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Sima Fu (180–272) was a politician of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history.

Biography[link]

Sima Fu was a younger brother of Sima Yi, and for this reason he served the state of Cao Wei. It was said that although he did not have the extraordinary abilities of his older brother, he was well learned, able, and generous. Because he was well versed in literature, it was said that he had a close relationship with Cao Zhi, a son of Cao Cao.

After the death of Sima Yi, he served Sima Yi's sons, Sima Shi and Sima Zhao. When the rival states of Shu Han and Eastern Wu attacked Cao Wei, Sima Fu led armies against them despite old age, and played an important role in halting their advances.

When the Jin Dynasty was founded after the end of the Three Kingdoms period, Emperor Wu offered noble status to Sima Fu and all of his family, which Sima refused, saying "I am, and always have been, a servant of Wei."

Family[link]

• Ancestors:
  • Sima Jun (司馬鈞), great-great-grandfather, served as General Who Conquers the West during the reign of Emperor An of Han
  • Sima Liang (司馬量), great-grandfather, served as Prefect of Yuzhang
  • Sima Jun, grandfather, served as Prefect of Yingchuan

• Father: Sima Fang, served as Intendant of Capital City

• Siblings:
  • Sima Lang, older brother, served Cao Wei
  • Sima Yi, older brother, served Cao Wei
  • Sima Kui (司馬馗), younger brother
  • Sima Xun (司馬恂), younger brother
  • Sima Jin (司馬進), younger brother
  • Sima Tong (司馬通), younger brother
  • Sima Min (司馬敏), younger brother

• Sons:
  • Sima Yong (司馬邕), served as Colonel of Infantry and Palace Attendant in Cao Wei, died before his father
  • Sima Wang (司馬望), adopted by Sima Lang, served as Minister over the Masses in Cao Wei, granted the title of Prince of Yiyang during the Jin Dynasty
  • Sima Fu (司馬輔), served as Administrator of Yewang in Cao Wei, granted the title of Prince of Bohai during the Jin Dynasty, later titled Prince of Taiyuan
  • Sima Yi (司馬翼), served as Wuben General of the Household in Cao Wei, died before the Jin Dynasty's founding
  • Sima Huang (司馬晃), granted the title of Baron of Xi'an in Cao Wei. During the Jin Dynasty, he was granted the title of Prince of Xiapi, and served as Excellency of Works.
  • Sima Mei (司馬瑰), granted the title of Prince of Taiyuan during the Jin Dynasty
  • Sima Gui (司馬珪), granted the title of Prince of Gaoyang during the Jin Dynasty, served as Right Deputy Director of the Imperial Secretariat
  • Sima Heng (司馬衡), granted the title of Prince of Changshan during the Jin Dynasty
  • Sima Jing (司馬景), granted the title of Marquis of Anleting in Cao Wei, granted the title of Prince of Pei during the Jin Dynasty

See also[link]

• List of people of the Three Kingdoms

Dr. Fu Manchu is a fictional character introduced in a series of novels by British author Sax Rohmer during the first half of the 20th century. The character was also featured extensively in cinema, television, radio, comic strips and comic books for over 90 years, and has become an archetype of the evil criminal genius while lending the name to the Fu Manchu moustache.

Characters[link]

Fu Manchu[link]

A master criminal, Fu Manchu's murderous plots are marked by the extensive use of arcane methods; he disdains guns or explosives, preferring dacoits, Thuggee, and members of other secret societies as his agents armed with knives, or using "pythons and cobras... fungi and my tiny allies, the bacilli... my black spiders" and other peculiar animals or natural chemical weapons.

In the 1933 novel, The Bride of Fu Manchu, Fu Manchu claims to hold doctorates from four Western universities. In the 1959 novel, Emperor Fu Manchu, he reveals he attended Heidelberg, the Sorbonne, and Edinburgh. In the early books, Dr. Petrie, believed that Fu Manchu was around 70 years old in 1911 at the time of their first encounter. This would have placed Fu Manchu in the West studying for his first doctorate in the 1870s.

According to Cay Van Ash, Rohmer's biographer and former assistant who became the first author to continue the series after Rohmer's death, "Fu Manchu" was a title of honour, which meant "the Warlike Manchu." Van Ash speculates that Fu Manchu had been a member of the Imperial family who backed the losing side in the Boxer Rebellion. In the earliest books, Fu Manchu is an agent of the secret society, the Si-Fan and acts as the mastermind behind a wave of assassinations targeting Western imperialists. In later books, he vies for control of the Si-Fan which is more concerned with routing Fascist dictators and halting the spread of Communism. The Si-Fan is largely funded through criminal activities, particularly the drug trade and white slavery. Dr. Fu Manchu has extended his already considerable lifespan by use of the elixir vitae, a formula he spent decades trying to perfect.

Denis Nayland Smith and Dr. Petrie[link]

Opposing Fu Manchu in the early stories are Denis Nayland Smith and Dr. Petrie. They are in the Holmes and Watson tradition, with Dr. Petrie narrating the stories while Nayland Smith carries the fight, combating Fu Manchu more by dogged determination than intellectual brilliance (except in extremis). Nayland Smith and Fu Manchu share a grudging respect for one another, as each believes a man must keep his word even to an enemy.

In the first three books, Nayland Smith is a colonial police commissioner in Burma granted a roving commission which allows him to exercise authority over any group that can help him in his mission. He resembles Sherlock Holmes in physical description and acerbic manner, but not in deductive genius. He has been criticized as being a racist and jingoistic character, especially in the early entries in the series, and gives voice to anti-Asian sentiments. When Rohmer revived the series in the early 1930s, Smith (who has been knighted) is Assistant Commissioner of Scotland Yard. He later resigns this post and accepts a position with British Intelligence. Several books have him placed on special assignment with the FBI.

Over the years, Smith has been played by many actors, all of them middle-aged. This is despite the original character's age ranging from a young man in the early books in the 1910s to an old man in the books from the late 1950s:

• O.P. Heggie (52-53) in The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu (1929) and The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu (1930)
• Lewis Stone (53) in The Mask of Fu Manchu (1932)
• William Royle (53) in Drums of Fu Manchu (1940)
• Lester Matthews (56) in The Adventures of Dr. Fu Manchu (1956)
• Nigel Green (41) in The Face of Fu Manchu (1965)
• Douglas Wilmer (46-47) in The Brides of Fu Manchu (1966) and The Vengeance of Fu Manchu (1967)
• Richard Greene (50-51) in The Blood of Fu Manchu (1968) and The Castle of Fu Manchu (1969)
• Peter Sellers (54) in The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu (1980)

Kâramanèh[link]

Prominent among Fu Manchu's agents was the "seductively lovely" Kâramanèh. Her real name is unknown. She was sold to the Si-Fan by Egyptian slave traders while still a child. Kara falls in love with the narrator of the first three books in the series, Dr. Petrie. She rescues Petrie and Nayland Smith many times. Eventually the couple are united and she wins her freedom. They marry and have a daughter, Fleurette, who figures in later novels. Author Lin Carter later created a son for Dr. Petrie and Kara, but this is not considered canonical.

Fah lo Suee[link]

Fu Manchu's daughter, Fah lo Suee, is a devious mastermind in her own right, frequently plotting to usurp her father's position in the Si-Fan and aiding his enemies within and outside of the organization. Her real name is unknown; Fah lo Suee was a childhood term of endearment. She was introduced anonymously while still a teenager in the third book in the series and plays a larger role in several of the titles of the 1930s and 1940s. She was known for a time as Koreani after being brainwashed by her father, but her memory was later restored. She is infamous for taking on false identities, like her father, among them Madame Ingomar and Queen Mamaloi. In film, she has been portrayed by numerous actresses over the years. Her character is usually renamed in film adaptations because of difficulties with pronunciation. Anna May Wong played Ling Moy in 1931's Daughter of the Dragon. Myrna Loy was the similarly named Fah lo See in 1932's The Mask of Fu Manchu. Gloria Franklin was Fah lo Suee in 1940's Drums of Fu Manchu. Laurette Luez played Karamaneh in 1956's The Adventures of Dr. Fu Manchu, but the character owed more to Fah lo Suee than Rohmer's depiction of Karamaneh. Tsai Chin was Fu Manchu's daughter, Lin Tang in the five Christopher Lee films of the 1960s.

