1. Sima Yi, courtesy name Zhongda, was a Chinese military general, politician, and regent of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China.
137 Facts About Sima Yi
1. 2.
Sima Yi formally began his political career in 208 under the Han dynasty's Imperial Chancellor Cao Cao, and was quickly promoted to higher office.
3.
Sima Yi is perhaps best known for defending Wei from a series of invasions that were led by Wei's rival state Shu between 231 and 234.
5.
Sima Yi's ancestor was Sima Ang the King of Yin, who briefly ruled one of the Eighteen Kingdoms during the transition period from the Qin dynasty to the Western Han dynasty before Liu Bang's general Han Xin conquered his territory, capturing Sima Ang and his capital city Zhaoge.
6.
Sima Jun, an eighth-generation descendant of Sima Ang and the great-great-grandfather of Sima Yi, served as a general of the Han Empire, holding the position General Who Conquers the West.
7.
Sima Yi had one elder brother Sima Lang and six younger brothers.
8.
The eight Sima Yi brothers were collectively known as the "Eight Das" because their courtesy names all ended with da.
9.
Sima Yi displayed intelligence and great ambitions at a young age.
10.
When chaos broke out in China towards the End of the Han dynasty, Sima Yi often expressed sympathy and concern for the people.
11.
Sima Yi was raised in a strict Confucian manner: He was not allowed to visit his father unless summoned, to speak to his father without being explicitly addressed, and neither was he allowed to be seated in the same room as his father.
12.
Some months later, as Sima Yi Lang foresaw that chaos would break out in Henei Commandery, he relocated his family to Liyang Commandery, where they stayed with Sima Yi Lang's kinsman, Zhao Weisun.
13.
Around 201, the administrative office of Henei Commandery nominated Sima Yi to serve in the government by holding local office, possibly as a clerk in charge of the records, and in 202 he was sent as a Reporting Officer to the capital.
14.
When Cao Cao became the Imperial Chancellor in 208, he sent an official to recruit Sima Yi to serve as an assistant clerk in his administration, and is said to have instructed the official to arrest Sima Yi if he dawdled.
15.
In 215, Sima Yi accompanied Cao Cao on his campaign against the warlord-pope Zhang Lu, whom Cao Cao defeated at the Battle of Yangping in Hanzhong Commandery.
16.
Sima Yi said because Liu Bei had only recently seized control of Yi Province from Liu Zhang, he had yet to establish a strong foothold in the province.
17.
Sima Yi then turned his attention to his other key rival Sun Quan.
18.
Sima Yi urged Cao Cao to seize the throne from Emperor Xian and declare himself emperor.
19.
In 216, after Emperor Xian promoted Cao Cao from a duke to a vassal king under the title "King of Wei", Sima Yi became an adviser to Cao Cao's son and heir apparent, Cao Pi, who highly regarded and respected Sima Yi for his brilliance.
20.
Sima Yi was partly responsible for Cao Zhi's demotion and removal from politics after Cao Pi became emperor.
21.
When Sima Yi was appointed as an Army Major, he suggested to Cao Cao to stockpile food supplies and maintain their defences because there were more than 200,000 people who were unable to sustain themselves through farming.
22.
Sima Yi warned Cao Cao about Hu Xiu and Fu Fang, who respectively served as the Inspector of Jing Province and the Administrator of Nanxiang Commandery at the time.
23.
Sima Yi said Hu Xiu was violent and Fu Fang was arrogant, and that neither should not be entrusted with the responsibility of guarding the border at Jing Province, but Cao Cao ignored him.
24.
Sima Yi supervised the funerary arrangements to ensure everything would be carried out in an orderly fashion, and accompanied the funeral cortege to Ye, earning the respect of officials within and outside the central government.
25.
Sima Yi promoted Sima Yi from a village marquis to a district marquis under the title "District Marquis of Anguo".
26.
In 221, Sima Yi was removed from his post as an Army Inspector, and was appointed as a Palace Attendant and Right Supervisor of the Masters of Writing.
27.
Sima Yi remained behind to defend Xuchang and his marquis title was changed to "District Marquis of Xiang".
28.
