Important note: There will be instances where Sima Yi is referred to as the Emperor. This is due to the historical source coming from the Book of Jin. Even though the first emperor of the Jin dynasty was his grandson Sima Yan, the scribes during the era had to show the highest respect possible for the wolf who wasn't really a big bad wolf. Hence, the term Emperor.
Note: The original post has to be split into two. Too long a read. Also, I never claimed myself to be the next Sima Yi. Any assumption otherwise must be backed up by an MRI scan proving that I'm a genius.
Note: The original post has to be split into two. Too long a read. Also, I never claimed myself to be the next Sima Yi. Any assumption otherwise must be backed up by an MRI scan proving that I'm a genius.
If the late LKY could be compared to Zhuge Liang...
Then it'd only be natural for local Singaporeans to ask: Who is our Sima Yi? While I'm sure we won't be seeing the wolf to (the late) Mr Lee... erm, I mean Mr Zhuge's dragon, I believe we need to get some facts right about the man commonly associated with a wolf.
1. Sima Yi wasn't a treacherous scum stealing power right under the emperor's nose. But then you got his two sons, Sima Shi and Sima Zhao.
2. Sima Yi was indeed a henpecked genius. Well, sorta.
3. Sima Yi was an idealist.
4. Because the world was so screwed up, Sima Yi became a cynic. In George Carlin's own words, he's a disappointed idealist.
So what kind of cynic was Sima Yi? I'll just copy and paste this whole chunk of text first.
[宣皇帝讳懿，字仲达，河内温县孝敬里人，姓司马氏。其先出自帝高阳之子重黎，为夏官祝融。历唐、虞、夏、商，世序其职。及周，以夏官为司马。其后程伯休父，周宣王时，以世官克平徐方，锡以官族，因而为氏。楚汉间，司马卬为赵将，与诸侯伐秦。秦亡，立为殷王，都河内。汉以其地为郡，子孙遂家焉。自卬八世，生征西将军钧，字叔平。钧生豫章太守量，字公度。量生颍川太守俊，字元异。俊生京兆尹防，字建公。帝即防之第二子也。少有奇节，聪朗多大略，博学洽闻，伏膺儒教。汉末大乱，常慨然有忧天下心。南阳太守同郡杨俊名知人，见帝，未弱冠，以为非常之器。尚书清河崔琰与帝兄朗善，亦谓朗曰：“君弟聪亮明允，刚断英特，非子所及也。”]
1. His styled name was Zhongda [...字仲达]
2. He hailed from a prestigious family. It's like someone saying "I hailed from the lineage of Abraham Lincoln." [其先出自帝高阳之子重黎，为夏官祝融。历唐、虞、夏、商，世序其职。及周，以夏官为司马。其后程伯休父，周宣王时，以世官克平徐方，锡以官族，因而为氏。楚汉间，司马卬为赵将，与诸侯伐秦。秦亡，立为殷王，都河内。]
3. While he's a cynic, there were those intelligent enough to see exceptional wisdom and capability in him. Yang Jun, a well-known figure in recognising exceptional talent, was one of them. Another renowned official by the name of Cui Yan went one step further by telling Sima Lang that his younger brother was... well, smarter than him. So much for sibling rivalry. [南阳太守同郡杨俊名知人，见帝，未弱冠，以为非常之器。尚书清河崔琰与帝兄朗善，亦谓朗曰：“君弟聪亮明允，刚断英特，非子所及也。”]
4. Obama once said that cynicism is a sorry kind of wisdom, but Sima Yi was... well, some kind of idealist. [汉末大乱，常慨然有忧天下心。]
No hope=rage quit
One of the questions surrounding Sima Yi's start to greatness was a big WHY. Why did Xun Yu recommend him to Cao Cao? The two of them hailed from different places. Xun Yu was from Yingchuan while Sima Yi was from Henei. Granted both of them were from the same region (i.e. the modern day Henan), but using it as a reason sounds a bit too farfetched. After all, all the local talents Xun Yu recommended to Cao Cao (apart from Sima Yi) were all from Yingchuan. It's very likely that Sima Yi's fame actually went beyond his backyard. After all, every intelligent guy was from Henan. Well, sorta anyway.