Controversy[link]

After the 1932 release of MGM's adaptation of The Mask of Fu Manchu, which featured the Asian villain telling an assembled group of Muslims that they must "kill the white men and take their women", a Harvard University student group petitioned MGM producer William Randolph Hearst (who had also serialized the novel in his Cosmopolitan magazine) to cease making further films based on the property.

Following the 1940 release of Republic Pictures' serial adaptation of Drums of Fu Manchu, the U.S. State Department requested the studio make no further films with the character as China was an ally against Japan. Likewise Rohmer's publisher, Doubleday, refused to publish further additions to the bestselling series for the duration of the Second World War once the United States entered the conflict. BBC Radio and Broadway investors subsequently rejected Rohmer's proposals for an original Fu Manchu radio serial and stage show during the 1940s.

A planned 1972 U.S. network television screening of the 1966 Warner Bros. film The Brides of Fu Manchu was cancelled due to protests from an Asian anti-defamation group.

Rohmer himself was quoted in the biography his wife co-authored Master of Villainy to respond to charges that Fu Manchu had demonized all Chinese people by stating that

Of course, not the whole Chinese population of Limehouse was criminal. But it contained a large number of persons who had left their own country for the most urgent of reasons. These people knew no way of making a living other than the criminal activities that had made China too hot for them. They brought their crimes with them.

It was Rohmer's contention that he based Fu Manchu and other "Yellow Peril" mysteries on real Chinese crime figures he knew during his brief stint as a newspaper reporter covering Limehouse activities.

Cultural impact[link]

The character of Fu Manchu became a stereotype often associated with the Yellow Peril. Fu Manchu has inspired numerous other characters, and is the model for most villains in later "Yellow Peril" thrillers.^[1] Examples include Pao Tcheou, Ming the Merciless from Flash Gordon, Dr, Goo-Fee from Fearless Fly,Li Chang Yen from The Big Four, James Bond adversary Dr. No, The Celestial Toymaker from the Doctor Who story of the same name, Dr. Benton Quest's archenemy Dr. Zin from the Jonny Quest television series, Dr. Yen-Lo from The Manchurian Candidate, Lo-Pan from Big Trouble in Little China, Marvel Comics foes the Mandarin and the Yellow Claw, DC Comics' Rā's al Ghūl, Wo Fat from the CBS TV series Hawaii Five-O, "The Craw" in more than one episode of Get Smart,and Ancient Wu from the video game True Crime: Streets of LA. Fu Manchu and his daughter are the inspiration for the character Hark and his daughter Anna Hark in the comic book series Planetary.

He was also parodied by Kenneth Williams in the radio show Round the Horne as the Oriental criminal mastermind Dr Chou En Ginsberg MA (failed), accompanied by his common-as-muck concubine Lotus Blossom, played by a cockney Hugh Paddick. Appearing in ten minute sketches within the show he was the villain for Kenneth Horne's masterspy in adventures such as "The Man with the Golden Thunderball", which also spoofed James Bond.

While not of Chinese descent, "Egyptian" arch-villain "Kathulos" (then revealed to be a survived Atlantean) of Robert E. Howard's Skull-Face novella is inspired by Fu Manchu^[2][3][4]. "Comrade Li" in Peter George's Commander-1 (1965) is essentially the same type of villain—despite his name having only a thin veneer of Communism or Marxism, being rather a suave philosopher steeped in ancient Chinese learning—whose cold-blooded machinations bring about a nuclear holocaust in which nearly all humanity perishes (including China, which he sought to make great) and who eventually meets a suitable gruesome and ignominious end.

A character with the name "Fred Fu Manchu" appeared as a famous Chinese bamboo saxophonist as part of The Goon Show, a 1950's British radio comedy programme. He appeared in his very own episode, "The Terrible Revenge of Fred Fu Manchu" in 1955 (announced as "Fred Fu-Manchu and his Bamboo Saxophone"), as well as making minor appearances in other episodes (including "China Story", "The Siege of Fort Night" and "The Lost Emperor"(as "Doctor Fred Fu Manchu: oriental tattooist")). The character was invented and performed by Spike Milligan, who used the character to mock British xenophobia and self-satisfaction, the traits summoning the original Fu Manchu into existence, and not as a slur against Asians.^[5]

Fu Manchu is also one of the earliest known examples of an evil scientist or archenemy, with Professor Moriarty, Doctor Jack Quartz (from Nick Carter), Zenith the Albino (from Sexton Blake), and some others being among the few other precedents. The style of facial hair associated with him in film adaptations has become known as the Fu Manchu moustache, although Rohmer's writings described the character as wearing no such adornment.

Books[link]

• The Mystery of Dr. Fu-Manchu (1913) (US Title: The Insidious Dr. Fu-Manchu).
• The Return of Dr. Fu-Manchu (1916) (UK Title: The Devil Doctor)
• The Hand of Fu Manchu (1917) (UK Title: The Si-Fan Mysteries)
• Daughter of Fu Manchu (1931)
• The Mask of Fu Manchu (1932)
• The Bride of Fu Manchu (1933) (original US Title: Fu Manchu's Bride)
• The Trail of Fu Manchu (1934)
• President Fu Manchu (1936)
• The Drums of Fu Manchu (1939)
• The Island of Fu Manchu (1941)
• The Shadow of Fu Manchu (1948)
• Re-Enter: Fu Manchu (1957) (UK Title: Re-Enter: Dr. Fu Manchu)
• Emperor Fu Manchu (1959) was Rohmer's last novel.
• The Wrath of Fu Manchu (1973) was a posthumous anthology containing the title novella, first published in 1952, and three later short stories: "The Eyes of Fu Manchu" (1957), "The Word of Fu Manchu" (1958), and "The Mind of Fu Manchu" (1959).
• Ten Years Beyond Baker Street (1984). The first of two authorized continuation novels by Cay Van Ash, Sax Rohmer's former assistant and biographer. The novel is set in a narrative gap within The Hand of Fu Manchu and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes story, His Last Bow (both published in 1917). Holmes comes out of retirement to aid Dr. Petrie when Nayland Smith is abducted by the Si-Fan.
• The Fires of Fu Manchu (1987). The second of two authorized continuation novels by Cay Van Ash. The novel is set in 1917 and documents Smith and Petrie's encounter with Fu Manchu during the First World War culminating in Smith's knighthood. A third Van Ash title, The Seal of Fu Manchu was underway when Van Ash died in 1994. The incomplete manuscript is believed lost.
• The Terror of Fu Manchu (2009). The first of two authorized continuation novels by William Patrick Maynard. The novel expands on the continuity established in Van Ash's books and sees Dr. Petrie teaming with both Nayland Smith and a Rohmer character from outside the series, Gaston Max in an adventure set on the eve of the First World War.
• The Destiny of Fu Manchu (2012). The second of two authorized continuation novels by William Patrick Maynard. The novel is set between Rohmer's The Drums of Fu Manchu and The Island of Fu Manchu on the eve of the Second World War and follows the continuity established in the author's first novel.
• The League of Dragons by George Alec Effinger was an unpublished, unauthorized novel involving a young Sherlock Holmes matching wits with Fu Manchu in the nineteenth century. Chapters have been published in the anthologies, Sherlock Holmes in Orbit (1995) and My Sherlock Holmes (2003). This lost university adventure of Holmes is narrated by Conan Doyle's character Reginald Musgrave.

