| Emperor Hui of Jin 晉惠帝 | |||||||||
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| Emperor of the Jin Dynasty | |||||||||
| 1st Reign | 16 May 290 – 3 February 301 | ||||||||
| Predecessor | Emperor Wu | ||||||||
| Successor | Sima Lun | ||||||||
| 2nd Reign | 1 June 301 – 8 January 307 | ||||||||
| Predecessor | Sima Lun | ||||||||
| Successor | Emperor Huai | ||||||||
| Crown Prince of the Jin Dynasty | |||||||||
| Tenure | c.February 267[1] – 16 May 290 | ||||||||
| Taishang Huang (太上皇) | |||||||||
| Tenure | 3 February 301 – 1 June 301 | ||||||||
| Born | 259 | ||||||||
| Died | 8 January 307 (aged 46–47) | ||||||||
| Consorts | Lady Jia Nanfeng Yang Xianrong of Taishan | ||||||||
| Issue | Sima Yu Princess Hedong Princess Linhai Princess Shiping | ||||||||
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| Father | Emperor Wu | ||||||||
| Mother | Empress Wuyuan | ||||||||
Emperor Hui of Jin (simplified Chinese: 晋惠帝; traditional Chinese: 晉惠帝; pinyin: Jìn Huì Dì; Wade–Giles: Chin Hui-ti; 259 – January 8, 307[2]), personal name Sima Zhong (司馬衷), courtesy name Zhengdu (正度), was the second emperor of the Western Jin dynasty. Emperor Hui was a developmentally disabled ruler, and throughout his reign, there was constant internecine fighting between regents, imperial princes (his uncles, half-brothers and cousins), and his wife Empress Jia Nanfeng for the right to control him (and therefore the imperial administration), causing great suffering for the people and greatly undermining the stability of the Western Jin dynasty, eventually leading to rebellions of the Five Barbarians that led to Jin's loss of northern and central China and the establishment of the competing Sixteen Kingdoms. He was briefly deposed by his granduncle Sima Lun, who usurped the throne himself, in February 301, but later that year was restored to the throne and continued to be the emperor until January 307, when he was poisoned, likely by the regent Sima Yue.
- ^ Both Emperor Wu's biography in Jin Shu and vol.79 of Zizhi Tongjian indicated that Sima Zhong was made crown prince on the ding'mao day of the 1st month of the 3rd year of the Tai'shi era. However, that month did not have a ding'mao day; the month corresponds to 11 Feb to 12 Mar 267 in the Julian calendar. The nearest ding'mao days are in the month before and after. It is possible that the correct month was the 2nd (二; compare and contrast with the character "正" [zheng]) month; the corresponding date in the Julian calendar is 5 April 267.
- ^ According to Emperor Hui's biography in Book of Jin, he died aged 48 (by East Asian reckoning) on the gengwu day of the 11th month of the 1st year of the Guangxi era of his reign. This corresponds to 8 Jan 307 in the Julian calendar. ([光熙元年]十一月庚午，帝崩于显阳殿，时年四十八，葬太阳陵。) Jin Shu, vol.04. Vol.86 of Zizhi Tongjian had the same death date and added that he was poisoned during the night of the ji'si day, i.e. the day before (7 Jan 307). Emperor Hui's biography also indicated that he was 9 (by East Asian reckoning) when he was made crown prince in the 3rd year of the Tai'shi era (267 CE). Thus by calculation, his birth year should be 259.