Sima Yi led Wei forces to resist the Wu invaders, defeated Zhuge Jin, and killed Zhang Ba and more than 1,000 Wu soldiers.
29.
Sima Yi was proven right after Cao Pi's death when in late 227, Sima Yi received news Meng Da was planning to rebel against Wei and return to Shu; according to the Weilue, he had sent his adviser Liang Ji to investigate Meng Da's case while urging Meng Da to visit Luoyang to attend to the Wei court, which alarmed the latter, persuading Meng Da to rebel.
30.
Meng Da was taken by surprise, having not expected Sima Yi to appear so quickly at Shangyong Commandery.
31.
Sima Yi's forces crossed the rivers, destroyed the barriers, and arrived just outside Shangyong.
32.
Meng Da was captured and executed, and his head was sent to the capital Luoyang; more than 10,000 captives were taken and Sima Yi returned to Wan in triumph.
33.
Sima Yi sent a messenger to provoke Shen Yi and lure him into a trap.
34.
When Shen Yi went to confront Sima Yi, he was captured and sent to the imperial capital.
35.
Sima Yi relocated to You Province with more than 7,000 households from Shangyong Commandery.
36.
The rendezvous point for Cao Zhen and Sima Yi's armies was at Nanzheng.
37.
The army led by Sima Yi passed through Zhuoshan and Xicheng County, sailed along the Mian River to Quren County, and arrived at Xinfeng County.
38.
Cao Rui ordered Sima Yi to move to Chang'an to supervise military operations in Yong and Liang provinces.
39.
Sima Yi then ordered Fei Yao and Dai Ling to protect Shanggui County with 4,000 elite troops and set out with the rest of his men westward to relieve the mountainous battlefield.
40.
Sima Yi again encountered Zhuge Liang, this time east of Shanggui County at Hanyang but no direct engagement occurred; Sima Yi drew in his troops and put them into formation while waiting, finding protection in the nearby defiles; concurrently he sent Niu Jin to lead a lightly armed cavalry detachment to lure the enemy to Mount Qi, who in the process briefly engaged in battle with Shu vanguard commander Ma Dai and inflicted some losses on the enemy.
41.
Zhang He advised against pursuit on grounds they could effectively station at Mount Qi, combine their forces, and conduct irregular expeditions; Zhuge Liang's provisions were running low and he would soon be forced to retreat, but Sima Yi did not heed this advice and continued his pursuit.
42.
Sima Yi relented when his subordinates criticised and mocked him by saying he would become a laughing stock if he refused to attack.
43.
Sima Yi sent Zhang He to attack the southern Shu camps that were guarded by Wang Ping while he led a frontal assault on Lucheng from the central avenue.
44.
The Wei forces suffered an unexpected and large defeat: 3,000 soldiers were killed, and 5,000 suits of armour and 3,100 sets of hornbeam crossbows were seized by the Shu forces but Sima Yi retained a sizable army, which he led back to his camp.
45.
The Book of Jin said Sima Yi launched an attack on the Shu garrisons at this juncture and captured the Shu "covering camps".
46.
Zhuge Liang abandoned Lucheng and retreated in the night but Sima Yi pursued him and inflicted roughly 10,000 casualties on the Shu army.
47.
The pursuit did not go completely smoothly for Wei; Sima Yi had ordered Zhang He to further pursue the enemy in an attempt to capitalise on their momentum.
48.
Sima Yi refused to listen and forced Zhang He to carry out this order.
49.
Sima Yi sent Zhou Dang to station at Yangsui and lure Zhuge Liang to attack him.
50.
Sima Yi was proven right later as the Shu forces attacked Yangsui at night.
51.
One night, Sima Yi saw a meteor falling towards the Shu camp and predicted Zhuge Liang would be defeated.
52.
Sima Yi ordered a surprise attack on the Shu camp from behind; 500 Shu soldiers were killed, 600 surrendered, and Wei forces captured more than 1,000 livestock of the Shu army.
53.
Cao Rui thus ordered Sima Yi to hold his position and refrain from engaging the Shu forces in battle.
54.