Fu Manchu also made appearances in the following non-Fu Manchu books:

• Anno Dracula (1994) by Kim Newman. An alternate histories adventure with Fu Manchu in an anonymous cameo appearance as one of the London crime lords of the nineteenth century.
• "Sex Slaves of the Dragon Tong" and "Part of the Game" are a pair of related short stories by F. Paul Wilson appearing in his collection, Aftershocks and Others: 19 Oddities (2009) and feature anonymous appearances by Dr. Fu Manchu and characters from Little Orphan Annie.
• Fu Manchu also appears anonymously in several stories in August Derleth's Solar Pons detective series. Derleth's successor, Basil Copper also made use of the character.
• Fu Manchu is the name of the Chinese ambassador in Kurt Vonnegut's Slapstick (novel) (1976)
• It is revealed that Chiun, the Master of Sinanju has worked for the Devil Doctor, as have previous generations of Masters in the The Destroyer novel #83 Skull Duggery.

In other media[link]

Film[link]

Fu Manchu first appeared on the big screen in the 1923 British silent film serial The Mystery of Dr. Fu Manchu starring Harry Agar Lyons. Lyons returned to the role the next year in The Further Mysteries of Dr. Fu Manchu.

In 1929 Fu Manchu made his American film debut in Paramount's early talkie, The Mysterious Dr. Fu Manchu starring Warner Oland, best known for his portrayal of Charlie Chan. Oland repeated the role in 1930's The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu and 1931's Daughter of the Dragon as well as in the short, Murder Will Out as part of the omnibus film, Paramount on Parade where the Devil Doctor confronts both Philo Vance and Sherlock Holmes.

The most infamous incarnation of the character was MGM's The Mask of Fu Manchu (1932) starring Boris Karloff and Myrna Loy. The film's tone has long been considered racist and offensive, but that only added to its cult status alongside its campy humour and Grand Guignol sets and torture sequences. The film was suppressed for many years, but has since received critical re-evaluation and been released on DVD uncut.

Fu Manchu returned to the serial format in 1940 in Republic Pictures' Drums of Fu Manchu, a 15-episode serial considered to be one of the best the studio ever made. It was later edited and released as a feature film in 1943.

Other than an obscure, unauthorized 1946 Mexican film El Otro Fu Manchu, the Devil Doctor was absent from the big screen for 25 years, until producer Harry Alan Towers began a series starring Christopher Lee in 1965. Towers and Lee would make five Fu Manchu film through the end of the decade: The Face of Fu Manchu (1965), The Brides of Fu Manchu (1966), The Vengeance of Fu Manchu (1967), The Blood of Fu Manchu (1968), and finally The Castle of Fu Manchu (1969).

The character's last authorized film appearance was in the 1980 Peter Sellers spoof, The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu with Sellers featured in a double role as both Fu Manchu and Nayland Smith. The film bore little resemblance to any prior film or the original books. In the film, Fu Manchu claims he was known as "Fred" at public school, a reference to the character of "Fred Fu Manchu" from The Goon Show which had co-starred Sellers.

Jess Franco, who had directed The Blood of Fu Manchu and The Castle of Fu Manchu, also directed The Girl From Rio the second of three Harry Alan Towers films based on Rohmer's female Fu Manchu character, Sumuru. He later directed an unauthorized 1986 Spanish film featuring Fu Manchu's daughter, Esclavas del Crimen.

Nicolas Cage made a camp cameo appearance as Fu Manchu in Rob Zombie's faux trailer Werewolf Women of the SS, which is part of the 2007 film Grindhouse.

There have been several unsuccessful plans to revive the character for the big screen since the early 1970s. The most recent project was announced by Distant Horizons at Cannes in 2007.

Television[link]

Fu Manchu was first brought to television in an unsold pilot for NBC in 1952, The Zayat Kiss starred John Carradine and Cedric Hardwicke.

In 1956, the television arm of Republic Pictures produced a 13-episode syndicated series, The Adventures of Dr. Fu Manchu starring Glen Gordon as Dr. Fu Manchu, Lester Matthews as Sir Denis Nayland Smith, and Clark Howat as Dr. John Petrie. The title sequence depicted Smith and Fu Manchu in a game of chess as the announcer stated that "the Devil is said to play for men's souls. So does Dr. Fu Manchu, Evil Incarnate." At the conclusion of each episode, after Nayland Smith and Petrie had foiled Fu Manchu's latest fiendish scheme, he would be seen breaking a black chess piece as the closing credits rolled. It was directed by noted serial director Franklin Adreon as well as William Witney. Unlike the Holmes/Watson type relationship of the films, the series featured Smith as a law enforcement officer and Petrie as a staff member for the Surgeon General.

In 1990, TeleMundo broadcast an affectionate spoof, The Daughter of Fu Manchu featuring Paul Naschy as the Devil Doctor and starring the Hispanic comedy troupe, The Yellow Squad.

Music[link]

• Guy Lombardo had a 1935 song entitled "Fu Manchu, Why Don't You Behave"
• The Rockin' Ramrods had a 1965 song titled "Don't Fool With Fu Manchu"^[6]
• The stoner rock band Fu Manchu was named after him.
• Jamaican reggae pioneer Desmond Dekker recorded a song titled "Fu Man Chu" in 1968 with the chorus, "This is the face of Fu Manchu."
• Frank Black (of the Pixies) recorded a song called "Fu Manchu" in 1993.
• In the song, "We Want Freedom", by Dead Prez, Fu Manchu is referred to in the 2nd verse as a man who "dominated the land and accumulated wealth".
• Fu Manchu was the name of a bull, mentioned in Tim McGraw's song "Live Like You Were Dying".
• Fu Manchu was also mentioned in Travis Tritt's song "It's a Great Day to Be Alive".
• Northern Irish band Ash include Fu Manchu in the lyrics to their songs "Kung Fu" and "Day of the Triffids".
• British band The Wildhearts include Fu Manchu on their list of admired villains in the song "Rooting For The Bad Guy".
• "The Village Green Preservation Society" on the similarly titled album by The Kinks mentions Fu Manchu, alongside other fictional villains, Moriarty and Dracula, in its list of things to preserve, "Help save Fu Manchu, Moriarty and Dracula". 30 years later, front man Ray Davies again name-checked the character in his 1998 solo song, "London Song."
• Hip Hop group The Fugees briefly mention Fu Manchu in the song "Vocab", from the album Blunted on Reality.
• Montréal French speaking rock singer Robert Charlebois composed a song entitled "Fu Man Chu (Chus d'dans)" in 1972, in which he refers to the Fu Man Chu and Gene Autry black and white movies of the 1950-1960s. Through the story of Bill, the hero, the song highlights the main events of the second half of the 20th Century, starting with Bill initially dreaming about being attached to a railway track when the train is coming, then his posting abroad to war (presumably Vietnam) and finally ends with Lady Trenton losing her virginity to Bill, whom she saved from the villains after his trip to the milky way.
• Drum and bass duo Drumsound & Bassline Smith recently^[when?] released a song called "Fu Manchu", with a dubstep edit.

Radio[link]

Fu Manchu's earliest radio appearances were on the Collier Hour 1927-31 on the Blue Network. This was a radio programme designed to promote Collier's magazine and presented weekly dramatizations of the current issues stories and serials. Fu was voiced by Arthur Hughes. A self titled show on CBS followed in 1932-33. John C. Daly, and later Harold Huber, played Fu.

Additionally, there were "pirate" broadcast from the Continent into Britain, from Radio Luxembourg and Radio Lyons in 1936 through 1937. Frank Cochrane voiced Fu Manchu. The BBC produced a competing series, The Peculiar Case of the Poppy Club starting in 1939. That same year The Shadow of Fu Manchu aired in the United States as a thrice weekly serial dramatizing the first nine novels.^[7]

Comic strips[link]

Fu was first brought to newspaper comic strips in a black and white daily strip drawn by Leo O'Mealia and ran from 1931 to 1933. The strips were adaptations of the first two Fu Manchu novels and part of the third. They were copyrighted by "Sax Rohmer and The Bell Syndicate, Inc".

