have been correct), letting him drink cold water and rinse him with cold water. When they used hundreds of shi of water on him, the cold became too much and, he died in the water.[10]

If one takes ten shi of glowing coal and pours over them 200 shi of cold water, the glowing coal will go out. Although the heat (caused) by the drug was great, it isn’t as great as the fire stemming from 10 shi stone coal. If one pours the person without interruption, the cold will be enough to kill him.

Later his son Pei Wei wrote a memorial, which you can find in the Jinshu 35, urging to correct the scale of the imperial physicians to prevent overdosing. He didn’t explicitly mention the five mineral drugs, but his background and the massive prevalence of the drug should be good indicators.

Lethality of the Five Mineral Drug

Those who survive (the intake) the longest, live for a few decades; those who live the shortest, only for five to six years. Even though I myself still see and breathe, (is that what I say), only the laugh of a drowning man.

Huangfu Mi’s description of the lethality of the drug cited in the Chaoshi Zhubing Yuanhuo ・. He also lists people who died from the drug in the following:

More and more people took this powder and refused to stop, at time, including myself. Although violent effects were not common it could take a man’s life. One of my cousins named Changhu, suffered from atrophy of the tongue almost shrunk back into his throat; Wang Liangfu of Donghai country suffered from ulcerative carbuncles on his back; Xin Changxu in western Gansu Province suffered ulceration of his back muscles; Zhao Gonglie in Shu County of Sichuan lost six of his cousins to it. All these sufferings were caused by taking cold food powder. Among these, some were quite elderly and some still young, only 5-6 years old. Though I have seen this and sighed at it, I am just like a single drowning man, laughing at those drowning. Yet patients will not take a warning from this, and stop themselves.[11]

Notes

[1] All of Huangfu Mi’s works about the five mineral powder, are only existant in citations in the Chaoshi Zhubing Yuanhuo, the Hanshi san lun and the Ishimpo.

[2] The translation of Cao Shuang’s biography was made by @xuesanguo​. You can read it here.

[3] This translation I found in Guan Lu’s wikipedia page. It basically says everything Wagner has translated. But I only know for sure in this passage, I don’t know if the rest is correct.

[4] I couldn’t find a whole translation of this passage, but in Google Books the translation for Wagners ‘sugar hat’ (in German ‘Zuckerhut’), is in other versions ‘sweet meat’ or ‘cakelike stalagmite’. I personally think ‘sugar hat’ fits best.

[5] Cao Xi was the son of Cao Hui, Prince of Dongping. After the establishment of Jin he was made Duke of Linqiu. His works about the powder were also lost to time and ony citations in the Ishimpo and in the Hanshi san lun survive. Also to note the Ishimpo, which was written in around the year 984, was the first medical text in Japan.

[6]This translation is in the book World History, Volume 1

[7]This translation is in the book The Buddhist Conquest of China: The Spread and Adaptation of Buddhism in Early Medieval China by Erik Zürcher

[8]This translation is in the book History Of Medicine In Chinese Culture. Important to note is that Chao Yuanfang hasn’t quoted neither Huangfu Mi nor Cao Xi, so it could be his own recommendation, which was then followed in the Sui dynasty.

[9] For more info on Wang Danhu I recommend Entombed Epigraphy and Commemorative Culture in Early Medieval China by Timothy M. Davis, Landadel - Emigranten - Emporkömmlinge: Familienfriedhöfe des 3.-6. Jahrhunderts n. Chr. in Südchina by Annette Kieser, and Emigrantenfamilien der Östlichen Jin-Zeit  im Spiegel ihrer Gräber und Grabinschrifttafeln also by Annette Kieser.

[10]The Jinshu says he drank cold wine, not cold water. In this case the Jinshu is correct, he should have had warm wine, but he was given cold wine.

[11]This translation is in the book History Of Medicine In Chinese Culture.

[zirroxas]

If You’re Wondering Who is Who in the Trailer

Sima Liang - Prince of Runan

Sima Wei - Prince of Chu

Sima Lun - Prince of Zhao

Sima Jiong - Prince of Qi

Sima Ling - Prince of Chengdu

Sima Yong - Prince of Hejian

Sima Ai - Prince of Changsha

Sima Yue - Prince of Donghai

And the woman we see briefly at the end is almost certainly Empress Jia Nanfeng.

[the-archlich]

What is your opinion of the Eight Princes is in theWar of the Eight Princes?Do you believe everyone considered all of them a princess should be counted among them? Do you believe there's anyone who's not but should have been counted among the princes? I do remember one Sima army nearly defeated one of the official 8 princess from the capital Serious Trivia YouTube channel.What do you think about each of the 8 princess and the disabled emperor of China and his wife and the emperor prodigy son?

The way I see it, there are two different conflicts being discussed.

Sima Liang and Sima Wei were involved in the politics following the death of Sima Yan, which ended with the Jia regime in power. There were other important Sima princes involved as well; Sima Jian, Sima Yao, Sima Yun, Sima Tai, Sima Xia, and Sima Huang to name the first ones who come to mind.

That is entirely separate from the war that began after Jia Nanfeng deposed Crown Prince Sima Yu. That led to Sima Lun taking power, Sima Zhong being passed around between different regents, and so on and so forth. It has nothing at all to do with the earlier conflict; Sima Liang and Sima Wei have no part in it.

Any discussion of that conflict seems incomplete without any mention of Sima Rong and Sima Yun, in particular. There are others who are also worth mentioning but those two were critical to the whole process.

Talking about these two things like they're the same thing just doesn't make sense. The events were a decade apart and mostly involved different people.

[modernshxmxn]

Poverty and diseases come; they cannot be kept away or eliminated completely...Your situation can be compared to the encounter of a brave knight with a band of brigrands. Never feeling dread or fear, he brandishes his sword and rushes to the battle front, fighting until the robbers flee. Having thus gained merit in service, he is gloriously rewarded for the rest of his life. If now there are poverty and diseases vexing and troubling me, then these are my robbers and brigands. With an upright mind, I can be a brave knight. Examining them in wisdom and by observation, I brandish my sword. The battle is won when all vexations and forms of bondage are eliminated. To be at peace and constantly happy—this is the glorious reward.

Sima Chengzghen (born 647—died 735), True Observation (Zhenguan) from Zuowang lun (Discourse on Sitting in Oblivion) translation by Livia Kohn. 

[fuyonggu]

Biography of Sima Jiong (Book of Jin 59)

齊武閔王冏，字景治，獻王攸之子也。少稱仁惠，好振施，有父風。初，攸有疾，武帝不信，遣太醫診候，皆言無病。及攸薨，帝往臨喪，冏號踴訴父病為醫所誣，詔即誅醫。由是見稱，遂得為嗣。元康中，拜散騎常侍，領左軍將軍、翊軍校尉。趙王倫密與相結，廢賈后，以功轉遊擊將軍。冏以位不滿意，有恨色。孫秀微覺之，且憚其在內，出為平東將軍、假節，鎮許昌。倫篡，遷鎮東大將軍、開府儀同三司，欲以寵安之。

Sima Jiong was styled Jingzhi; his posthumous title was Prince Wumin ("the Martial and Pitied") of Qi. He was the son of Prince Xian ("the Presented") of Qi, Sima You. Even as a child, Sima Jiong won acclaim for his kind and benevolent attitude and enjoyed being generous; he had the same spirit as his father.