However, there's a problem. Sima Yi was already a disappointed idealist by then. In Obama's own words, he now had a sorry kind of wisdom. So what did Sima Yi see that made him into such a sorry figure?
We have to start from where things went wrong. There were two emperors prior to the current one under Cao Cao's surveillance: The Huan Emperor [桓帝] and Ling Emperor [灵帝]. Under one joker and a clown, the nation erupted into chaos. First to go was the political stability. It's like the liberals having to deal with Trumpocalypse. It's like the conservatives having to deal with the deep state. You know society was effectively *bleep*ed. You know the people were effectively *bleep*ed. You know the nation was effectively *bleep*ed. Simply put, everything was effectively *bleep*ed.
You got the Yellow Turban uprising where the antagonists were an army of turban-wearing terrorists. Erm no, they're not Muslims. They're just a large bunch of sorry folks led by some kind of holy man named Zhang Jue [张角] with his two equally holy bros, Zhang Liang [张梁] and Zhang Bao [张宝]. Of course, they're anything but holy. In Rose McGowan's own words (?), they were running a cult.
Nearer to the imperial backyard, we got Yuan Shao and He Jin [何进, not Ho Ching] staging a "kill'em all" action against the eunuchs controlling the court. In particularly, ten of those known as the Ten Attendants [十常侍]. Things got out of control, Dong Zhuo stepped in, and... and... and... *bleep* how am I going to describe the resultant carnage and orgy? Okay, here it goes. *takes a deep breath* he cruelly slaughtered those against him and *bleep*ed every beautiful girl in the palace, be they single, (formerly) taken, or attached. And to make things worse, what he did in the palace, his men did to the civilians.
Thankfully, a coalition was formed to take down the despot. However, every faction was a selfish bastard. Yuan Shao was a selfish bastard, Yuan Shu was a selfish bastard, Zhang Miao [张邈] was a selfish bastard, Han Fu [韩馥] was a selfish bastard, etc. I'm pretty sure Bao Xin [鲍信] was a good guy, but only two amigos actually cared enough to do something which would have made Obama happy. Namely, Rose McGowan and Ito Shiori... oops, sorry wrong channel. This should be Channel History, not Channel Socio-Politics.
I mean Cao Cao and Sun Jian.
Commercial break: Henan
I suddenly feel like saying something about Henan. No, this isn't a tourism ad, let alone some kind of commercial from a super PAC-man. You see, the ancestors of the modern day Chinese Singaporeans hailed from the Jing Province. Or rather, the region which was formerly known as such during the Han-Three Kingdoms era. It doesn't matter whether your surname is Ng, Lee, or Low. Your ancestors definitely hailed from the Jing Province. Incidentally, that's where Zhuge Liang was born. Hope I won't get into trouble over the LKY comparison.
So what about the surname Kuok? I did a bit of checking. And guess what? There seems to be a common ground between me and Robert Kuok. Namely, the surname Kuok/Quek/Kok/etc is more of a northern surname. Northerners in China tend to be scholars instead of the farmers in the south. And yes, Henan is counted as northern China. China has two rivers: Yellow River and Yangtze River. The latter is what one may call the southern river as it flows through the southern half of China. The Yellow River, on the other hand, flows through the northern half of China. Perhaps the most notable Kuoks (excluding Robert and me) of Henan would be Kuok Tze Yee [郭子仪] and Kuok Kah [郭嘉].
In fact, my next post under this label will most likely be on one of the two Kuoks. Not a question of whether it's Robert or me, but rather a question of whether it's Kuok Tze Yee or Kuok Kah. Okay, I admit it's gonna be Kuok Kah. Poor dude died young, but at least he lived life to the max.
Needless to say, Sima Yi was also a Henan'er. Actually, the same went for his wife.
Any resemblance to any girl, local Singaporean or otherwise, is deeply regrettable. I don't work for Koei.