Graphic novels[link]

• Fu Manchu made his first comic book appearance in Detective Comics # 17, and continued, as one feature among many in the anthology series, until #28. These were reprints of the earlier Leo O'Mealia strips. Original Fu stories in comics had to wait for Avon's one-shot The Mask of Dr. Fu Manchu in 1951. A similar British one-shot The Island of Fu Manchu was published in 1956.

• In the 1970s, Fu Manchu appeared as the father of the character Shang-Chi in the series Shang-Chi, Master of Kung Fu. However Marvel Comics cancelled the book in 1982, and issues over licensing the character and concepts from the novels (such as his daughter) have hampered Marvel's ability to both collect the series in trade paperback format and reference Fu Manchu as Shang-Chi's father. As such, the character is either never mentioned by name, or by alias ("Mr. Han"). Though Fu Manchu himself was killed off in #100 of his son's comic, he has since been (partially) resurrected by an evil terror group known as the Shadow Council.

• Fu Manchu appeared as a villain in the first volume of Alan Moore's comic book series The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen where he attempts to steal a piece of Cavorite to make an airforce and attack England, but was referred to only as "the Doctor" or "the Devil Doctor".

• In the first edition of Docteur Mystery, Fu Manchu is a leader of a cult that tries to resurrect a giant dragon to take over Europe.

• Martin Gilfryd/Memnan Saa of the BPRD comics by Mike Mignola, John Arcudi and Guy Davis is modelled after Dr. Fu Manchu. Before the mysterious character's identity was revealed Mignola referred to the villain as "that Fu Manchu-looking guy."

Sweets[link]

In 1977 Trebor produced a Fu Munchews sweet.^[8]

See also[link]

• Charlie Chan

References[link]

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2010)

External links[link]

• Fu Manchu at the Internet Movie Database
• "The Adventures of Dr. Fu Manchu" (1956 TV Series)
• The Page of Fu Manchu
• The Insidious Dr. Fu Manchu by Sax Rohmer
• The Return of Dr. Fu Manchu by Sax Rohmer
• Dr Hermes Reviews reviews of all the Fu Manchu books as well as those featuring Sax Rohmer's other criminal mastermind, Sumuru
• A database and cover gallery of Fu Manchu comic book appearances
• Theater of the Ears: The Shadow of Fu Manchu Radio Dramas
• The Chronology of Fu Manchu http://www.pjfarmer.com/woldnewton/Fumanchu.htm
• Fu Manchu and the Yellow Peril http://dspace.wul.waseda.ac.jp/dspace/bitstream/2065/10005/1/40050_3_2.pdf
• Fu Manchu in Edinburgh (BBC Radio 4 programme)

An ancient painting of Nuwa and Fuxi unearthed in Xinjiang.

In Chinese mythology, Fu Xi or Fu Hsi (Chinese: 伏羲; pinyin: fúxī), also known as Paoxi (simplified Chinese: 庖牺; traditional Chinese: 庖犧; pinyin: páoxī), mid 29th century BCE, was the first of the Three Sovereigns (三皇 sānhuáng) of ancient China. He is a culture hero reputed to be the inventor of writing, fishing, and trapping. However, Cangjie is also said to have invented writing.

Early life[link]

Fu Xi was born on the lower-middle reaches of the Yellow River in a place called Chengji (possibly modern Lantian, Shaanxi province or Tianshui, Gansu province).^[1]

Creation legend[link]

According to legend, the land was swept by a great flood and only Fu Xi and his sister Nüwa survived. They retired to Kunlun Mountain, where they prayed for a sign from the Emperor of Heaven. The divine being approved their union and the siblings set about procreating the human race. In order to speed up the process, Fu Xi and Nüwa used clay to create human figures, and with the power divine entrusted to them made the clay figures come alive.^[1] Fu Xi then came to rule over his descendants, although reports of his long reign vary between sources, from 115 years (2852–2737 BCE) to 116 years (2952–2836 BCE).

Social importance[link]

Fu Xi, with the 8 trigrams and a turtle, as imagined by the Song painter Ma Lin

On one of the columns of the Fu Xi Temple in Henan Province, the following couplet describes Fu Xi's importance: "Among the three primogenitors of Hua-Xia civilization, Fu Xi in Huaiyang Country ranks first."^[1] During the time of his predecessor Nüwa (who, according to some sources, was also his wife and/or sister), society was matriarchal and primitive. Childbirth was seen to be miraculous, not requiring the participation of the male, and children only knew their mothers. As the reproductive process became better understood, ancient Chinese society moved towards a patriarchal system and Fu Xi assumed primary importance.^[1]

In the beginning there was as yet no moral or social order. Men knew their mothers only, not their fathers. When hungry, they searched for food; when satisfied, they threw away the remnants. They devoured their food hide and hair, drank the blood, and clad themselves in skins and rushes. Then came Fu Xi and looked upward and contemplated the images in the heavens, and looked downward and contemplated the occurrences on earth. He united man and wife, regulated the five stages of change, and laid down the laws of humanity. He devised the eight trigrams, in order to gain mastery over the world.

— Ban Gu, Baihu tongyi^[2]

Fu Xi taught his subjects to cook, to fish with nets, and to hunt with weapons made of iron. He instituted marriage and offered the first open-air sacrifices to heaven. A stone tablet, dated 160 CE, shows Fu Xi with Nüwa.

Traditionally, Fu Xi is considered the originator of the I Ching (also known as the Yi Jing or Zhou Yi), which work is attributed to his reading of the He Map (or the Yellow River Map). According to this tradition, Fu Xi had the arrangement of the trigrams (八卦 bāgùa) of the I Ching revealed to him supernaturally. This arrangement precedes the compilation of the I Ching during the Zhou dynasty. He is said to have discovered the arrangement in markings on the back of a mythical dragon horse (sometimes said to be a turtle) that emerged from the Luo River. This discovery is said to have been the origin of calligraphy. Fu Xi is also credited with the invention of the Guqin, together with Shennong and Huangdi.

The Figurists viewed Fu Xi as Enoch, the biblical patriarch. According to Mirza Tahir Ahmad, the fourth Caliph of the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community, all Chinese religions are derived from the teachings of Fu Xi.^[3]

Death[link]

Fu Xi is said to have lived for 197 years altogether and died at a place called Chen (modern Huaiyang, Henan), where a monument to him can still be found and visited as a tourist attraction.^[1]

Modern references[link]

• Fu Xi makes an appearance in the Hong Kong television series My Date with a Vampire 2. He is also called Ren Wang (or King of Humanity) in the series, with a magical bow and arrow as his weapons. He was sent down from heaven and it is on him whom Nüwa based her creations and humanity.

• Fu Xi and Nüwa appear as unlockable characters in the video game Dynasty Warriors 3. They also appear in Koei's Warriors Orochi 2, a crossover between Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors.

• Fu Xi is featured in the "Conversation on Information Technology over 5000 Years", sculptural panels at the Norwalk Community College Center for Information Technology, near New Haven, Connecticut. They were sculpted by the facility's architect, Barry Svigals.

• He appears (as Fu-Hsi) on a mural on a wall in Peterborough, East Anglia.

• In the manga Hoshin Engi, he is referenced as Fukki, one of the important characters to appear near the end of the storyline.

