Many readers have mentioned that there are too many Simas (a common surname among the nobility) and it’s hard to keep track of them.
Others are confused about the official titles of this era.
So, I’ll take a moment to briefly explain.
I’ll go through each province one by one, and the time frame is the end of the second year of Emperor Hui of Jin’s Tai’an era (303 AD).
(1) Ji Province: Sima Ying, Prince of Chengdu.
In the first month of the ninth year of Emperor Hui’s Yuankang era (299 AD), Sima Yong, Prince of Hejian and Governor of Ji Province, was reassigned to guard the Guanzhong region.
Sima Ying, Prince of Chengdu, was appointed as General of the Northern Pacification and Military Commander of Ye City.
Later, he was promoted to General of the Northern Pacification.
The Governor at the time was Yang Huai.
In the first year of Yongkang (300 AD), Sima Ying’s position remained unchanged, but the Governor was replaced by Li Yi.
In the first year of Yongning (301 AD), Sima Ying raised an army to suppress a rebellion and was appointed as Grand General, returning to his post.
The Governor was still Li Yi.
In the first year of Tai’an (302 AD), there were no changes, and everything was calm.
In the second year of Tai’an (303 AD), Sima Ying’s position remained the same, but the Governor was replaced by Wen Xian, General of the Rear.
By this point, Sima Ying had been in office for five years.
(2) You Province: Wang Jun.
In the first year of Yongkang (300 AD), Liu Hong was appointed as Minister of Works, and Wang Jun, General of the Southern Pacification and Military Commander of You Province, took office.
The Governor’s name is unknown, but it’s possible Wang Jun held both positions.
In the first year of Yongning (301 AD), there were no changes.
In the fourth month, Wang Jun was promoted to General of the Northern Pacification.
In the first year of Tai’an (302 AD), Wang Jun remained as Military Commander.
The Governor was either Shi Zhan or Shi Kan, depending on the historical records.
I tend to believe it was Shi Kan—this shows how unreliable the historical records of this period are, with many errors and contradictions.
In the second year of Tai’an (303 AD), Wang Jun remained as Military Commander.
Shi Kan was reassigned as Sima Ying’s Right Attendant, and He Yan took over as Governor.
By this point, Wang Jun had been in office for four years.
(3) Yong Province: Sima Yong, Prince of Hejian.
In the first month of the ninth year of Yuankang (299 AD), Sima Yong left Ye City and was reassigned to guard Chang’an.
The Governor’s name is unknown, and it’s possible Sima Yong held both positions.
In the first year of Yongkang (300 AD), there were no changes.
In the first year of Yongning (301 AD), there were no changes.
In the fourth month, Sima Yong was promoted to Grand Commandant.
In the first year of Tai’an (302 AD), there were no changes.
In the second year of Tai’an (303 AD), Sima Yong’s position remained the same.
The Governor was Liu Shen.
By this point, Sima Yong had been in office for five years.
(4) Yu Province: Sima Jiong, Prince of Qi, and Sima Xiao, Prince of Fanyang.
In the first year of Yongkang (300 AD), Wang Jun was reassigned as Governor of Qing Province and later moved to You Province.
In the eighth month, Sima Jiong was appointed as General of the Eastern Pacification and Military Commander of Yu Province, stationed in Xuchang.
The Governor was He Xu.
In the third month of the first year of Yongning (301 AD), Sima Jiong raised an army to suppress a rebellion.
Sima Xiao was appointed as General of the Southern Pacification and Military Commander of Yu Province, stationed in Xuchang.
He Xu followed Sima Jiong and was appointed as Commander of the Capital Guards.
After He Xu left, the Governor’s name is unknown, and it’s possible Sima Xiao held both positions.
In the first year of Tai’an (302 AD), there were no changes.
In the second year of Tai’an (303 AD), Sima Xiao was promoted to General of the Southern Expedition.
By this point, Sima Xiao had been in office for nearly three years.
The Governor this year was Liu Qiao, General of the Distant Pacification.
