Sima Liang

Sima Liang
司馬亮
Regent of the Jin dynasty
In office
291
MonarchEmperor Hui
Personal details
BornBetween 211 and 227
Died26 July 291
Parents
Prince of Ru'nan (汝南王)
Tenure5 October 277 – 26 July 291
Prince of Fufeng (扶风王)
Tenure9 February 266 - 5 October 277
Posthumous name
Prince Wencheng of Ru'nan (汝南文成王)
HouseJin dynasty
In this Chinese name, the family name is Sima.

Sima Liang (司馬亮) (before 227[1] - 25 July 291[2]), courtesy name Ziyi (子翼), formally Prince Wencheng of Ru'nan (汝南文成王), was briefly a regent during the reign of Emperor Hui during Jin Dynasty (266–420). He was the first of the eight princes commonly associated with the War of the Eight Princes.

A son of Sima Yi, he was entrusted by his nephew, Emperor Wu of Jin to act as regent for the developmentally disabled Emperor Hui. Though he was initially excluded from the regency due to interference from his co-regent Yang Jun, he was later installed alongside the minister, Wei Guan in 291 after Empress Jia Nanfeng led a coup against Yang Jun that year. His short regency in Luoyang was marked by his dispute with the Prince of Chu, Sima Wei. In July 291, Sima Wei allied himself with Empress Jia and falsely charged Sima Liang and Wei Guan of plotting against the imperial family, after which they were both executed.

  1. ^ While Sima Liang's birth year is not recorded, it is recorded in volume 38 of Book of Jin that he was older than his full-brother Sima Zhou, who was born in 227. At the same time, he was younger than his half-brother Sima Zhao, who was born in 211.
  2. ^ According to Sima Zhong's biography in the Book of Jin, Sima Wei was killed on the yichou day in the 6th month of the 1st year of the Yongping era of Emperor Hui's reign. This corresponds to 26 Jul 291 in the Gregorian calendar. [(永平元年)六月...乙丑，以瑋擅害亮、瓘，殺之] Book of Jin, vol. 4. In Sima Wei's biography, it was recorded that he was killed the day after Sima Liang died. (「會天明……遂斬之」, Book of Jin, vol. 59)