References[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Fuxi

Sima Yi
Qing Dynasty illustration of Sima Yi
Regent of Cao Wei
Born	179
Died	September 7, 251 (aged 71–72)
Successor	Sima Shi
Names
Simplified Chinese	司马懿
Traditional Chinese	司馬懿
Pinyin	Sīmǎ Yì
Wade-Giles	Szŭma I
Style name	Zhongda (仲達)
Posthumous name	Wenxuan (文宣) by the state of Cao Wei Prince Xuan (宣王) by Sima Zhao Emperor Xuan (宣皇帝) by Sima Yan
Temple name	Gaozu (高祖)

Sima Yi (179 – September 7, 251) was a general and politician of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms era of Chinese history. He is perhaps best known for defending Wei from Zhuge Liang's Northern Expeditions. His success and subsequent rise in prominence paved the way for his grandson Sima Yan's founding of the Jin Dynasty, which would eventually bring an end to the Three Kingdoms era. In 265 after the Jin Dynasty was established, Sima Yi was posthumously honored as Emperor Xuan of Jin with the temple name of Gaozu.

Early life[link]

Sima Yi was one of eight brothers, all of whom were famous due to their lineage. Each of them had a Chinese style name ending with the character Da (達). Because of this, the brothers were known collectively as the "Eight Da of Sima" (司馬八達). This was a term of respect, as other groups of eight talented administrators in previous eras had been referred to in this way.^[1] His family resided in Luoyang when Dong Zhuo occupied the city, destroyed it, and moved the capital to Chang'an. Sima Yi's elder brother, Sima Lang led the family to their ancestral home in the Wen district (温縣), and then, correctly predicting that it would become a battlefield, moved them again to Liyang (黎陽). In 194, as Cao Cao did battle with Lü Bu, Sima Yi accompanied his family back to Wen district.

Service under Cao Cao[link]

Accounts on how Sima joined the service of Cao differ, but he accepted his first position in Cao's camp at the age of 30. According to the Book of Jin, Sima believed that the Han Dynasty would soon come to an end, and felt no motivation to join Cao, which had already taken control of the Han seat of government. He refused Cao's requests to serve, saying that he was suffering from a disease. Cao did not believe Sima's excuse, and sent agents to check on him at night. Sima, knowing this in advance, stayed in bed all night and did not move. In 208, Cao became Imperial Chancellor and ordered Sima to serve him, saying "If he dallies, arrest him." Afraid of what would befall him, Sima finally accepted the position of Wenxueyuan (文学掾).^[2] However, according to Weilüe, Cao Hong, Cao Cao's younger cousin, requested the presence of Sima in order to start a friendship with the latter, who did not have a very high opinion of Cao Hong and feigned illness by carrying a cane in order to avoid meeting him. Cao Hong went to Cao Cao in anger and told him what had happened, after which Cao Cao directly requested the presence of Sima. Only then did Sima officially enter Cao Cao's service.^[3]

In the Chancellor's service, he rose through the ranks of Dongcaoyuan (東曹掾; in charge of bringing officials into service), Zhubo (主簿; an administrative position), and Sima (司馬; position in charge of aids and advisors). In 215, when Cao Cao defeated Zhang Lu and forced him to surrender, Sima advised that Cao Cao continue to advance south into Yi Province, since Liu Bei had still not stabilized his control of that area. However, Cao Cao did not listen to his advice. Sima was among other advisors who urged for the implementation of the tuntian system and for Cao Cao to take the position of Prince of Wei.^[2]

Service under Cao Pi[link]

Even before Cao Cao's death, Sima Yi was close to his successor, Cao Pi. When Cao Pi was designated Crown Prince of Wei in 216, Sima was made his secretary. When Cao Cao wavered on choosing between Cao Pi and his younger brother Cao Zhi, Sima was believed to be among those who backed Cao Pi and helped him secure the succession. Due to the fact Sima had been a long time friend of Cao Pi since the latter held the position of General of the Household, he became greatly trusted when the latter ascended the throne. He was also involved in Cao Zhi's demotion and removal from politics.^[4]

In 225, Cao Pi advanced against Sun Quan's Wu, and entrusted Sima Yi with command over the capital in his absence. He compared Sima Yi to Xiao He, whose quiet contributions behind the battle lines earned him much praise.^[2] Upon returning from the military expedition, Cao Pi once again praised his servant, saying "As I did battle in the East, you stayed in the capital and guarded our kingdom against Shu in the West. When I go to battle in the West against Shu, I'll entrust you with defense against Wu in the East." Sima Yi was soon given the post of Lushang Shushi (録尚書事), which at that time held the same real power and responsibilities as Imperial Chancellor. Sima Yi's position within Wei was now all but unassailable.

Service under Cao Rui[link]

In 226, as Cao Pi lay on his deathbed, he entrusted his successor Cao Rui to the care of Sima Yi, Cao Zhen, and Chen Qun. When Cao Rui became Emperor of Wei, he trusted Sima Yi greatly and appointed him Piaoqi General (骠骑大将军)^[5] and military commander of Yuzhou and Jingzhou (督荊豫二州諸軍事), placed him on the border between Wei and Wu to defend against Sun Quan's forces, and created him Marquess of Wuyang.

Battle of Xincheng[link]

In 220, when Meng Da surrendered to Wei and Cao Pi entrusted him as Administrator of Xincheng. Sima Yi did not trust him, and argued his case to Cao Pi, but his advice was not taken.^[4] In 227, Meng Da began making overtures to Wu and Shu, promising to turn against Wei when an opportunity presented itself. He was very slow to move in response to Zhuge Liang's urgings, however, and Zhuge Liang attempted to spur him into action by leaking Meng Da's rebellious intentions to Shen Yi, the administrator of Weixing (魏興). When Meng Da learned that his plans had been discovered, he began raising troops in preparation for action.

Fearing quick action by Meng Da, Sima Yi sent him a letter saying "Long ago, you surrendered to our kingdom, and we put you in charge of the defense of our borders against Shu. The people of Shu are foolish, and still hate you for not coming to Guan Yu's assistance. Kongming is the same, and he has been looking for a way to destroy you. As you probably suspect, the news of your rebellion is only his plot." Meng Da now believed that he was safe, and did not rush his preparations. He believed that Sima Yi, posted on the border of Wei and Wu, would require a month to go to Cao Rui and request permission to raise troops, then to reach Xincheng. However, Sima Yi was already on his way and reached Xincheng in 8 days, quickly defeating the unprepared Meng Da, who was killed in the battle. This action contributed indirectly to the success at the Battle of Jieting and earned Sima Yi much praise.

Zhuge Liang's Northern Expeditions[link]

When Cao Zhen, who had been leading the defense against Zhuge Liang's Northern expeditions died in 231, Sima Yi took his position in command, and faced Zhuge Liang's armies for the first time in battle. Sima Yi kept his armies safe in fortifications, his strategy being to wait out the Shu armies who had a very difficult time keeping their armies supplied with provisions. He did not attempt to do battle with Zhuge Liang whatsoever, and was mocked by his own subordinates, who claimed he was the laughing stock of the world.^[6] Unable to resist doing battle any longer, he allowed his generals to attack Shu's positions, but they were badly defeated and suffered losses including 3000 soldiers, 5000 suits of iron armor, and 3000 crossbows.^[7] When Zhuge Liang finally did retreat, Sima Yi ordered Zhang He to pursue, who was ambushed and killed.