How Cao Cao got his man (minus the wife no matter how hot she was)
[汉建安六年，郡举上计掾。魏武帝为司空，闻而辟之。帝知汉运方微，不欲屈节曹氏，辞以风痹，不能起居。魏武使人夜往密刺之，帝坚卧不动。]
The setting was the sixth year of the Jian'an calendar. Going by the BC-AD calendar, it should be 201 AD. We all know Cao Cao was a man seeking talented people like a person thirsting after water [i.e. 求贤若渴]. It's quite likely that Sima Yi's fame had gotten way too ahead of himself. In modern speak, the news spread faster than Xiaxue's latest blog post. However, Sima Yi got a problem.
[帝知汉运方微，不欲屈节曹氏...]
Translate: The Emperor knew the fortune of Han was waning, hence his refusal to submit to the Cao.
Cao Cao was a capable ruler. At the same time, Sima Yi cared about the nation and people. So why did he reject such a good proposal? It's like rejecting Obama's offer to serve the nation despite your capability! Sima Yi was truly a genius not inferior to Zhuge Liang. If the Longzhong strategy showcased Kongming's status as a John Morton, then Zhongda's military exploits indicated a genius Batman residing within. I'll get to that later on (hint: It got something to do with a Meng Da).
Sima Yi's situation is like asking me how I saw the not-so-recent Oxley Road saga. Under normal circumstances, people would take sides. Either they'd side with the PAP or they'd side with Lee Hsien Yang, Lee Wei Ling, and Li Sheng Wu. But what if I said I wouldn't take sides? Would that make me a sorry cynic? The answer is no. Why? Because the entire drama was too convoluted to make the accurate call.
Likewise, Sima Yi might have perceived something in a seemingly straightforward situation. And that's the emperor. Later known as the Xian Emperor [献帝], Sima Yi knew this was the bounty everyone was after. People said Cao Cao was the bad guy. I wouldn't be surprised if Sima Yi never denied that. However, he also knew every other faction was after the emperor. Having the emperor was worth so much more than having the final say in the Oxley Road saga. Having the emperor would mean having a political pawn so powerful, the nobles would have no choice but to bend the knee. And that's without the nukes. And that convoluted the situation. Why? Because so long the emperor was around (and alive) in Xuchang, anyone (including Liu Bei because he's a conniving fellow like Cao Cao) could stage a Bonnie and Clyde. Failure wouldn't change the animosity from the nobles, success would result in chaos since the royal court would be in mutiny mode and the entire nation would be... well, destabilised. What else do you expect me to say? A vulgar word or two? Zhongda chose not to do anything in a convoluted situation. Be smart. Be like Zhongda.
[...辞以风痹，不能起居。魏武使人夜往密刺之，帝坚卧不动。]
Translate: Declining the offer in the name of paralysis in the joints, Wei Wu (i.e. Cao Cao's official title in the history) sent men to spy on him. The Emperor lied on his bed without moving.
Okay, so we now got trouble. Cao Cao believed Sima Yi's real identity was either Chow Kheng or Charles King. Therefore, he decided to send spies to confirm his suspicions. No choice, but to keep acting. That was until someone far less capable than the CIA, KGB, or the Mossad blew his cover.
How my radiographer girl bailed me out #truestory
Have you ever tried doing an MRI scan before? No? Well, during my days clearing the linen, I was sharp enough to detect certain things concerning an MRI scan. While the only way for me to get an MRI scan would be verifying whether I'm a genius in Sima Yi's mould, I did overhear radiographers asking patients certain questions while explaining certain things. Basically, you can't have metal implants because that'd affect Magneto's version of the Cerebro. Or something like that. Then you have to be tied up and placed under... well, Magneto's version of the Cerebro.
Now let me say something in the name of self-defence before everybody in the CT-MRI goes after me with a carving knife each. The reason behind the aforementioned scenario was due to my brain having the tendency to register surrounding things, no matter how trivial. While I won't call myself Spiderman, there's no way I can U-turn my brain. Therefore, QUIT ASKING ME ABOUT THAT GIRL'S PHONE NUMBER BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW HER!!!!!!!
[宣穆张皇后讳春华，河内平皋人也。
...宣帝初辞魏武之命，托以风痹，尝暴书，遇暴雨，不觉自起收之。家惟有一婢见之，后乃恐事泄致祸，遂手杀之以灭口，而亲自执爨。]
Above is part of Zhang Chunhua's historical account. The Chinese during the ancient times didn't think like the northern tribes like Xiongnu and Wuhuan when it came to gender equality. Simply put, the northern nomadic tribes were more into meritocracy than the Chinese. Hence, Zhang Chunhua's account is only about a few lines of text. Yet, from the excerpt above, we get to know a few things.
