Grandson of Sima Yi. Took the throne from Wei in 265 as first emperor of Jin, decided on Wu at the go board, and received Sun Hao's surrender at Luoyang.
I have kept this seat for you a long time.Sima Yan to Sun Hao at the surrender banquet in Luoyang, 280; Zizhi Tongjian, scroll 81
Appears in
Relations
- Sima Yi grandson & heir — His grandfather's house took the empire of Wei in three careful steps; he sat on the throne that the third step made.
- Sun Hao conqueror & captive — Received his surrender at Luoyang in 280 and made him Marquis of Guiming; the exchange of seats at the banquet is in the record.
Myth vs record
The story you may know
The conqueror whose final stroke closed the age of division, as destiny's tidy moral arc.
What the sources say
He decided on Wu against a divided court, at the go board, on Zhang Hua's urging. The peace he made did not last a generation: within a decade the house of Jin was at war with itself, and the Jin shu itself records the cracking.