A Qing Dynasty illustration of a battle between Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi

The second battle between Sima Yi and Zhuge Liang was in 234. Cao Rui again identified Shu's problem being keeping their army supplied, and ordered Sima Yi to keep his armies fortified and wait the enemy out. The two armies faced each other at Wuzhang Plains. Although being challenged many times by Zhuge Liang, Sima Yi did not send his armies to attack. To provoke Sima Yi, Zhuge Liang sent women's clothes to him, suggesting that he was a woman for not daring to attack. The Wei officers were enraged by this, but Sima Yi would not be provoked. To appease his officers, Sima Yi asked the Wei Emperor Cao Rui for permission to engage the Shu forces. Cao Rui, understanding the situation, sent his advisor Xin Pi to Sima Yi telling the Wei forces to be patient.^[8] In an attempt to engage the Wei forces, Zhuge Liang sent Sima Yi an emissary urging him to battle. Sima Yi, however, would not discuss military matters with the emissary, instead inquired about Zhuge Liang's tasks. The emissary replied that Zhuge Liang personally manages matters both big and small in the military, from military tactics to meals for the night, but he consumes very little. Sima Yi then told an aide that Zhuge Liang would not last long.^[9]

Following Zhuge Liang's death, the Shu forces quietly withdrew from their camps while keeping Zhuge Liang's death a secret. Sima Yi, convinced by the locals that Zhuge Liang had died, gave chase to the retreating Shu forces. Jiang Wei then had Yang Yi turn around and pretend to strike. Seeing this, Sima Yi feared that Zhuge Liang only pretended he was dead to lure him out, and immediately retreated. Word that Sima Yi fled from the already dead Zhuge Liang spread, spawning a popular saying, "A dead Zhuge scares away a living Zhongda" (死諸葛嚇走活仲達), referring to Sima Yi's courtesy name. When Sima Yi heard of such ridicule, he laughingly responded, "I can predict the living, but not the dead." (帝聞而笑曰：「吾便料生，不便料死故也。」)^[2]

Expedition against Gongsun Yuan[link]

After Guanqiu Jian had failed to defeat the forces of Gongsun Yuan in Liaodong, and Gongsun Yuan had declared himself Prince of Yan, Cao Rui put Sima Yi in charge of the next expedition against him. Sima Yi defeated Gongsun Yuan twice on the field of battle, and forced him to retreat to Xiangping (襄平), where he prepared for siege. Long rains brought a temporary break from the fighting, but as soon as they lifted, Sima Yi launched an all out attack. Gongsun Yuan and his sons were killed while attempting to flee.^[10]

Service under Cao Fang and coup d'état[link]

As Cao Rui lay on his deathbed, he had doubts about Sima Yi, and initially planned to exclude him from the regency of his successor Cao Fang.^[11] He wanted to entrust Cao Fang to his uncle Cao Yu (曹宇), to serve as the lead regent, along with Xiahou Xian (夏侯獻), Cao Shuang, Cao Zhao (曹肇), and Qin Lang (秦朗). However, his trusted officials Liu Fang (劉放) and Sun Zi (孫資) were unfriendly with Xiahou and Cao Zhao and were apprehensive about their becoming regents, and managed to persuade him to make Cao Shuang (with whom they were friendly) and Sima Yi (who was then with his troops at Ji (汲縣, in modern Xinxiang, Henan, and to who Liu Fang and Sun Zi were close to) regents instead. Cao Yu, Cao Zhao, and Qin were excluded from the regency.

Initially, Cao Shuang and Sima Yi shared power, but Cao Shuang quickly used a number of political maneuvers to honor Sima with honorific titles including Grand Tutor while stripping his actual power. Cao Shuang then made all important decisions and stopped consulting Sima. Quickly, Cao's associates, including Deng Yang (鄧颺), Li Sheng (李勝), He Yan (何晏), and Ding Mi (丁謐),^[12] who were known for their talents but lack of wisdom, all became powerful, and they excluded other officials who would not associate with them from positions of power.^[13] Sima was still given military authority (including command in repelling a major Eastern Wu attack in 241), but no real authority on governance.

Incident at Gaoping Tomb[link]

In 244, Cao Shuang, who wanted to garner for himself a military reputation as well, made a major attack against Shu Han's major border city of Hanzhong (in modern Hanzhong, Shaanxi), without careful logistics planning. The battles themselves were inconclusive, but after Cao Wei forces ran out of food supplies, Cao Shuang was forced to withdraw at great loss of life.^[14] Despite his failure on the battlefield, however, Cao Shuang held onto power firmly. In 247, Sima, upset at his actual powerlessness, claimed that he was ill and retired from government service. Cao Shuang sent Li Sheng to determine whether or not Sima Yi was truly ill, and Sima Yi deceived him by acting senile in his presence.^[15]

In 249, Sima made his move. While Cao Fang and Cao Shuang were outside the capital on an official visit to Cao Rui's tomb, Sima, with support from a number of anti-Cao Shuang officials, claiming to have an order from Empress Dowager Guo to do so, closed all city gates of Luoyang and submitted a report to Cao Fang, accusing Cao Shuang of dominating and corrupting the government and demanding that Cao Shuang and his brothers be deposed. Cao Shuang was stricken by panic and did not know how to react, and even though his senior advisor Huan Fan recommended that he take Cao Fang to the secondary capital Xuchang and then resist Sima with his troops, Cao chose to surrender his troops and powers, under promise by Sima that he would still be able to maintain his wealth. However, Sima soon reneged on the promise and had Cao Shuang and his associates, as well as their clans, executed on charges of treason.^[16] Although not a popular theory, some believe this intention of betrayal to the Cao line stretched as far back as Sima Yi's days of serving the original Wei ruler, Cao Cao. This is because Cao Cao once told Cao Pi that Sima Yi was hiding an ambition, and would not die merely serving another.^[2]

After Sima Yi's takeover, he carefully but inexorably removed people who were actual or potential threats to his authority. Yet, at the same time, he strived to distance himself from the patterns followed by the man his actions seemed to mirror most - Cao Cao; when Cao Fang offered him the nine bestowments, he strenuously refused them, only accepting them after more than three offers. The 18-year-old Cao Fang left himself in a vulnerable position by going so far as to grant one of his followers such influence; Sima, however, had the support of the people by removing corruption and inefficiency that characterized Cao Shuang's regency and promoting a number of honest officials. He was offered the title of Imperial Chancellor, but refused.^[5]

Wang Ling's case[link]

In 249, the powerful general Wang Ling, who was in charge of the key southeastern city of Shouchun (壽春, in modern Lu'an, Anhui) began to plan a revolt against Sima's hold on power, in association with Cao Biao (曹彪), the Prince of Chu and a son of Cao Cao (whom he planned to replace Cao Fang with as emperor). In 251, Wang was ready to carry out his plans when his associates Huang Hua (黃華) and Yang Hong (楊弘) leaked the plan to Sima. Sima quickly advanced east before Wang could be ready and promised to pardon him. Wang knew that he was not ready to resist, so he submitted, but Sima again reneged on his promise and forced Wang and Cao Biao to commit suicide. Wang's clan and the clans of his associates were all slaughtered. Having secured his family's control of Cao Wei, Sima Yi died in 251, succeeded by his son Sima Shi.

Family[link]

• Ancestors:
  • Sima Jun (司馬鈞), great-great-grandfather, served as General Who Conquers the West during the reign of Emperor An of Han
  • Sima Liang (司馬量), great-grandfather, served as Prefect of Yuzhang
  • Sima Jun, grandfather, served as Prefect of Yingchuan

• Father: Sima Fang, served as Intendant of Capital City

• Siblings:
  • Sima Lang, older brother, served Cao Wei
  • Sima Fu, younger brother, served Cao Wei
  • Sima Kui (司馬馗), younger brother
  • Sima Xun (司馬恂), younger brother
  • Sima Jin (司馬進), younger brother
  • Sima Tong (司馬通), younger brother
  • Sima Min (司馬敏), younger brother

• Spouses:
  • Zhang Chunhua, bore Sima Shi, Sima Zhao, Sima Gan and Princess Nanyang, posthumously honoured as Empress Xuanmu
  • Concubine Fu (伏貴妃), bore Sima Liang, Sima Zhou, Sima Jing and Sima Jun
  • Lady Zhang (張夫人), bore Sima Rong
  • Lady Bai (柏夫人), bore Sima Lun