Before Sima You's death, although he had become ill, Emperor Wu did not really believe that he was sick. So he sent the imperial doctors to examine and diagnose Sima You, and they declared that he was not ill. When Sima You then passed away and Emperor Wu went to attend the mourning service, Sima Jiong was in a fit of grief, declaring that the doctors had given false reports about Sima You's illness. Emperor Wu ordered the doctors put to death, and Sima Jiong won renown for this act and was permitted to inherit his father's title as Prince of Qi (although he was not the eldest son).

During the Yuankang reign era (291-300), Sima Jiong was appointed as a Cavalier In Regular Attendance, as acting General of the Left Army, and as Colonel Who Supports The Army. The Prince of Zhao, Sima Lun, secretly formed ties with him.

For his role in helping to depose Jia Nanfeng (in 300), Sima Jiong was appointed as General of Roaming Assault. But Sima Jiong was not satisfied by this position, and he often looked resentful. When Sun Xiu realized this, he was afraid to keep Sima Jiong too close at hand, so he had him sent away as General Who Pacifies The East and Credential Holder and had him garrison Xuchang.

When Sima Lun usurped the throne (in 301), he appointed Sima Jiong as Grand General Who Guards The East and granted him the privilege of a Separate Office with equal ceremonial to the Three Excellencies, in order to mollify and appease him.

冏因眾心怨望，潛與離狐王盛、潁川王處穆謀起兵誅倫。倫遣腹心張烏覘之，烏反，曰：「齊無異志。」冏既有成謀未發，恐或泄，乃與軍司管襲殺處穆，送首於倫，以安其意。謀定，乃收襲殺之。遂與豫州刺史何勖、龍驤將軍董艾等起軍，遣使告成都、河間、常山、新野四王，移檄天下征鎮、州郡縣國，咸使聞知。揚州刺史郗隆承檄，猶豫未決，參軍王邃斬之，送首於冏。冏屯軍陽翟，倫遣其將閭和、張泓、孫輔出堮阪，與冏交戰。冏軍失利，堅壘自守。會成都軍破倫眾于黃橋，冏乃出軍攻和等，大破之。及王輿廢倫，惠帝反正，冏誅討賊党既畢，率眾入洛，頓軍通章署，甲士數十萬，旌旗器械之盛，震於京都。天子就拜大司馬，加九錫之命，備物典策，如宣、景、文、武輔魏故事。

Sima Jiong was planning to take advantage of the anger and resentment of the people against Sima Lun, and he secretly plotted with Wang Sheng of Lihu and Wang Chumu of Yingchuan to rise up with soldiers to overthrow Sima Lun. But at the same time, Sima Lun had sent one of his confidantes, Zhang Wu, to keep a close eye on Sima Jiong. When Zhang Wu returned to the capital, he reported, "The Prince of Qi has no ulterior motives against you." And since Sima Jiong's plans were not yet complete, he was afraid that the plot might leak out. So he joined with his Army-Marshal, Guan Xi, to kill Wang Chumu, then sent Wang Chumu head to Sima Lun in order to allay his concerns. However, once Sima Jiong's plan was complete, he arrested Guan Xi and killed him.

Then Sima Jiong raised an army, together with the Inspector of Yuzhou, He Xu, the Dragon-Soaring General, Dong Ai, and others. He sent word around to inform others of his plot: the Prince of Chengdu, Sima Ying, the Prince of Hejian, Sima Yong, the Prince of Changshan, Sima Ai, and the Prince of Xinye, Sima Xin.

Sima Jiong sent out a proclamation of his intentions to every general or minister, to all the Generals Who Conquer, Generals Who Guard, Inspectors, Administrators, Prefects, and Interior Ministers, so that everyone might know what his designs were.

When the Inspector of Yanzhou, Chi Long, received Sima Jiong's proclamation, he was hesitant and could not decide whether to support him or not. But one of his Army Advisors, Wang Sui, beheaded Chi Long and sent his head to Sima Jiong.

Sima Jiong camped his army at Yangdi. Sima Lun sent his generals Zhang Hong, Lü He, and Sun Fu to march out through Eban, where they met Sima Jiong in battle. Sima Jiong had the worst of the fighting, so he withdrew into his defenses and fortified his ramparts. But in the meantime, Sima Ying's army routed Sima Lun's forces at Huangqiao. So Sima Jiong led his army out again and attacked Lü He and the others, this time greatly routing them.

Once the Princes had finished deposing Sima Lun and restoring Emperor Hui to the throne and Sima Jiong had completed his executions of Sima Lun's partisans in villainy, Sima Jiong led his troops into Luoyang, where he made arrangements for accommodating his troops. He had hundreds of thousands of armored soldiers, with a full panoply of flags and banners and military gear, and the capital region trembled.

Emperor Hui appointed Sima Jiong as Grand Marshal and granted him the Nine Bestowments. He was granted regent authority to handle all canons and policies, just as Sima Yi, Sima Shi, Sima Zhao, and Emperor Wu had once wielded such power on behalf of the government of Wei. 

冏於是輔政，居攸故宮，置掾屬四十人。大築第館，北取五穀市，南開諸署，毀壞廬舍以百數，使大匠營制，與西宮等。鑿千秋門牆以通西閣，後房施鐘懸，前庭舞八佾，沈於酒色，不入朝見。坐拜百官，符敕三臺，選舉不均，惟寵親昵。以車騎將軍何勖領中領軍。封葛<方與>為牟平公，路秀小黃公，衛毅陰平公，劉真安鄉公，韓泰封丘公，號曰「五公」，委以心膂。殿中御史桓豹奏事，不先經冏府，即考竟之。於是朝廷側目，海內失望矣。南陽處士鄭方露版極諫，主簿王豹屢有箴規，冏並不能用，遂奏豹殺之。有白頭公入大司馬府大呼，言有兵起，不出甲子旬。即收殺之。

Sima Jiong thus acted as regent over the government. He lived in Sima You's old palace, and selected forty assistants and subordinates for himself. He greatly expanded the rooms and buildings of his palace, extending the estate north to reach the Five Grains Market and south to connect with the various government offices. He demolished hundreds of homes and buildings in the process. He ordered the Grand Architect to lay out his palace to be on the same scale as Emperor Hui's residence at the Western Palace. He bored a hole through the Qianqiu Gate to make a direct path to the Western Pavilion, and he hung up bells in his rear chambers and arrayed dancers in eight rows (an imperial privilege) in his front hall. He indulged himself in wine and sensual pleasures, not bothering to attend court.

Sima Jiong appointed various ministers without any ceremony, just granting the appointments from where he sat, and he issued commands to the Three Bureaus of the government simply by a mark. And in his selections and promotions, he was not impartial, but only favored those who were close to him and familiar. He appointed the General of Chariots and Cavalry, He Xu, as General Who Leads The Army of the Center. He also appointed Ge Yu as Duke of Mouping, Lu Xiu as Duke of Xiaohuang, Wei Yi as Duke of Yinping, Liu Zhen as Duke of Anxiang, and Han Tai as Duke of Fengqiu; they came to be known as the "Five Dukes", and all of them were Sima Jiong's close companions.

The Secretary of the Central Hall, Huan Bao, submitted a petition without first sending it to Sima Jiong's office for review, for which he was submitted to interrogation. From then on, the court ministers all glanced about in fear, and everyone within the Seas lost hope in Sima Jiong.

A recluse of Nanyang, Zheng Fang, submitted an essay harshly remonstrating with Sima Jiong (his essay is listed below). And one of the Registrars, Wang Bao, often warned Sima Jiong against what he was doing (his essays and biography are in the Biographies of Loyal Ministers). But Sima Jiong did not follow either of their advice, and he even arranged to have Wang Bao killed.

