Sima Shi
| Sima Shi | |
|---|---|
A Qing dynasty illustration of Sima Shi
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| Regent of Cao Wei | |
| Born | 208 |
| Died | March 255 (aged 46–47) |
| Predecessor | Sima Yi |
| Successor | Sima Zhao |
| Names | |
| Traditional Chinese | 司馬師 |
| Simplified Chinese | 司马师 |
| Pinyin | Sīmǎ Shī |
| Wade–Giles | Szu-ma Shih |
| Courtesy name | Ziyuan (子元) |
| Posthumous name | |
| Temple name | Shizong (世宗) |
Sima Shi (208 – March 255),courtesy name Ziyuan, was a military general and regent of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. In 249, he assisted his father Sima Yi in overthrowing the emperor Cao Fang's regent Cao Shuang, allowing the Sima family to become paramount authority in the state, and he inherited his father's authority after his father's death in 251. He maintained a tight grip on the political scene and, when the emperor Cao Fang considered action against him in 254, he had Cao Fang deposed and replaced with his cousin Cao Mao. This tight grip eventually allowed him to, at the time of his death in 255, transition his power to his younger brother Sima Zhao, whose son Sima Yan eventually usurped the throne and established the Jin dynasty.
After Sima Yan became emperor, he, recognizing Sima Shi's role in his own imperial status, posthumously honored his uncle as the Emperor Jing of Jin (晉景帝), with the temple name Shizong (世宗).
Sima Shi was born in 208. He was Sima Yi's oldest son, born of Sima Yi's wife, Lady Zhang Chunhua (張春華). When he was young, he was known for the elegance in his conduct and his intelligence. As his father was an important Wei official, Sima Shi himself climbed up the ranks of officials fairly rapidly.
When Sima Yi planned a coup d'état against Cao Shuang in late 248; according to Jin Shu, Sima Yi confided only in Sima Shi, excluding even Shi's younger brother Sima Zhao from the discussion (although Sima Guang found this unlikely and, in his Zizhi Tongjian, opined that Sima Yi planned the coup with both Sima Shi and Sima Zhao). Sima Shi put together a group of 3,000 loyal men without knowledge by Cao Shuang or his associates, and when Sima Yi set to carry out his plans in 249, Sima Shi was able to quickly summon the men to carry out the coup.
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