• Children:
  • Sons:
    • Sima Shi, regent of Cao Wei, posthumously honoured as Emperor Jing of Jin
    • Sima Zhao, regent of Cao Wei, granted title Prince of Jin, posthumously honoured as Emperor Wen of Jin. Fathered Sima Yan.
    • Sima Gan (司馬榦), Prince of Pingyuan
    • Sima Liang, Prince Wencheng of Runan, was involved in the War of the Eight Princes
    • Sima Zhou, Prince Wu of Langya, grandfather of Emperor Yuan of Jin
    • Sima Jing (司馬京), Marquis of Qinghuiting
    • Sima Jun (司馬駿), Prince Wu of Fufeng
    • Sima Rong (司馬肜), Prince Xiao of Liang
    • Sima Lun, Prince of Zhao, was involved in the War of the Eight Princes
  • Daughters:
    • Princess Nanyang (南陽公主), personal name unknown
    • Princess Gaoling (高陸公主), personal name unknown

Legacy[link]

After the fall of the Western Jin Dynasty, the belief began to shift from the popular ideal that Wei was the rightful successor to the Han toward a sympathetic view of Shu Han. Before this change, Sima Yi was seen as a righteous figure in the Book of Jin and was practically deified. Afterwards, Sima Yi began to be vilified; a view which was epitomized in the classic novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms. In the novel, Sima Yi was portrayed as the dedicated servant of Cao Cao, obsessed with his ideals even to the point of honing his example of usurping power against a weak ruler and using it to bring down Cao Cao's own descendants. In terms of history, many of the accounts are either contradicted or simply do not exist and were most likely borrowed from either the elements of Luo Guanzhong's imagination or from folk tales that had been passed down through the ages.

As Sima Yi's contributions toward Cao Wei are substantial, the debate of his legacy lies within what motivated his actions. A debate, that has continued to this day and will most likely never be resolved, as to whether Sima Yi was acting in a benevolent way, such as Huo Guang did during the Han Dynasty, or whether he was acting out of pure ambition, comparable to Wang Mang's short-lived Xin Dynasty. However, he died only a few years after forcibly regaining his power from Cao Shuang, leaving no definitive answer to his intentions for future generations.

Legends[link]

One legend about Sima Yi is that he could turn his head 180° around on his neck to look backwards without turning his body. This characteristic was called "the turning-back of the wolf" (狼顧) supposedly based on the fact that wolves are cautious and aware of everything going on around them as though they had eyes in the back of their heads. It is said that Cao Cao heard this rumor and wanted to test it for himself. According to the legend, he came up behind Sima Yi and called out his name, and indeed his head did turn completely around.^[2] According to the Book of Jin, when Cao Cao saw this he grew cautious of Sima Yi, saying "This man is hiding great ambition". Cao Pi would later say of Sima Yi "This man probably has no intention of ending his life as a mere servant".

Modern references[link]

Sima Yi appears as a playable character in Koei's Dynasty Warriors and Warriors Orochi video game series.

In the collectible card game Magic: The Gathering there is a card named "Sima Yi, Wei Field Marshal", in the Portal Three Kingdoms set.

Chan Mou's manhua series The Ravages of Time is another fictionalized series of the Three Kingdoms with Sima Yi as the central character.

See also[link]

• List of people of the Three Kingdoms
• List of Dynasty Warriors characters

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Fang Xuanling, Book of Jin vol. 1.
• Yu Huan, Weilüe.
• Luo Guanzhong, Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
• Sakaguchi, Wazumi (ed.) (2005) 坂口和澄・著 Seishi Sangokushi Gunyu Meimeiden 『正史三國志群雄銘銘傳』 Kojinsha:Tokyo.
• Watanabe, Seiichi (ed.) (2006) 渡辺精一・監修 Moichidomanabitai Sangokushi 『もう一度学びたい　三国志』 Seitosha:Tokyo.

This article does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (September 2007)

Sima Zhao
Sima Zhao (right), Qing Dynasty illustration.
Regent of Cao Wei
Born	211
Died	265 (aged 54)
Predecessor	Sima Shi
Successor	Sima Yan
Names
Simplified Chinese	司马昭
Traditional Chinese	司馬昭
Pinyin	Sīmǎ Zhāo
Wade-Giles	Szŭma Chao
Style name	Zishang (子尚)
Posthumous name	King Wen (文王) at time of death Emperor Wen (文帝) after Jin established
Temple name	Taizu (太祖)

Sima Zhao (211 - 265) was a military general, politician and regent of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history

He maintained control of Cao Wei, seized by his father Sima Yi and maintained by his older brother Sima Shi, and had himself created the Duke of Jin—the penultimate step before usurpation of the throne, although he would never actually take the throne. He took advantage of weakness in Shu Han to the west and attacked it, forcing the surrender of Shu's people. His military credit helped to set up the plot of overthrowing Cao Wei by his son, Sima Yan, who usurped the Cao Wei throne proclaimed the Jin Dynasty. After the establishment of Jin, Sima Yan posthumously honored him as Emperor Wen of Jin (晉文帝), with the temple name of Taizu (太祖).

A Chinese idiom involving and inspired by Sima Zhao is one that states, "Everyone on the street knows what's in Sima Zhao's mind." (司馬昭之心, 路人皆知) meaning that a person's supposed hidden intention (in this case, usurping the throne) is so well known that it is not really hidden any more. It came from a quote by Cao Mao, fourth emperor of Cao Wei, who launched an unsuccessful uprising against Sima Zhao to try to take back imperial power.

Career up to 255[link]

Sima Zhao was born in 211, as the second-born son of Sima Yi and his wife Lady Zhang Chunhua, younger only to Sima Shi. As his father was an important Cao Wei official, Sima Shi himself climbed up the ranks of officials fairly rapidly. Due to his father's achievements (not his own) in destroying the warlord Gongsun Yuan, he was created a marquess in 238.

Sima Zhao's involvement in his father's coup d'état against the regent Cao Shuang in 249 is unclear. According to Jin Shu, he was not told about the plan, hatched by his father and his older brother, until the last minute—a view disagreed with by other historians, who believed that he was intimately involved in the planning. In the aftermaths of the successful coup, however, his father became regent, and he himself became important in status. In 251, when his father suppressed the failed rebellion of Wang Ling, Sima Zhao served as deputy commander. During the next few years, he was involved in commanding forces in repelling invasions by Shu Han's commander of the armed forces, Jiang Wei.

In 254, while Sima Zhao was at the capital Luoyang, advisors to the Wei emperor Cao Fang suggested that the emperor surprise Sima Zhao and kill him to seize his troops, and then use those troops against Sima Shi. Cao Fang, apprehensive, did not act on the suggestion, but the plot was still discovered, and Sima Zhao assisted his brother in deposing the emperor and replacing him with Cao Mao. In the aftermaths of the removal of the emperor, the generals Wuqiu Jian and Wen Qin rebelled in 255 but were defeated by Sima Shi.

Sima Shi, however, had a serious eye illness that was aggravated by the campaign, and he died less than a month later. At that time, Sima Zhao was with his brother at Xuchang (in modern Xuchang, Henan). The 14-year-old emperor Cao Mao made an effort to regain imperial power. He issued an edict which, under the rationale that Sima Shi had just defeated Wuqiu Jian and Wen Qin's rebellion and that the southeastern empire was still not complete pacified, ordered Sima Zhao to remain at Xuchang and that Sima Shi's assistant Fu Jia return to Luoyang with the main troops. Under Fu Jia and Zhong Hui's advice, however, Sima Zhao returned to Luoyang anyway against edict, and was able to maintain control of the government. Indeed, from that point on, he would not let Cao Mao or Empress Dowager Guo to be out of his control.