A white-haired gentleman ran into the office of the Grand Marshal, exclaiming that there would be an uprising soon, before the next Jiazi year (in 304). He was arrested and killed.

冏驕恣日甚，終無悛志。前賊曹屬孫惠復上諫曰：惠聞天下五難，四不可，而明公皆以居之矣。捐宗廟之主，忽千乘之重，躬貫甲胄，犯冒鋒刃，此一難也。奮三百之卒，決全勝之策，集四方之眾，致英豪之士，此二難也。舍殿堂之尊，居單幕之陋，安囂塵之慘，同將士之勞，此三難也。驅烏合之眾，當凶強之敵，任神武之略，無疑阻之懼，此四難也。檄六合之內，著盟信之誓，升幽宮之帝，復皇祚之業，此五難也。大名不可久荷，大功不可久任，大權不可久執，大威不可久居。未有行其五難而不以為難，遺其不可而謂之為可。惠竊所不安也。自永熙以來，十有一載，人不見德，惟戮是聞。公族構篡奪之禍，骨肉遭梟夷之刑，群王被囚檻之困，妃主有離絕之哀。曆觀前代，國家之禍，至親之亂，未有今日之甚者也。良史書過，後嗣何觀！天下所以不去于晉，符命長存於世者，主無嚴虐之暴，朝無酷烈之政，武帝餘恩，獻王遺愛，聖慈惠和，尚經人心。四海所系，實在於茲。今明公建不世之義，而未為不世之讓，天下惑之，思求所悟。長沙、成都，魯、衛之密，國之親親，與明公計功受賞，尚不自先。今公宜放桓、文之勳，邁臧、劄之風，芻狗萬物，不仁其化，崇親推近，功遂身退，委萬機于二王，命方岳於群後，燿義讓之旗，鳴思歸之鑾，宅大齊之墟，振泱泱之風，垂拱青、徐之域，高枕營丘之籓。金石不足以銘高，八音不足以讚美，姬文不得專聖於前，太伯不得獨賢於後。今明公忘亢極之悔，忽窮高之凶，棄五嶽之安，居累卵之危，外以權勢受疑，內以百揆損神。雖處高臺之上，逍遙重仞之墉，及其危亡之憂，過於潁、翟之慮。群下竦戰，莫之敢言。惠以衰亡之余，遭陽九之運，甘矢石之禍，赴大王之義，脫褐冠胄，從戎于許。契闊戰陣，功無可記，當隨風塵，待罪初服。屈原放斥，心存南郢；樂毅適趙，志戀北燕。況惠受恩，偏蒙識養，雖復暫違，情隆二臣，是以披露血誠，冒昧幹迕。言入身戮，義讓功舉，退就鈇鑕，此惠之死賢於生也。冏不納，亦不加罪。

Sima Jiong only grew more arrogant by the day, and he never did reform his desires. 

A former official from the office of Bandit Management, Sun Hui, also wrote a letter to Sima Jiong remonstrating with him. He wrote, 

"I have heard that Your Highness has faced five hardships to reach your current position, and I am familiar with four truths about the impermanence of power. Yet Your Highness remains unconcerned about any of these things. 

"To set aside your gravity as keeper of your family’s ancestral temple and lay down your majesty of being lord of a domain of a thousand chariots in favor of personally donning armor and helmet and braving risks and facing dangers was the first hardship Your Highness undertook. To muster a band of three hundred fellows, devise plans for decisive and total victory, assemble soldiers from every corner, and gather together brave heroes was the second. To abandon the hallowed halls of your palace and dwell in the wretched conditions of a soldier's tent, peacefully enduring the noise and filth of the camp and sharing the labor and toil of the generals and soldiers was the third. To organize a flock of conscripts, prepare them to resist the fearsome might of the enemy, devise for them genius plans of martial prowess, and temper them with courage and resolve was the fourth. And to send out proclamations in every direction, gain the trust of sworn allies, restore the deposed Emperor to the throne, and revive the imperial fortunes was the fifth. 

"At the same time, I observe these truths: even a great reputation cannot ensure one's position, even great merits cannot secure one in office, even great influence cannot be wielded forever, and even great authority cannot be counted to last.

"Yet Your Highness does not recognize the extent of these five hardships you faced to get where you are, nor do you acknowledge these four truths. I cannot help but be concerned for you.

"In the eleven years since the start of the Yongxi era (in 290), there have been no instances of public virtue, but only reports of slaughter. The imperial clan has suffered the disasters of usurpations and struggles for power, and imperial relatives have inflicted punishments and executions against their own flesh and blood; princes have endured the indignities of jail cells and prison carts, and consorts have lamented their fates of being cut off and set aside. Indeed, in all of history, though we read of states that suffered disasters and close relatives that warred among themselves, never has there been a situation as dire as this one. If the historians be honest about our faults, how will our descendants ever bear to read about them? 

"Why then has the realm not abandoned Jin, and why has the Mandate not passed from our dynasty? Only because the ruler has not exhibited tyranny and severity and the court has not governed with violence and cruelty, because of the enduring grace of Emperor Wu and the lasting love of Prince Xian (Sima You). It was their sage benevolence and their kindly magnanimity which bound the hearts of the people toward Jin. And these are the things which secure the support of all those within the Four Seas.

"Now although Your Highness displayed an unparalleled sense of righteousness when you led your uprising against the usurper, still you have failed to show an equivalent sense of peerless virtue by yielding your position afterwards. The realm wonders at the reasons for this, and they seek an answer. Furthermore, the Princes of Changsha (Sima Ai) and Chengdu (Sima Ying) have the same close bond to one another as the ancient lords of Lu and Wey, they are the immediate family members of the Emperor (as his younger brothers), and when one considers whom among the three of you accomplished the most during the recent campaign and deserved the greatest rewards, it is difficult to be certain that Your Highness has an undisputed claim to supremacy. By continuing what you are currently doing, Your Highness will be giving up the good achievements of Duke Huan of Qi and Duke Wen of Jin when they selflessly rescued the royal family of Zhou from peril, and treading the same path as Zang and Zha instead. Straw dogs and all the beings of creation are not treated any differently out of any consideration of benevolence.

"Your Highness should honor your relatives and yield in favor of those near in stature to you, considering that your work is complete and withdrawing from the center. Entrust affairs to the two Princes, while you supervise the heirs of the various feudal lords. Display the banner of your righteous intention to yield power and sound the call of your wish to return to your noble fief, dwell within your domain as lord of the great Qi region, catch the spirit of the billowing wind, take the areas of Qingzhou and Xuzhou into your hands, and stand proud at your post at Yingqiu. If you do these things, then even gold will not be a good enough medium to record the greatness of your achievements and even the Eight Sounds will not be sufficient tunes to sing your praises; Ji Wen (King Wen of Zhou) would no longer have the sole claim for sagacity, nor Taibo for worthiness.

"But if you forget the dangers of the great precipice you are standing upon and heedlessly ascend towards the summit, you would be abandoning the security of the Five Peaks and making your position as precarious as a stack of eggs. Without, your power and authority would invite suspicion, and within, your reputation among the officials would suffer. Even if you were to venture to the top of a high terrace or seclude yourself behind rows of walls, I would still presume to fear for your safety, even more now than at the time of Yingchuan and Yangdi (during the uprising). Your subordinates quiver with fear for you, but none dare say a word. 