Sima Yi, apparently feeling enraged, sought permission from Cao Rui to attack the enemy but this was denied.
55.
Zhuge Liang knew Sima Yi was pretending to be angry because he wanted to show the Wei soldiers he would not put up with the enemy's taunting and to ensure the Wei soldiers were ready for battle.
56.
Sima Yi reportedly made some 2,000 people cheer by the south-east corner of the military compound.
57.
Sima Yi then led his troops to pursue the enemy and caught up with them but withdrew when the Shu forces got into battle formation.
58.
Some days later, Sima Yi surveyed the remains of the Shu camp and said; "He was a genius".
59.
Sima Yi concluded Zhuge Liang was indeed dead when he saw the Shu army had hastily retreated.
60.
When Sima Yi reached Chi'an, he asked the residents there about Zhuge Liang and heard there was a saying: "A dead Zhuge scares away a living Zhongda".
61.
In 235, Sima Yi was promoted to Grand Commandant and had the number of taxable households in his marquisate increased.
62.
Around this time, Sima Yi established a military market at Chang'an.
63.
Sima Yi felt doing so would increase the burden on the common people and make them resent the Wei government so he advised Cao Rui to halt the projects and focus on dealing with more pressing issues.
64.
The Wei generals wanted to attack the enemy on the river's banks but Sima Yi reasoned attacking the encampment would only wear themselves out and deplete their valuable resources; because the bulk of the Liaodong army was at the Liao River, Gongsun Yuan's headquarters at Xiangping, the capital of the Liaodong Commandery, would be comparatively empty and the Wei army could take it with ease.
65.
Sima Yi decided to dispatch Hu Zun with a contingent of his army south with banners and drums to indicate he was going to make a sortie there with a large force.
66.
Sima Yi threatened to execute those who advocated for the idea, such as the officer Zhang Jing, who violated the order.
67.
The Wei emperor, Cao Rui, being certain of Sima Yi's abilities, turned down the proposal.
68.
Sima Yi had some 7,000 men aged 15 and above from within the city executed and raised a jingguan with their corpses while pardoning the remaining survivors.
69.
In total, Sima Yi's conquest gained Wei an additional 40,000 households and over 300,000 citizens, although Sima Yi did not encourage these frontier settlers to continue their livelihoods in the Chinese northeast; he ordered those families who wished to return to central China be allowed to do so.
70.
Sima Yi posthumously rehabilitated and erected mounds over the graves of Lun Zhi and Jia Fan, two officials who had attempted to stop Gongsun Yuan from rebelling but were executed by him.
71.
Sima Yi freed Gongsun Gong, the previous Administrator of Liaodong, who had been imprisoned by his nephew Gongsun Yuan.
72.
When Sima Yi arrived at Xiangping, he dreamt Cao Rui asked him to look at his face, which appeared different than usual, and Sima Yi sensed something was wrong.
73.
Later, when Sima Yi was in Ji County, Cao Rui issued an imperial order instructing him to return to Luoyang via a faster route through the Guanzhong region.
74.
When Sima Yi reached Baiwu, he received another five orders within three days.
75.
Sima Yi hit his forehead on the floor and started weeping.
76.
Two of his close aides, Liu Fang and Sun Zi, who were not on good terms with Xiahou Xian and Cao Zhao, persuaded Cao Rui to exclude those two, and Qin Lang and Cao Yu, thereby having Cao Shuang and Sima Yi appointed as the regents instead.
77.
Sima Yi was awarded additional privileges similar to those granted to Xiao He in the early Western Han dynasty and Cao Cao in the late Eastern Han dynasty: He did not have to walk briskly when he entered the imperial court, did not have to have his name announced when he entered, and was allowed to wear shoes and carry a sword into the imperial court.
78.
Sima Yi ordered his relatives to decline the honours and appointments.
79.
Cao Fang attributed this to the efforts of his subjects and he rewarded Sima Yi by increasing the number of taxable households in his marquisate.
80.
Sima Yi suggested the Wei imperial court put an end to the extravagant palace construction and renovation projects started in Cao Rui's reign, and divert those resources and manpower to agriculture.
81.