1. Zhang Chunhua came from the same region (i.e. Henei or the modern day Henan). [河内平皋人也]
2. Storm happens. I'm not talking about Stormy Daniels or Storm from the X-Men, but rather a real storm.
3. Sima Yi loved his books. So much so that he blew his cover in plain sight in the name of protecting his books from the stormy elements (no pun intended). [尝暴书，遇暴雨，不觉自起收之。]
4. It's one thing to blow your own cover, quite another to let your CIA/KGB/Mossad maidservant see what she's not supposed to see. [家惟有一婢见之]
5. Don't mess with Zhang Chunhua. She might look like someone you fancy, but there's nothing fanciful about her doing a Mossad all by herself. And trust me, the Mossad is truly a force de la nature in the world of global espionage. [后乃恐事泄致祸，遂手杀之以灭口，而亲自执爨。]
Moral of the story? Behind every successful man is a capable woman, behind every successful genius is a fierce woman.
[及魏武为丞相，又辟为文学掾，敕行者曰：“若复盘桓，便收之。”]
It's a bit dodgy trying to translate this because I don't know what this position 文学掾 does. For all we know, it's the earliest form of the Speaker of the Parliament. Nah, doubt so. No matter what, Cao Cao issued an ultimatum to Sima Yi: "If you still choose to delay, I'll tangkap you like how #hastalavistakau will tangkap Jib-gor."
No choice. Cao Cao won the fight.
Houston, we got a problem here. And it has a name. I think it's some kind of wolf...
Was Sima Yi a treacherous scum? After all, Cao Cao never trusted him fully unlike the rest of his advisers like Guo Jia, Cheng Yu, Jia Xu, and the two Xuns (i.e. Xun Yu and Xun You). Initially, Sima Yi was tasked with accompanying Cao Cao's son. In this case, it's Cao Pi since he's the crown prince. As some sort of imperial tutor, Sima Yi was a good and faithful servant. So much so that Cao Pi actually trusted him. Eventually, Zhongda would become one of the three officials tasked with guiding his son Cao Rui [曹睿] once he ascended to his father's (and in a certain way, his grandfather's) throne. The other two being Chen Qun (i.e. the AG 陈群) and Cao Zhen (i.e. the Chief of Army 曹真).
Recently, some sort of "wolf" made its rounds on the internet. As for Sima Yi, was he the kind of dog someone spoke about last time around? Or was he more than just a dog? The answer can found below.
[帝内忌而外宽，猜忌多权变。魏武察帝有雄豪志，闻有狼顾相，欲验之。乃召使前行，令反顾，面正向后而身不动。]
Translate: The Emperor was one wary of others while putting up a magnanimous front, he's always full of suspicion and schemes. Wei Wu sensed he's a man of ambition while hearing that he had the visage of a wolf. In an attempt to test him, he (Cao Cao) summoned him (Sima Yi). As Sima Yi turned around, his face was toward the back while the body kept moving forward.
Translate: The Emperor was one wary of others while putting up a magnanimous front, he's always full of suspicion and schemes. Wei Wu sensed he's a man of ambition while hearing that he had the visage of a wolf. In an attempt to test him, he (Cao Cao) summoned him (Sima Yi). As Sima Yi turned around, his face was toward the back while the body kept moving forward.
If it wasn't for Gary "no longer a young man" Oldman and Winston Churchill, Sima Yi would have taken the little gold dude home. Okay, that's a joke. No one should ever doubt Mr Oldman's ability. Unless they want Batman to go after them.
This text indicated something one would see from a Stephen movie. Not Stephen "Mr Chow" Chow, but rather Stephen "the heir to Lovecraft's throne" King. Seriously, this guy was a human being, not some kind of owl! Yet, it must be stated that Chinese history has a knack of fibbing certain stuff. This happened to be one of those moments (you should see how Chen Shou described Liu Bei. Like some kind of alien, I kid you not). In comparison, Sima Yi's owl head moment wasn't that bad. Beyond defying the laws of human anatomy, that is. But there's a way to interpret this situation.