"Now who am I, Sun Hui, to tell you these things? Nothing but a sad remnant in fact. But inviting the onset of calamity and welcoming the perils of the slings and arrows, I once rushed to Your Highness's righteous call; casting aside my common clothes and putting on my helmet, I followed your army to Xu (Xuchang). Of great and glorious deeds in the line of battle, I have none to claim. Yet I followed you through the wind and dust of those days, and I am prepared to receive punishment in addressing you now. Though Qu Yuan was exiled, his heart was always with Ying in the south; though Yue Yi fled to Zhao, his thoughts were always with Yan in the north. Can it be any different with me, who has received your grace and was blessed with your recognition and your care? Though it may seem that I go against your wishes, I am your man through and through; I am baring my flesh to show the sincerity of my blood, and it is thus that I offer you such unpalatable advice. Having presented my words, I am prepared for my punishment. If by writing these things I can convince you to righteously yield power and to secure your achievements, I go to the chopping block willingly, for it would be a worthy end to my life."

Though Sima Jiong did not accept Sun Hui's advice, neither did he punish him.

翊軍校尉李含奔于長安，詐云受密詔，使河間王顒誅冏，因導以利謀。顒從之，上表曰：王室多故，禍難罔已。大司馬冏雖唱義有興復皇位之功，而定都邑，克寧社稷，實成都王勳力也。而冏不能固守臣節，實協異望。在許昌營有東西掖門，官置治書侍御史，長史、司馬直立左右，如侍臣之儀。京城大清，篡逆誅夷，而率百萬之眾來繞洛城。阻兵經年，不一朝覲，百官拜伏，晏然南面。壞樂官市署，用自增廣。輒取武庫秘杖，嚴列不解。故東萊王蕤知其逆節，表陳事狀，而見誣陷，加罪黜徙。以樹私黨，僭立官屬。幸妻嬖妾，名號比之中宮。沈湎酒色，不恤群黎。董艾放縱，無所畏忌，中丞按奏，而取退免。張偉惚恫，擁停詔可，葛旟小豎，維持國命。操弄王爵，貨賂公行。群奸聚黨，擅斷殺生。密署腹心，實為貨謀。斥罪忠良，伺窺神器。臣受重任，蕃衛方嶽，見冏所行，實懷激憤。即日翊軍校尉李含乘驛密至，宣騰詔旨。臣伏讀感切，五情若灼。《春秋》之義，君親無將。冏擁強兵，樹置私黨，權官要職，莫非腹心。雖復重責之誅，恐不義服。今輒勒兵，精卒十萬，與州征並協忠義，共會洛陽。驃騎將軍長沙王乂，同奮忠誠，廢冏還第。有不順命，軍法從事。成都王穎明德茂親，功高勳重，往歲去就，允合眾望，宜為宰輔，代冏阿衡之任。

The Colonel of 翊軍, Li Han, fled from the capital to Chang'an, the base of the Prince of Hejian, Sima Yong. He lied and said he had received a secret edict from Emperor Hui, calling on Sima Yong to punish Sima Jiong, and that Li Han had been sent to Sima Yong to help facilitate the plot.

Sima Yong believed Li Han. He submitted a petition to the court: "The imperial family has suffered from many incidents of late, and disasters and difficulties continue to plague us. Although the Grand Marshal, Sima Jiong, may claim the credit of having called an uprising and restoring the Emperor to the throne, in truth it was thanks to the Prince of Chengdu's efforts that the capital region was pacified and the altars of state were secured. Yet Sima Jiong, not content to observe his proper duties as a minister and subject, has begun to harbor nefarious intentions.

"At Sima Jiong's army camp at Xuchang, he set up eastern and western Ye Gates like one sees at the Emperor's palace, and on his staff there, those whom he appointed as Secretaries of Recordskeeping, as Chief Clerks, or as Marshals all hovered about him with the same ceremony that residents of the palace would show towards the Son of Heaven. During the campaign, although the capital had already been entirely purged and the usurpers and traitors punished before his arrival, Sima Jiong still led an army of a million soldiers to infest the walls of Luoyang. He has kept his troops garrisoned there for an entire year by now. He never attends court, but makes the government ministers bow and perform obeisance before him, while he sits serenely facing south (in imitation of the Emperor). He has torn down buildings of the Music Bureau and the marketplace purely to expand and broaden his own estate. He has helped himself to the stored equipment of the Arsenal, and he has imposed martial law on the city without any sign of lifting restrictions. The former Prince of Donglai, Sima Ruí (Sima Jiong’s elder brother), recognized that Sima Jiong had betrayed his duties, and he presented a petition to the court listing Sima Jiong's offenses, but he was only met with slander and infamy, until he was charged with a crime and suffered demotion and exile. Sima Jiong has presumed to fill the government ministries with his own partisans and minions, and he grants his favored lovers and floozies titles comparable to those used in the Emperor's harem. He freely indulges himself in wine and in sensual pleasures, showing no regard for the common people. He allows his henchman Zong Ai to do whatever he pleases without any hesitation or suspicion, for though the government receives complaints about Zong Ai's behavior, he always gets let off from any charge. He permits a nobody like Zhang Wei to determine whether imperial edicts shall be allowed to go out or not, and he entrusts a miscreant like Ge Yu with control of the state. He hands out noble titles as he pleases, and bribes change hands freely and openly. He surrounds himself with a rogues' gallery, and he makes the call on who will live or who will die. His closest confidantes think only of how to enrich themselves. And he has slandered and punished good and worthy people, while gazing with longing towards the sacred instruments of power.

"I was assigned a serious charge and am responsible for protecting and defending a strategic area of the realm. But as I have witnessed Sima Jiong's actions, I have nursed a sense of righteous indignation. Then this very day, the Colonel of 翊軍, Li Han, secretly came to me by courier horse to present to me the imperial will and decree. When I bowed before him to hear the reading of this edict, which called upon me to raise my banners and turn against my own flesh and blood, my feelings were assailed and all my senses were aflame. And is it not a principle of the Spring and Autumn Annals that one may never war against their liege or their kinfolk? Yet Sima Jiong has a powerful army at his beck and call, he has placed his favorites into positions of power, and not a one of the important offices of state exists but is filled by one of his cronies. So though in turning my sword against Sima Jiong I would be committing a serious crime which deserved death, still I am afraid I could no longer in good conscience accept what he has done.

"Thus I am now marching at the head of a hundred thousand elite soldiers. May the provincial commanders join me in this loyal and righteous cause and combine their forces with mine at Luoyang. I ask that the General of Agile Cavalry and Prince of Changsha, Sima Ai, likewise prove his loyalty and sincerity by removing Sima Jiong from power and sending him back to his estate. Anyone who refuses to heed the imperial order shall be dealt with by military law. 

"The Prince of Chengdu, Sima Ying, is wise, virtuous, luxuriant, and friendly; his achievements are lofty and his deeds profound. When he departed the capital last year and yielded his power, he gained the hopes and admiration of all. He is suited to serve as regent over the government. Let him take up the role of A-Heng (Yi Yin) in Sima Jiong's stead."

顒表既至，冏大懼，會百僚曰：「昔孫秀作逆，篡逼帝王，社稷傾覆，莫能禦難。孤糾合義眾，掃除元惡，臣子之節，信著神明。二王今日聽信讒言，造構大難，當賴忠謀以和不協耳。」

When Sima Yong's petition arrived at Luoyang, Sima Jiong was terrified. He summoned the ministers and said to them, "When Sun Xiu plotted his treason before and usurped and oppressed the Emperor and the Princes, the very altar of state was nearly toppled, and no one else was able to stand against such difficulties. I was the one who gathered together soldiers to begin an uprising, and I was the one who swept away and purged the chief evil. I have maintained my duty as a subject and as a son, and the spirits can attest to my trustworthiness. Yet now these two Princes have returned my trust with slander and are causing great trouble. Gentlemen, I shall depend on your loyal advice for how to reconcile with these wayward foes." 