When Sima Yi asked permission to lead troops to resist the enemy, officials in the imperial court argued there was no need to take swift action because Fancheng was strong enough to withstand attacks and because the enemy was weary after travelling a long distance.
82.
Sima Yi sent a lightly armed cavalry detachment to harass the Wu forces while his main army remained in position.
83.
In early 242, Cao Fang bestowed the posthumous title "Marquis Cheng of Wuyang" upon Sima Yi's deceased father Sima Fang.
84.
When Sima Yi wanted to lead troops to attack Zhuge Ke, many officials advised him against it.
85.
Sima Yi's aim was to destroy the Wu forces' sources of food in the Huai River region so once Zhuge Ke burnt the supplies in Wan, Sima Yi felt more at ease.
86.
Sima Yi then implemented the tuntian policy of agricultural military colonies, alongside large-scale agricultural and irrigation works in the region.
87.
Sima Yi silenced those who stood against him, his associates, and their combined interests.
88.
For instance, Deng Ai, a man with whom Sima Yi had previously grown acquainted and realising his talent, transferred him into his service, was eventually appointed to the position of Prefect of the Imperial Secretariat in 241, gave Deng Ai the rank of Prefect of the Masters of Writing.
89.
Sima Yi strongly objected to this idea but Cao Shuang ignored him and proceeded with the campaign.
90.
Sima Yi sent a letter to Cao Shuang's associate and uncle Xiahou Xuan reprimanding his faction's reckless actions because they could lead to destruction, referring to a historical precedent by stating Cao Cao almost suffered a total defeat in the war against Liu Bei for Hanzhong.
91.
Sima Yi opposed these changes but Cao Shuang ignored him and went ahead.
92.
When news of the Wu invasion reached the Wei imperial court, Sima Yi argued they should let the civilians remain on the northern side of the river because the southern side was near enemy territory and hence too dangerous for them.
93.
Sima Yi heeded the advice of his close aides Sima Yi Yan, Deng Yang, and Ding Mi, and relocated Cao Rui's widow Empress Dowager Guo to Yongning Palace so she could not interfere in politics.
94.
The Princes of Qinghe and Pingyuan had been arguing among themselves with Sun Li, the governor of Ji Province, over a land dispute for the past eight years, after consulting with Sima Yi, arguing a map from the palace archives made during the time of the latter prince's enfeoffment should be used.
95.
Sima Yi was eventually reinstated as the governor of Bing Province, and visited Sima Yi before taking his leave.
96.
Sima Yi saw that something was amiss, and he asked him if he thought it a small thing to be made the governor of Bing Province, or if he instead felt regret for having got himself involved in this whole affair.
97.
Cao Shuang and his close aides thought Sima Yi was seriously ill and could no longer do anything so they plotted with Zhang Dang to overthrow the emperor Cao Fang and put Cao Shuang on the throne.
98.
Cao Shuang secretly instructed him to check if Sima Yi was as ill as he claimed so Li Sheng visited Sima Yi before leaving for Jing Province.
99.
Sima Yi knew the true purpose of Li Sheng's visit so he pretended to be frail and senile.
100.
On that day, Sima Yi seized the opportunity to stage a coup d'etat against his co-regent.
101.
Sima Yi went to Yongning Palace to meet Empress Dowager Guo to request the memorialisation of a decree ordering the removal of Cao Shuang and his brothers from power.
102.
Sima Yi sent Xu Yun and Chen Tai to persuade Cao Shuang to plead guilty as early as possible.
103.
Sima Yi sent Yin Damu, a man whom Cao Shuang trusted, to tell him nothing more would result from this aside from his dismissal.
104.
Cao Shuang ultimately surrendered to Sima Yi and gave up his powers, thinking he could still lead a luxurious life in retirement.
105.
Sima Yi was assuming too much power and behaving improperly.
106.
Wang Ling the Grand Commandant and his nephew Linghu Yu the Inspector of Yan Province became worried about Sima Yi's growing influence over the emperor Cao Fang, so they plotted to replace him with Cao Biao, the Prince of Chu, while instating his capital city as Xuchang, and then to overthrow Sima Yi.
107.