(5) Jing Province: Sima Lue, Prince of Gaomi / Sima Xin, Prince of Xinye / Liu Hong.
In the ninth year of Yuankang (299 AD), Sima Lue, General of the Southern Pacification and Military Commander of the Southern Mian region, took office.
The Governor was Liu Biao.
In the first year of Yongkang (300 AD), Sima Lue was reassigned to guard Qing Province.
Sun Qi, General of the Southern Pacification and Military Commander of Jing Province, took office.
In the first month of the first year of Yongning (301 AD), Sun Qi was summoned to the capital but was killed before he could take office, and his entire family was executed.
Also in the first month, Meng Guan was appointed as General of the Southern Pacification and Supervisor of the Northern Mian region, but he was later killed, and his entire family was executed.
By this point, both Military Commanders of Jing Province (the Jing Province Commander and the Wancheng Commander) had been executed on charges of being part of Sima Lun’s faction.
In the first month, Sima Xin was appointed as General of the Southern Central Army, and in the second month, he was promoted to General of the Southern Pacification and Military Commander of Jing Province.
Yang Yi was appointed as General of the Southern Pacification and Military Commander of the Northern Jiang region (stationed in Wancheng).
The Governor of Jing Province this year was Song Dai (some records say Zong Dai—was it a copying error? Who knows).
In the first year of Tai’an (302 AD), the positions of Sima Xin, Yang Yi, and Song Dai remained unchanged.
In the fifth month of the second year of Tai’an (303 AD), as most of Jing Province’s troops were sent to suppress a rebellion in Shu, Sima Xin and Yang Yi were both killed by the rebel leader Zhang Chang.
In the fifth month, Song Dai passed away.
It’s likely he died of natural causes, but it’s unclear whether he died in Jing Province or Shu, as he had gone to Shu to suppress the rebellion.
In the sixth month, Liu Hong was appointed as General of the Southern Expedition, Military Commander of Jing Province, and Governor of Jing Province.
Sima Shi, Prince of Pengcheng, was appointed as General of the Southern Central Army and stationed in Wancheng.
Jing Province was a revolving door of leadership, with no one staying in power for long.
(6) Yang Province: Sima Sui, Prince of Qiao / Liu Zhun.
Before the first year of Yongning (301 AD), Sima Yun, Prince of Puyang, had been Military Commander of Yang Province for a long time.
This year, Sima Sui, Prince of Qiao, took over as General of the Eastern Pacification and Military Commander of Yang Province.
In the first month of this year, Xi Long was appointed as Governor of Yang Province, but as he was part of Sima Lun’s faction, he was attacked and killed, along with his son.
Chen Hui took over as Governor.
In the first month of the first year of Tai’an (302 AD), Sima Sui passed away.
Liu Zhun was appointed as General of the Eastern Expedition and Military Commander of Yang Province.
In the second year of Tai’an (303 AD), the positions of Liu Zhun and Chen Hui remained unchanged.
By this point, Liu Zhun had been Military Commander for two years.
(7) Xu Province: Sima Mao, Prince of Dongping.
In the eighth month of the first year of Yongning (301 AD), Sima Mao was appointed as General of the Eastern Pacification and Military Commander of Xu Province, stationed in Xiapi.
The Governor’s name is unknown, and it’s possible Sima Mao held both positions.
In the first year of Tai’an (302 AD), Sima Mao remained as Military Commander, and the Governor was Zhou Fu, General of the Champion Army.
In the second year of Tai’an (303 AD), Sima Mao was promoted to General of the Guards, and Zhou Fu remained as Governor.
That’s it for the seven major provinces and eight military command regions.
I’m tired now, so I’ll write part two later.
Just a quick rant: the historical records of this era are a mess.
Blank spaces are one thing, but contradictions and errors are the biggest problem.
Some counties in the provinces don’t even have complete names recorded.
Can you believe it? It’s ridiculous.
Even when it comes to wars, I feel like the historical records from the late Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period are better preserved than those from the Northern and Southern Dynasties.
It’s frustrating.
(End of Chapter)