司徒王戎、司空東海王越說冏委權崇讓。冏從事中郎葛旟怒曰：「趙庶人聽任孫秀，移天易日，當時喋喋，莫敢先唱。公蒙犯矢石，躬貫甲胄，攻圍陷陣，得濟今日。計功行封，事殷未遍。三臺納言，不恤王事，賞報稽緩，責不在府。讒言僭逆，當共誅討，虛承偽書，令公就第。漢、魏以來，王侯就第甯有得保妻子者乎！議者可斬。」於是百官震悚，無不失色。

The Minister Over The Masses, Wang Rong, and the Minister of Works and Prince of Donghai, Sima Yue, advised Sima Jiong to resign his authority and honor the others by yielding his position. 

But Sima Jiong's Attendant Officer of the Palace Gentlemen, Ge Yu, angrily told them, "The commoner of Zhao (Sima Lun) heeded and employed Sun Xiu, and he abused his authority; Heaven and Earth themselves changed based purely on his whims. Everyone talked and talked about doing something back then, but no one else dared to speak up first. It was our lord who braved the slings and arrows, personally wearing armor and helmet and attacking the enemy lines and breaking their formations, and who brought us to this happy day. Considering the rewards he has received for all that he has done on behalf of the state, one could argue that he has still not gotten all that he deserves. 

"For members of the Three Bureaus to say such things shows how much you disregard the Prince's affairs. It is no fault of his that rewards for others have been slow in coming. Besides, those who speak slander and stir up chaos should all be put to death. How can you heed the empty orders of this presumptuous letter and command our lord to retire to his estate? And through all the time of Han and Wei, what prince or noble that retired to his estate has ever been able to protect his wife and children? Anyone who suggests such a thing out to be beheaded." 

The ministers were greatly disturbed and trembling, and all of them turned pale.

長沙王乂徑入宮，發兵攻冏府。冏遣董艾陳兵宮西。乂又遣宋洪等放火燒諸觀閣及千秋、神武門。冏令黃門令王湖悉盜騶虞幡，唱云：「長沙王矯詔。」乂又稱：「大司馬謀反，助者誅五族。」是夕，城內大戰，飛矢雨集，火光屬天。帝幸上東門，矢集御前。群臣救火，死者相枕。明日，冏敗，乂擒冏至殿前，帝惻然，欲活之。乂叱左右促牽出，冏猶再顧，遂斬於閶闔門外，徇首六軍。諸黨屬皆夷三族。幽其子淮陵王超、樂安王冰、濟陽王英于金墉。暴冏屍於西明亭，三日而莫敢收斂。冏故掾屬荀闓等表乞殯葬，許之。

The Prince of Changsha, Sima Ai, rushed into the palace, then raised troops to attack Sima Jiong's office. Sima Jiong sent Zong Ai to array troops west of the palace. Sima Ai also sent Song Hong and others to set fire to and burn down the various pavilions and the Qianqiu and Shenwu Gates.

Sima Jiong ordered the Prefect of the Yellow Gate, Wang Hu, to steal all the Zouyu Banners and display them (thus compelling all soldiers to cease fighting) while announcing, "The Prince of Changsha has forged an imperial decree." 

But Sima Ai also spread the message, "The Grand Marshal has plotted rebellion, and anyone who helps him will have their families executed to the fifth degree."

That night, there was great fighting within the city; flying arrows poured down like rain, and the glow of the fires outshone the heavens. Emperor Hui was at the Shangdong Gate when a flurry of arrows came his way. His ministers were trying to put out the fires, and they fell down dead in heaps.

By the next day, Sima Jiong had been defeated. Sima Ai brought Sima Jiong to the Front Hall. Emperor Hui, feeling sad for him, wished to let him live, but Sima Ai ordered those around him to lead Sima Jiong away, even as Sima Jiong kept looking back. Sima Ai beheaded Sima Jiong outside the Changhe Gate, and displayed his head to the six armies (of the capital soldiers).

Those who were in league with Sima Jiong were executed with their families to the third degree. The Princes of Huailing, Le'an, and Qiyang, Sima Jiong's sons Sima Chao, Sima Bing, and Sima Yīng, were imprisoned at the Jinyong fortress.

Sima Jiong's body was left publicly exposed at Ximing Terrace, and for three days no one dared to claim the body for burial. Then Sima Jiong's former subordinates, Xun Kai and others, petitioned to be allowed to hold a mourning for Sima Jiong and to bury him, and their request was granted.

初，冏之盛也，有一婦人詣大司馬府求寄產。吏詰之，婦人曰：「我截齊便去耳。」識者聞而惡之。時又謠曰：「著布袙腹，為齊持服。」俄而冏誅。

Earlier, when Sima Jiong had been at his zenith, a woman had visited the Grand Marshal's office to ask for some supplies. When the officials had scolded her, she had said, "I'll just make things nice and tidy and then go." This disturbed some people, for they recognized that the term she had used, 截齊, could be interpreted as "cut down (the Prince of) Qi".

And there had also been a ditty going around: "Wrap the cloth 'round the middle bit, to make it all (or, Qi) nice and fit (or, to submit)." And indeed, it wasn't long before Sima Jiong was executed.

永興初，詔以冏輕陷重刑，前勳不宜堙沒，乃赦其三子超、冰、英還第，封超為縣王，以繼冏祀，曆員外散騎常侍。光熙初，追冊冏曰：「咨故大司馬、齊王冏：王昔以宗籓穆胤紹世，緒于東國，作翰許京，允鎮靜我王室。涎率義徒，同盟觸澤，克成元勳，大濟潁東。朕用應嘉茂績，謂篤爾勞，俾式先典，以疇茲顯懿。廓士殊分，跨兼吳楚，崇禮備物，寵侔蕭、霍，庶憑翼戴之重，永隆邦家之望。而恭德不建，取侮二方，有司過舉，致王於戮。古人有言曰：'用其法，猶思其人。'況王功濟朕身，勳存社稷，追惟既往，有悼於厥心哉！今復王本封，命嗣子還紹厥緒，禮秩典度，一如舊制。使使持節、大鴻臚即墓賜策，祠乙太牢。魂而有靈，祗服朕命，肆寧爾心，嘉茲寵榮。」子超嗣爵。

At the beginning of the Yongxing reign era (305), an edict was issued declaring that Sima Jiong's offenses had not been serious enough to merit the harsh punishment that he had received, and that due to his earlier good deeds, his lineage should not be snuffed out. Thus his three sons Sima Chao, Sima Bing, and Sima Yīng were all pardoned and allowed to return to their estates, and Sima Chao was appointed as Prince of a county in order to continue Sima Jiong's lineage. Sima Chao eventually served as a Cavalier In Regular Attendance Without Assignment.

At the beginning of the Guangxi reign era (306), Sima Jiong was posthumously honored with a decree by Emperor Hui.

"I declare the following regarding the late Grand Marshal and Prince of Qi, Sima Jiong:

"The late Prince might have quietly and meekly inherited the fief which he was due. Yet rather than sequester himself in his eastern domain (at Qi), he sent forth his proclamation from Xujing (Xu or Xuchang), and fully acted to protect our royal family and quell the disturbance of the imperial household. Zealously leading forth his followers for a righteous cause and forging an alliance at Lake Chu, he achieved successes and performed the greatest of deeds, and was very accomplished at Yingdong (eastern Yingchuan?). I ought to have responded to these things with congratulations for his exceptional performance, thanking him for his loyal and faithful service, and honoring him according to the ancient standards, thereby ensuring and glorifying his legacy. He ought to have been granted a fief even grander than those once held by Han's Princes of Wu and Chu, and he ought to have been honored with such exceptional courtesy and respect that he would have rivaled the favor enjoyed by Xiao He or Huo Guang. The great assistance and protection which he provided us entitled him to the everlasting admiration of the royal clan and the state.