Sima Yi was suspicious of Wang Ling's intention so he refused to approve the request.
108.
Sima Yi issued a pardon to Wang Ling and sent a secretary to call for his surrender.
109.
Sima Yi's army reached Gancheng within a few days and advanced to within 100 chi of Wang Ling's base to put pressure on him.
110.
Wang Ling knew Sima Yi was aware of his plans to rebel and that his own forces were too weak so he gave up, sent his subordinate Wang Yu to apologise on his behalf, and handed over his official seal and ceremonial axe to Sima Yi.
111.
When Sima Yi's army reached Qiutou, Wang Ling tied himself up but Sima Yi, acting on imperial order, sent a Registrar to unbind Wang Ling, reassure him of his safety, and return to him his official seal and ceremonial axe.
112.
Sima Yi had Wang Ling's conspirators arrested and executed along with their families.
113.
When Sima Yi reached Gancheng, Cao Fang sent Yu Ni as an emissary to appoint Sima Yi as Chancellor of State, and promote him from a marquis to a duke with the title "Duke of Anping Commandery".
114.
At the time, the Sima Yi family had 19 marquises and 50,000 taxable households in all their combined marquisates.
115.
Sima Yi declined the appointment of Chancellor of State and refused to accept his enfeoffment as a duke.
116.
Shan Gu remained firm in his denial so Sima Yi had Yang Kang called in to compare their testimonies.
117.
Sima Yi then relocated the other nobles from the Cao family to Ye, where they were effectively put under house arrest.
118.
Sima Yi posthumously appointed Sima Yi as Chancellor of State and elevated him to the status of a duke.
119.
Sima Yi stated his family members who died after him should not be buried with him.
120.
In one incident, Zhou Sheng kidnapped Sima Yi and wanted to kill him.
121.
Hu Zhao told nobody about this incident and very few people knew Sima Yi owed him his life.
122.
Sima Yi thought little of Cao Hong, and refused to meet him, pretending to be so ill he could not walk without using crutches.
123.
When Sima Yi heard Cao Cao wanted to meet him, he immediately threw aside his crutches and rushed there.
124.
Cao Cao heard Sima Yi was ambitious and had a lang gu appearance so he wanted to see if it was true.
125.
One day, Cao Cao ordered Sima Yi to walk in front of him and made him look back.
126.
Sima Yi turned his head to look back without moving his body.
127.
Cao Cao once dreamt of three horses feeding from the same trough and he felt disturbed so he warned Cao Pi: "Sima Yi won't be content with being a subject; he will interfere in your family matters".
128.
Sima Yi took great care to create an image of himself as a diligent and faithful subject in front of Cao Cao to reduce the latter's suspicions of him.
129.
In 238, when Gongsun Yuan heard Sima Yi was leading a Wei army to Liaodong to attack him, he sent a messenger to request reinforcements from Wu.
130.
Sima Yi gives his assignments to the worthy and capable, and liberally credits those who are better than he; he practices the laws of the former rulers and satisfies the people's desire.
131.
Emperor Ming of Jin, a descendant of Sima Yi, once asked an official named Wang Dao to tell him about the origins of the Jin dynasty.
132.
Sima Yi noted Sima Yi's cruelty in massacring Liaodong's population and exterminating Cao Shuang and his entire clan.
133.
Sima Yi is a major character in the 14th-century historical novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, which romanticises the historical figures and events before and during the Three Kingdoms period of China.
134.
Sima Yi is a nemesis to Zhuge Liang during the Shu invasions of Wei between 228 and 234, with both of them trying to outwit each other in battles.
135.
Sima Yi is sometimes venerated as a door god at Chinese and Taoist temples, usually in partnership with Zhuge Liang.
136.
Sima Yi appears as a playable character in Koei's video game series Dynasty Warriors and Warriors Orochi.
137.
Notable actors who have portrayed Sima Yi include: Wei Zongwan, in Romance of the Three Kingdoms ; Ni Dahong, in Three Kingdoms ; Eric Li, in Three Kingdoms RPG ; Wu Xiubo, in The Advisors Alliance ; and Elvis Han, in Secret of the Three Kingdoms.