Emperor Xiaowu of Jin

Emperor Xiaowu of Jin
9th Emperor of the Eastern Jin dynasty
Reign12 September 372 – 6 November 396
PredecessorEmperor Jianwen
SuccessorEmperor An
RegentEmpress Dowager Chu Suanzi (373 – 376)
Born362
Died6 November 396(396-11-06) (aged 33–34)
Jiankang, Eastern Jin
Burial
Longping ling (隆平陵), Nanjing, Jiangsu
ConsortsEmpress Xiaowuding
Empress Dowager Ande
IssueEmperor An
Emperor Gong
Princess Jinling
Full name
Era dates
Ningkang (寧康): 373–375
Taiyuan (太元): 376–396
Posthumous name
Emperor Xiàowǔ
孝武皇帝
Temple name
Lièzōng (烈宗)
HouseHouse of Sima
DynastyEastern Jin
FatherEmperor Jianwen
MotherEmpress Dowager Xiaowuwen

Emperor Xiaowu of Jin (simplified Chinese: 晋孝武帝; traditional Chinese: 晉孝武帝; pinyin: Jìn Xiàowǔ Dì; Wade–Giles: Chin Hsiao-wu-ti; 362 – 6 November 396[1]), personal name Sima Yao (司馬曜), courtesy name Changming (昌明),[2] was an emperor of the Eastern Jin Dynasty in China. During his reign, Jin saw his dynasty survive a major attempt by Former Qin to destroy it, but he would nevertheless be the last Jin emperor to actually exercise imperial power, as his sons Emperor An and Emperor Gong would be controlled by regents and warlords. Emperor Xiaowu died an unusual death—he was killed by his concubine Honoured Lady Zhang after he insulted her.

  1. ^ According to Sima Yao's biography in Book of Jin, he died aged 35 (by East Asian reckoning) on the gengshen day of the 9th month of the 21st year of the Taiyuan era of his reign. This corresponds to 6 November 396 in the Julian calendar. [(太元二十一年)九月庚申,帝崩于清暑殿,时年三十五] Jin Shu vol. 09. Thus by calculation, his birth year should be 362.
  2. ^ In Zizhi Tongjian, Emperor Xiaowu was known by this name before he received any title.