"Yet the Prince failed to practice virtue, he incurred the enmity of two of his peers, the officials pressed him for his faults, and in the end he was executed. The ancients had a saying: 'Enforce the law, but think of the accused.' How much less can I ignore this sentiment when it was thanks to the Prince's deeds that I remained safe and the fortunes of state were preserved? And how tragic, how heart-rending it seems that only posthumously may his achievements be recognized!

"I hereby restore the Prince to his former title as Prince of Qi, and command that his son and heir be permitted to return and to inherit this title. The salary and privileges, canons and systems associated with the title shall all be as they once were. And I hereby send the Commissioner Bearing Credentials and Grand Diplomat to convey my words to the tomb of the late Prince and to offer a Grand Sacrifice to his spirit. If the dead are still aware of what takes place in this world, then may they take note of my command; may the spirit of the late Prince feel peace in his heart and be joyful of this favor and honor."

Sima Jiong's son Sima Chao thus inherited his title as Prince of Qi.

永嘉中，懷帝下詔，重述冏唱義元勳，還贈大司馬，加侍中、假節，追諡。及洛陽傾覆，超兄弟皆沒于劉聰，冏遂無後。太元中，詔以故南頓王宗子柔之襲封齊王，紹攸、冏之祀，曆散騎常侍。元興初，會稽王道子將討桓玄，詔柔之兼侍中，以騶虞幡宣告江、荊二州，至姑孰，為玄前鋒所害。贈光祿勳。子建之立。宋受禪，國除。

During the Yongjia reign era (307-311), Emperor Huai also issued an edict which again praised Sima Jiong for having the chief accomplishment of having sounded the call to rise up against Sima Lun. Emperor Huai posthumously restored Sima Jiong's rank as Grand Marshal, and he also appointed him as a Palace Attendant and a Credential Bearer and gave him his posthumous name (Wumin).

When Luoyang fell (to Han-Zhao, in 311), Sima Chao and his brothers were all lost to Liu Cong, leaving Sima Jiong without any descendants.

During the Taiyuan reign era (376-396), Emperor Xiaowu issued an edict appointing Sima Rouzhi, the son of the late Prince of Nandun, Sima Zong, as Prince of Qi in order to continue Sima You's and Sima Jiong's lineage. Sima Rouzhi rose in office as high as Cavalier In Regular Attendance. At the beginning of the Yuanxing reign era (402), when the Prince of Kuaiji, Sima Daozi, was about to campaign against the rebel general Huan Xuan, an edict was issued appointing Sima Rouzhi as a Palace Attendant, and he was sent out with the Zouyu Banners to command the soldiers of Jiangzhou and Jingzhou (under Huan Xuan's command) to stand down. But when Sima Rouzhi came to Gushu, he was killed by Huan Xuan's vanguard. He was posthumously appointed as Superintendent of the Crown Prince's Household.

Sima Rouzhi's son Sima Jianzhi inherited the title Prince of Qi. But after Liu Yu accepted the abdication of the Jin dynasty and established the Song dynasty (in 420), Sima Jianzhi's fief was abolished.

鄭方者，字子回，慷慨有志節，博涉史傳，卓犖不常，鄉閭有識者歎其奇，而未能薦達。及冏輔政專恣，方發憤步詣洛陽，自稱荊楚逸民，獻書於冏曰：「方聞聖明輔世，夙夜祗懼，泰而不驕，所以長守貴也。今大王安不慮危，耽于酒色，燕樂過度，其失一也。大王檄命，當使天下穆如清風，宗室骨肉永無纖介，今則不然，其失二也。四夷交侵，邊境不靜，大王自以功業興隆，不以為念，其失三也。大王興義，群庶競赴，天下雖甯，人勞窮苦，不聞大王振救之令，其失四也。又與義兵歃血而盟，事定之後，賞不逾時，自清泰已來，論功未分，此則食言，其失五也。大王建非常之功，居宰相之任，謗聲盈塗，人懷忿怨，方以狂愚，冒死陳誠。」冏含忍答之云：「孤不能致五闕，若無子，則不聞其過矣。」未幾而敗焉。

Zheng Fang was styled Zihui. He was a passionate man with a sense of duty and ambition, and he waded through and absorbed all the Histories and Annals. He was exceptionally talented and zealous, and those in his district who knew him all sighed in admiration of how much he stood out. Yet he never held office, because there was no one able to recommend him.

When Sima Jiong held power over the government and abused his authority, Zheng Fang was so moved with indignation that he set out by foot to visit Luoyang. Styling himself a wanderer from Jing and Chu, he presented a letter to Sima Jiong.

"I have heard that when the sage and wise steer the affairs of the age, day and night they are always careful and cautious, nor do they get carried away in their joy. Thus do they preserve and defend their honor. Yet you, Great Prince, are currently relaxed and not thinking of any danger, sinking into the depravity of wine and sensual pleasures and overindulging yourself in feasting and music; this is your first fault. You ought to be as respectful to the realm as the pure wind, and there should not be the slightest distance between yourself and your kinfolk and your flesh and blood, yet there currently is; this is your second fault. The barbarians are pressing in from every side and the borders are unstable, yet you consider that you have already accomplished enough and you take no notice of these things; this is your third fault. When you launched your uprising, all the people rushed to your banner, yet although there is now peace in the realm, the people continue to suffer endlessly, and I have heard nothing of any orders from you on how their burdens might be lifted; this is your fourth fault. And you made a covenant with blood-smeared lips and pledged to those that supported you in your uprising that after things had been completed, rewards would not be slow in coming, yet although the evil has already been purged, there have been no discussions of merit or distributions of rewards; you have eaten your words, and this is your fifth fault.

"Great Prince, you have achieved uncommon deeds, and you now occupy the role of chief minister of the state. Yet you allow slander and rumor to swirl around you and you do nothing while people bear anger and hatred against you. Though it be rash and foolish of me, still I would risk death to demonstrate my sincerity to you."

Sima Jiong bit his tongue and only responded, "I had no idea of my five shortcomings. If not for you, Sir, I would never have heard of them."

It was not long before Sima Jiong was destroyed.

史臣曰：冏名父之子，唱義勤王，摧偽業于既成，拯皇輿於已墜，策勳考績，良足可稱。然而臨禍忘憂，逞心縱欲，曾不知樂不可極，盈難久持，笑古人之未工，忘己事之已拙。向若采王豹之奇策，納孫惠之嘉謀，高謝袞章，永表東海，雖古之伊、霍，何以加焉！

The Historian's Appraisal: Sima Jiong was the son of a famous father, he sounded the call to rise up and rallied the Princes to his banner, he smashed Sima Lun's false designs and kept them from fruition, and he rescued Emperor Hui from falling into oblivion. Truly his actions and deeds were excellent and worthy of praise. Yet afterwards, when he himself stood at the brink of destruction, he failed to heed the danger, but only indulged his heart's desires and did whatever he wished. Did he not know that pleasure cannot go unbridled, or a host of difficulties left unchecked? Was it not ironic that he mocked the ancients who never finished their work, not realizing that his own achievements had been undone? If only he had plucked out the fine plan offered by Wang Bao or accepted the good advice provided by Sun Hui, by magnanimously yielding his imperial splendor at the capital and going out to his fief on the Eastern Sea, where his lineage might have endured! If he had done that, could even Yi Yin or Huo Guang have surpassed him?