Say for example that you're talking to Trump because you're the hero who broke the North Korean nukes deadlock way before 12th of June was announced. With Facebook and your analysis, no less. You have major reservations about his character. Not just him, but pretty much every politician. Maybe except for Bill Haslam. Then again, maybe not.
After a while, you walked away. After all, it's uncomfortable dealing with someone you didn't like. Then Trump shouted your name. You got a shock. But you never turned your head like an owl. Because it's physically impossible. But you still turned around. 180 degrees to be exact. You walked backwards like Michael Jackson doing his moonwalk, only a gazillion times warier. Your head was facing Trump, you didn't have to... well, become an owl.
 |
| And you gave him that wolf look minus the snarl. |
Conclusion: Sima Yi wasn't a dog. Rather, the man known as Zhongda was a wolf. You don't confuse the two even though they look similar.
His life under Cao Cao, Cao Pi, and Cao Rui was... shall we say, politically uneventful. That's until the fourth generation assumed the seat of power. During Cao Fang's [曹芳] reign, there's a power struggle brewing. Absolute power fell into the hands of... well, not Sima Yi but another Cao. Cao Shuang [曹爽]. The threat sensor was on red alert, Sima Yi sensed aggro was coming. In fact, Cao Shuang was working 24/7 to undermine Sima Yi's authority so that whatever Zhongda had would be transferred to him. Long story short, Sima Yi staged a coup at the Tomb of Gaoping. Not against the emperor, but rather the most dangerous guy called Cao Shuang. The outcome was anything but pretty. Everyone associated with the enemy was executed. [诛曹爽之际，支党皆夷及三族，男女无少长，姑姊妹女子之适人者皆杀之，既而竟迁魏鼎云。]
On the first glance, Sima Yi was protecting himself. But was he?
[既而竟迁魏鼎云。]
Above text showed Sima Yi receiving a cauldron at his own request. It's like Cao Cao asking the emperor for the position of a lord. Which was what he really did. But, there's a problem: Sima Yi rejected the offer to be the chancellor and so many more super good perks of being a wallflower. [二月，天子以帝为丞相，增封颍川之繁昌、鄢陵、新汲、父城，并前八县，邑二万户，奏事不名。固让丞相。
冬十二月，加九锡之礼，朝会不拜。]
冬十二月，加九锡之礼，朝会不拜。]
If he's really power-hungry, he'd have taken the post. He wouldn't be the kind of political wallflower he chose to be! [固让丞相... 固让九锡] After all, with great power comes a greater right to self-defend! But was that what Sima Yi wanted? The author of the Book of Jin [晋书] only mentioned the extent of Sima Yi's distrust towards his surroundings and even the people around him [迹其猜忍，盖有符于狼顾也。].
This may well be pointing to Sima Yi as a paranoid man. No one knew why he's so paranoid if it's true. However, the below excerpt can give us some clues on how paranoid he was especially at the end of his life.
[先是，预作终制，于首阳山为土藏，不坟不树；作顾命三篇，敛以时服，不设明器，后终者不得合葬。一如遗命。]
Effectively, above statement means two possibilities.
1. Sima Yi had gotten so paranoid, he ended up giving irrational instructions for his funeral. No tombstone, basically no decorations. Only a nameless grave in every sense of the word. Interestingly, he even forbade others to share the same burial spot.
2. Sima Yi was truly acting in the name of self-defence even though he was guilty of over-retaliation against Gongsun Wenyi and Cao Shuang [及平公孙文懿，大行杀戮。诛曹爽之际，支党皆夷及三族，男女无少长，姑姊妹女子之适人者皆杀之...]. In fact, his act of requesting a cauldron could well be a way to self-defend. A cauldron in ancient China was a symbol of political power. Yet, by choosing not to assume the greatest official post in the royal court (i.e. the chancellor was second in power only to the emperor), he might have given us a glimpse on how Batman did his stuff. Seriously, I can only say Sima Yi was living in his own Gotham City.
To be cont'd in Pt Deux...
To be cont'd in Pt Deux...
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