As paramount authority[link]

Consolidation of authority[link]

During the next few years, Sima Zhao consolidated his authority further, leaving the emperor and empress dowager with little power. He further built up a series of events that were viewed as precipitations to usurpation of the Cao Wei throne. In 256, he had the emperor grant him the privilege of wearing imperial robes, crowns, and boots. He further tested waters by having his close aides hinting to the generals around the empire as to his intentions. In 257, when he sent Jia Chong to probe Zhuge Dan's intentions, Zhuge rebuked Jia Chong severely—leading Sima Zhao to summon Zhuge Dan back to the capital under guise of a promotion. Zhuge Dan refused and started a rebellion, submitting himself to Eastern Wu for protection. Sima Zhao advanced quickly on Zhuge Dan's stronghold of Shouchun (壽春, in modern Lu'an, Anhui) and surrounded it, eventually capturing the city in 258 after cutting off any hope of an Eastern Wu rescue, killing Zhuge Dan and his family. After Zhuge Dan's death, there was no one who dared to oppose Sima Zhao further for the next few years. In 258, he would force the emperor to offer him the Nine Bestowments -- a step that put him closer to usurpation—and then publicly declined them.

Death of Cao Mao and complete control of Cao Wei's government[link]

In 260, Sima Zhao again forced Cao Mao to issue an edict granting Sima Zhao the Nine Bestowments, which Sima Zhao declined again, but which drew Cao Mao's ire. He gathered his associates Wang Chen (王沈), Wang Jing (王經), and Wang Ye and told them that, while he knew the chances of success were slight, he was going to act against Sima Zhao. He took lead of the imperial guards, armed himself with a sword, and set out toward Sima Zhao's mansion. Sima Zhao's brother Sima Zhou tried to resist, but after Cao Mao's attendants yelled loudly, Sima Zhou's forces deserted. Jia Chong then arrived and intercepted the imperial guards. Cao Mao fought personally, and Jia Chong's troops, not daring to attack the emperor, were also deserting. One of the officers under Jia Chong's command, Cheng Ji (成濟), after asking Jia what to do and was told by Jia to defend the Sima power regardless of the consequences, took a spear and killed Cao Mao with it.

After Cao Mao's death, public sentiments called for Jia Chong's death, but what Sima Zhao did first was to force Empress Dowager Guo to posthumously demote Cao Mao to common citizen status and order that he be buried as such. He also executed Wang Jing and his family. The next day, after pleas from his uncle Sima Fu, Sima Zhao instead had Empress Dowager Guo order that Cao Mao be demoted back to duke but buried with the ceremonies of an imperial prince. Sima Zhao then summoned Cao Huan, the Duke of Changdaoxiang and a grandson of Cao Cao, to the capital to become the emperor; by now, Empress Dowager Guo was powerless to speak further. Nineteen days later, however, Sima Zhao publicly accused Cheng Ji and his brothers of treason and had them and their family executed to appease public sentiment while sparing Jia Chong. No one dared to act against Sima Zhao even in the aftermaths of the emperor's death, however, for Sima was effectively the imperial authority by this point.

Campaign to destroy Shu Han[link]

In 262, aggravated by Jiang Wei's incessant border attacks, Sima Zhao considered hiring assassins to murder Jiang Wei, but this plan was opposed by his two advisors, Zhong Hui and Xun Xu (荀勗). Zhong Hui and Xun Xu believed that Jiang Wei had worn out his troops and that it would be an appropriate time to try to destroy Shu Han once and for all. Sima Zhao put Zhong Hui and Deng Ai in charge of the invasion forces (even though Deng Ai initially opposed the campaign), and they set out in spring 263.

Zhong Hui and Deng Ai faced little opposition from Shu Han's forces, whose strategy was to draw the Cao Wei forces in and then close on them—a strategy that backfired, as the Cao Wei forces, much quicker than expected, lept past Shu Han border cities and immediately onto the important Yang'an Pass (陽安關, in modern Hanzhong, Shaanxi), capturing it. Still, Jiang Wei was able to regroup and block off the Wei forces from further advances—until Deng Ai led his troops over a treacherous mountain pass, descending on Jiangyou (in modern Mianyang, Sichuan), defeating Zhuge Zhan and heading directly for the Shu capital, Chengdu. Surprised by Deng Ai's quick advances and believing that Jiang Wei would be unable to return fast enough to defend the capital against Deng Ai, the Shu Han emperor Liu Shan surrendered to Cao Wei. During the campaign, in light of the successes, Sima Zhao had the emperor Cao Huan bestow on him the title of the Duke of Jin and accepted the Nine Bestowments.

Another turmoil quickly came after Shu Han's destruction, however. Deng Ai, proud of his achievements, became arrogant in his correspondence with Sima Zhao, drawing Sima's suspicion. Zhong Hui, who had plans to rebel himself, quickly forged letters that further damaged the relations between Sima Zhao and Deng Ai beyond repair, and Sima ordered Deng to be arrested. Zhong Hui did so, seizing Deng Ai's troops and merging them with his own, and then, with Jiang Wei as his assistant (but with Jiang's actual intentions to eventually kill Zhong and restore Shu Han), declared rebellion in 264, but his troops rebelled against him and killed both him and Jiang Wei.

Death[link]

After Zhong Hui's rebellion was defeated, Sima Zhao was granted the title King of Jin -- the penultimate step to usurpation. He set out to revise the laws and the civil service system in accordance of how he would want his own empire to be. He further sought peace with Eastern Wu, to prevent further complications for his planned takeover—a gesture that was not reciprocated.

Later that year, Sima Zhao considered whom to make his heir. He considered his talented younger son Sima You, who had been adopted by Sima Shi because Sima Shi did not have sons of his own—under the rationale that because Sima Shi had great achievement in the Simas' obtaining and retaining power, the succession should go back to his son. The majority of his advisors, however, recommended his oldest son Sima Yan instead, and Sima Zhao finally resolved to make Sima Yan his designated heir.

In the autumn of 265, Sima Zhao died, before he could receive actual imperial authority—although he was buried with imperial honors. Four months later, however, Sima Yan would have the Cao Wei emperor Cao Huan abdicate in favor of him, ending Cao Wei and establishing the Jin Dynasty. After he did so, he posthumously honored Sima Zhao as Emperor Wen.

Family[link]

• Great-Grandfather: Sima Jun, father of Sima Fang, paternal grandfather of Sima Yi, died in 197 at age 84.

• Paternal Grandfather: Sima Fang, father of Sima Yi, son of Sima Jun, died in 219 at age 70.
• Maternal Grandfather: Zhang Wang (張汪), served as Prefect of Suyi in Cao Wei

• Maternal Grandmother: Lady Shan (山氏), grandaunt of Shan Tao
• Father: Sima Yi

• Mother: Zhang Chunhua

• Spouse: Wang Yuanji

• Siblings: Sima Shi, older brother, eldest son of Sima Yi

• Children:
  • Sima Yan, usurped the Cao Wei throne and founded the Jin Dynasty
  • Sima You, Prince Xian of Qi, continued Sima Shi's family line
  • Sima Zhao (司馬兆), died at the age of 10, posthumously granted title Prince Ai of Chengyang
  • Sima Dingguo (司馬定國), died at the age of 3, posthumously granted title Prince Daohui of Liaodong
  • Sima Guangde (司馬廣德), died at the age of 2, posthumously granted title Prince Shang of Guanghan
  • Sima Jian (司馬鑒), instated as Prince Ping of Le'an in 265, died in 297
  • Sima Ji (司馬機), instated as Prince of Yan in 265
  • Sima Yongzuo (司馬永祚), Prince of Leping
  • Sima Yanzuo (司馬延祚), Prince of Liang, continued Sima Tong (司馬彤)'s family line
  • Princess Jingzhao (京兆長公主), personal name unknown

Modern references[link]

Sima Zhao is first introduced as a playable character in the seventh installment of Koei's Dynasty Warriors video game series, in which he's depicted as having a lazy and carefree atmosphere, but underneath it actually being a talented leader and strategist.

See also[link]

• List of people of the Three Kingdoms
• List of Dynasty Warriors characters

References[link]