贊曰：偉哉武閔！首創宏謨。德之不建，良可悲夫！

Crown Prince Li Xian of Tang's Appraisal: 

Pity the magnificent Prince Wumin!

His deeds were bold, his plans so keen!

Alas, his virtues he did not keep

And thus for this good man we weep.

[bookofjin]

Biography of Sima Lun, Part 3

[From JS059. Some very intolerant attitudes shown by the authors to Sun Xiu’s religious beliefs.]

When the Three King's call to arms to raise troops and punish Lun arrived, Lun and Xiu at first very greatly afraid. They dispatched their Overseer of the Centre [?], Sun Fu#, as General of the Upper Army, the [Generall who] Amasses Crossbows, Li Yan, as General who Brings down Assaults [?], to lead 7 000 troops and set out form Yanshou pass. The [General who] Conquers the Caitiffs, Zhang Hong, the [General] of the Left Army, Cai Huang and the [General of the] Van Army, Lü He, and others to lead 7 000 people setting out from Eban pass. The [General of] the Garrison Army, Sima Ya, the [General who] Spreads Power, Mo Yuan, and others to lead 8 000 people setting out from Chenggao pass. They summoned the King of Dongping, Mao, as Envoy Holding the Tally and General of Guards, to be Commander-in-Chief of the Various Armies and thereby resist the righteous host.

They sent Yang Zhen [?] to day and night go to Emperor Xuan's separate temple to pray and ask, [he] always said Emperor Xuan apologized to His Majesty, and on the appointed day he would rout the traitors. They designated the scholar of the Way Hu Wo as General of Great Peace, to thereby summon happiness and protection. At Xiu's house there daily were irregular sacrifices, making patterns for forcing victory [?], making shamans pray for blessings and pick and chose the days for fighting. He also made close friends display feathered clothes at Mount Song [?], pretending to speak to the transcendent Wang Qiao, making books of spirits and transcendents, explaining that Lun was blessed for a long time [?] to thereby deceive the multitudes.

Xiu desired to dispatch Fu and Qian to lead troops and assist in the battles various armies. Fu and Qian did not consent. Qian habitually was intimate and fond of Liu Yu [JS062]. Xiu therefore sent Yu to advice Qian. Qian afterwards led a multitude of 8 000 to maintain aid for the Three Armies. But though Hong and Ya and others were victorious in continuous battle, the righteous army scattered and immediately combined again. Ya and others did not manage to proceed.

Xu Chao and others fought with the King of Chengdu, Ying's army at the Yellow bridge, and killed and wounded were more than 10 000 people. Hong straight-away made for Yangdi, and again routed the King of Qi, Jiong's baggage south of the city, killing several thousand people, and thereupon occupied the city's defensive residence chambers [?]. But Jiong's army already was at Yingyin, 40 li from Yangdi. Jiong divided the army to cross the Ying, and attacked Hong and others without profit. Hong exploited the victory to arrive at above the Ying, and at night approached the Ying and lined up.

Jiong gave free reign to light troops to strike him, the various did not move. But the armies of Sun Fu# and Xu Jian at night were in chaos, and directly returned to Luo with themselves at the head [?]. At the flight of Fu# and Jian, they did not know the directors of the various armies armies still lived, and therefore said:

The troops of the King of Qi are abundant, and can not be confronted. Hong and others have fallen.

Lun was greatly shaken and secreted them [?], but summoned Qian and Chao to return. It happened that a public announcement of Hong defeating Jiong arrived. Lun was greatly pleased and again dispatched Chao, but Qian on his return had already arrived at Yuchang [?]. Chao turned back to cross the He. Generals and men suspected obstructions, their sharpness and spirit on the inside were pushed down.

Hong and others understood [?] their various armies crossed the Ying, and advanced to attack Jiong's encampments. Jiong sent out troops to strike his separate leaders Sun Mao, Sima Tan and Sun Fu#, and routed all of them. The soldiers scattered and returned to Luoyang. Hong and others gathered the multitudes to turn back to the encampments.

Xiu and others knew the three regions were pressing daily, and falsified transmittals of the routing of Jiong's encampment, and the apprehension and capture of Jiong. They used lies to mislead their multitudes and ordered the hundred officials all to send presents. And Shi Yi, Fu Yin and Sun Hui all had individual tallies, and did not follow each other.

Lun again conferred on the Supervisor of Affairs for the Heir-Apparent, Liu Kun [JS062] the tally, supervising the Generals north of the He, to lead 1 000 infantry and cavalry to urge on the various fighting armies. Hui and others fought with the righteous armies at the Ji river, were greatly defeated, and withdrew to defend Heshang. Liu Kun burnt and cut off the bridge of the He.

From the rising of the righteous troops, the hundred officials, generals and gentlemen all desired to execute Lun and Xiu to thereby apologize to Under Heaven. Xiu knew the multitude's anger was difficult to go against, and did not dare to set out and scrutinize. When he heard the armies north of the He had been thoroughly defeated, he was troubled and distressed, and did not know what to do. The King of Yiyang, Wei, recommended Xiu to go to the Masters of Writing to scrutinize with the eight seats, and discuss preparations for conquests and battles. Xiu followed it.

They made the capital city's 4th grade and below's [?] sons and younger brothers aged 15 and above all to go to the Minister of Retainers, and follow Lun and set out in battle. Inside and outside the various armies thoroughly desired to seize and kill Xiu. Wei was afraid, and fled from the Esteemed Rites Door to return his private house [?].

Xu Chao, Shi Yi, Sun Hui and others' armies had also returned, and therefore planned with Xiu. Some desired to gathered the remaining solders and set out and fight, execute and killed those not adhering themselves, keeping Lun close [and?] go south [with?] Sun Qi [JS060], Meng Guan [JS060] and others. Some desired to sail a ship east, fleeing into the ocean.

Wang Yu turned against them and led troops from the barracks, more than 700 people, to enter from the Southern Annex Gate. [Lun] commanded the troops within the palace all to defend and guard the various gates, the Marshals of the Three Sections to be immediately at the inside. Yu went himself to attack Xiu, Xiu shut the southern gates of the Palace Writers. Yu set loose the troops to climb the walls and burn the buildings. Xiu, Chao and Yi hurriedly fled out. The General of the Guards of the Left, Zhao Quan, beheaded Xiu and others to thereby comply.

They detained Sun Qi in the barracks of the Guards of the Right, and delivered him over to Commandant of Justice to execute him. The arrested the General of the Van, Xie Tan, the Prefect of the Yellow Gates, Luo Xiu and the Controller of the Marshals [?], Wang Qian. All where beheaded in the middle of the hall.

The troops of the Marshals of the Three Sections within the Circulating Reform Door beheaded Sun Bi to thereby comply. At the time Sima Fu was seated by Xiu [?]. Yu sent generals and soldiers to confine him in the Bureau of the Cavaliers, using great halberds to defend the bureau chambers. The Eight Seats all entered within the hall, seated east removing beneath the tree [?]. Wang Yu garrisoned the Cloud Dragon Gate, and made Lun make a decree saying:

I was misled by Sun Xiu and others, thereby angering the three kings. Now [we] have already executed Xiu, thus [we] welcome the Grand Sovereign [Emperor Hui], to return to the throne. I [will] revert in my old age to farming the fields.

[He] transmitted the decree to using grooms and custodians with banners to command the generals and soldiers to loosen the troops. The civil and military officials all fled and ran, and did not dare to be at [their] posts. The Yellow Gates wanted Lun to set out from the Flowery Forest's eastern gate, and him and Kua both to return to the Wenyang village residence [?].

And so accordingly several thousand armoured soldiers welcomed the Son of Heaven at Jinyong, the hundred families all said Ten Thousand Years. The Emperor entered from the main gate, ascended the hall, drove to the broad chamber, and sent off Lun, Kua and others to be delivered to Jinyong fort.

Earlier, Xiu feared the arrival of the western army, and repeatedly summoned Qian to return. That day he stayed  at Jiuqu. A decree dispatched envoys to dismiss Qian from office. Qian was afraid. He abandoning the army and was about to [?] with several tens of people to return to Wenyang village.

The King of Liang, Rong, petitioned that Lun, father and son were murderous traitors, and out to be sentenced to execution. The hundred officials assembled to discuss in the Morning Hall, all followed Rong's petition. They dispatched the Master of Writing Yuan Chang Holding the Tally to bestow Lun death. [He] drank accordingly vinegar [?] with gold bits. Lun was ashamed, and using a towel to cover his face, said:

Sun Xiu misled me! Sun Xiu misled me!

And so they gathered Kua, Fu, Qian and Xu and deliverd them to the prison of the Commandant of Justice, to be examined thoroughly. Fu on approaching death spoke to Qian, saying:

Sitting [?] beside you ruined the family!

Of the hundred officials, those who had been employed by Lun, all were censured and dismissed, those of the guards of the palace bureaus and offices were the only to remain. From the start of the war it had been more than sixty days, the killed and murdered in battle were no more than 100 000 people.

Altogether those who together with Lun had rebelled and taken part in planning the great affair were: Zhang Lin was killed by Xiu. Xu Chao, Shi Yi, Sun Bi and Xie Tan were executed with Xiu by Wang Yu. Zhang Heng, Lü He, Sun Mao and Gao Yue returned from Yangdi. Fu Yin was defeated in battled and returned to Luoyang. All were beheaded in the Eastern Market. Cai Huang from Yangdi surrendered to the King of Qi, Jiong, returned to Luo and killed himself. Wang Yu due to his merits avoided execution. Later he and the King of Donglai, Rui, planned to kill Jiong, and he was also sentenced by the law.

[lapeaudelamemoire]

I'm watching Growling Tiger Roaring Dragon aka The Advisors Alliance 2 and I seriously cannot overstate how much I fucking hate Sima Zhao and also now starting to similarly hate Sima Lun.

How did Sima Yi, and in the case of Sima Lun also Bai Lingyun, have such utterly 窝囊废 disgusting immoral children?!!!

[xiahoumiaocai]

How much do you know about the 8 princes of Jin china? I know ther'es a lot of greedy grabby princes about but who do you think the true heroes villains of that time-period were?

Boy, am I glad someone asked me this. Yes, I know a lot about this period, and it is probably one of my favourite periods. Many people dismiss this era as being one of avaricious and malevolent princes, but I actually find that many of these people were fascinating. And, contrary to popular belief, it was more than just princes bickering over power for a couple decades, although it’s quite easy to understand why someone could make this mistake.

No.1 hero? Sima Ai, Prince of Changsha[n]. 

I don’t think it would be quite right to compose a list of the heroes of this age without putting him somewhere up there at the top. Sima Ai was the younger brother of Sima Wei, and participated in some of his activities. I’m not even going to get started on his antics, but Sima Ai was only fourteen years old following his very influential and sole full-blood brother. He can be forgiven. As an adult, he decided to act against Sima Jiong, the regent who had been monopolising power. He was initially used by Sima Yong as a scapegoat for justifying his own rebellion, but Sima Ai was able to defeat Sima Jiong. Sima Ai made no attempts to monopolise power as his predecessors had done, and insisted on acting as co-regent together with Sima Ying. Even when Sima Ying and Sima Yong plotted against him, he attempted to prevent his commander, Huangfu Zhong, from advancing, and made numerous attempts to make peace with his brother (whose allies he had been thwarting continuously). However, he was betrayed and seized by his subordinate, Sima Yue, and executed by Zhang Fang.

Which brings us to Zhang Fang, the greatest villain of the age.

Zhang Fang was a general who allied himself with Sima Yong. He was responsible for most of the bitterness between many of the princes and the most significant accelerant of chaos. He  captured Sima Jiong’s general Xiahou Shi and his followers, and executed them all - by cutting them in half by the waist (the same way Qin Chancellor Li Si went). Later, when Sima Yong had found himself against Sima Ai, Zhang Fang was sent to attack Huangfu Shang (Zhong’s younger brother) and able to arrive at Luoyang. There, he plundered the city and the towns around, resulting in about 40 thousand deaths, and possibly much more, the majority of these being civilians. He wasn’t even able to capture it. He then had Sima Ai burned to death. While dealing with Liu Chen’s rebellion, Zhang Fang abducted ten thousand slave girls from Luoyang and supplied his armies by killing some of them, and many other civilians, and mixing their flesh with horse meat and beef. Liu Chen was also cut in half by the waist once captured too. When the crown prince welcomed him back to the capital, Zhang Fang immediately deposed him and Emperor Hui’s empress, and continued to allow his soldiers to pillage the land. He then relocated the capital to Chang’an, but not before permitting one final plunder, allowing his soldiers to seize any women they wanted from the city and imperial harem. All the ornaments and treasures that had been accumulated by Han, Wei and Jin were also stolen so that there was nothing remaining. The only reason why he didn’t burn Luoyang to the ground was because he wanted to avoid any comparisons to Dong Zhuo (following advice given to him by a man called Lu Zhi, no less). A bit late, anyhow, and Zhang Fang was worse than Dong Zhuo, in my humble opinion. He was even the reason why Sima Yue (in emulation of Yuan Shao and Cao Cao) made a call-to-arms for warlords and generals around the empire to oppose Zhang Fang’s power. The situation had grown so bad that even Sima Yong was forced to act against him, sending Zhi Fu to assassinate Zhang Fang in his camp in a vain attempt to appease the coalition. By this point, the empire was irreversibly weakened, and the likes of Liu Yuan and Shi Le were able to sweep in and take over the situation. 

This period is home to an assortment of heroes and talents, such as:

Sima Xin, Huangfu Shang, Huangfu Zhong, Liu Hong, Tao Kan, Sima Yao, Liu Qiao, Liu Kun, Sima Mao, Wang Jun, Wei Huacan, Sima Xiao, Liu Qiao, Wang Rong, Feng Song, Murong Hui, Sima Yue, Liu Zhun, Li Te, Li Xiong, Zhang Gui, Yang Yao, Wei Guan, Sima Liang, Wang Dao, Liu Yuan, Liu Cong, Sima Rui, Lu Zhi, Gongsun Hong, Qi Sheng, Jia Nanfeng, Liu Wen, Yang Xi, Wen Xian, Pei Wei, Zhang Hua, Sima Yu, Gou Xi, Tian Hui, Hai Xi

and a variety of villains and troublemakers, such as:

Yang Jun, Sima Jiong, Sima Lun, Sun Xiu, Rong Hui, Meng Guan, Liu He, Shi Le, Gongshi Fan, Sima Xiao, Sun Hui, Xu Chao, Shi Yi, Lu Ji, Sima Yong, Sima Ying, Zhang Lin, Zhang Heng

There are many others. I know a lot about these guys, and a lot of information has recently been translated, so I’m learning more too. Feel free to ask me about anything.