Sima Zhi

史载（Historical Record）

Sima Zhi, styled Zihua, was a native of Wen County in Henei. In his youth he was a scholar, and to escape the wars he moved to Jing Province. When he encountered bandits in the Luyang Mountains, his fellow travelers abandoned the old and weak and fled for their lives, but Sima Zhi alone stayed behind to protect his aged mother. As the bandits closed in with blades pressed against him, Sima Zhi kowtowed and pleaded: "My mother is old and depends entirely upon you gentlemen!" The bandits, moved by his filial devotion, deemed it unjust to kill him and let him go. Sima Zhi was thus able to push his mother along in a small deer-cart, and he lived in the south for more than ten years, farming for himself and maintaining his integrity^[1].

After Cao Cao pacified Jing Province, he appointed Sima Zhi as chief of Jian County. At the time the realm was newly settled and the law was lax. The commandery's registrar Liu Jie, of a powerful clan with over a thousand retainer households, acted as a bandit abroad and disrupted the administration at home. Soon afterward Sima Zhi conscripted Liu Jie's retainer Wang Tong and others into the army. The clerks tried to dissuade him, saying: "The Liu Jie household has never before served corvée; if they hide them when the time comes, it will surely become a burden." Sima Zhi did not heed this and wrote to Liu Jie, pointing out that his retainers' refusal to serve had stirred resentment and might reach the emperor's ears, demanding that he hand over Wang Tong and the others. When the soldiers had assembled at the commandery office, Liu Jie hid Wang Tong and the others. Sima Zhi then dispatched a postal inspector on the pretext of military affairs, falsely claiming the county needed soldiers and that the impoverished county clerks requested that he travel with them. Sima Zhi then sped a dispatch to Jinan, setting out Liu Jie's crimes in detail. The Grand Administrator Hao Guang, who had always respected and trusted Sima Zhi, immediately had Liu Jie go in their place. Qing Province thus praised Sima Zhi for "making the commandery registrar a soldier"^[2].

Afterward, Sima Zhi was promoted to magistrate of Guangping County. General Who Conquers the Caitiffs Liu Xun, high in rank and power, was arrogant and overbearing, and was also Sima Zhi's former commandery general. His retainers' sons repeatedly broke the law within Guangping's borders. Liu Xun wrote to Sima Zhi, leaving the letter unsigned yet full of requests. Sima Zhi did not reply and handled everything according to the law. Later Liu Xun was executed for treason, and all who were connected with him were punished, while Sima Zhi was praised for this^[2].

Sima Zhi was transferred to Director of the Court of Judicial Review. There was once a thief who placed the government's bleached cloth upon a latrine; the officials suspected the women weavers and took them into custody. Sima Zhi held: "The error of punishment lies in harshness and cruelty. Now the stolen goods are obtained first and the confession examined afterward; if one cannot bear the torture, it may lead to false confession. The substance of a false confession cannot be used to decide a case. Moreover, leniency that inclines toward forgiveness is the mark of a great man's transforming influence; sparing no guilty party is the governance of a mediocre age. Now to pardon the doubtful, so as to manifest the principle of lenient forgiveness—would that not be better?" Cao Cao adopted his counsel^[3]. Sima Zhi successively served as Grand Administrator of Ganling, Pei, and Yangping, and during his tenure his administrative achievements were distinguished.

During the Huangchu era, Sima Zhi entered court as Intendant of Henan. He curbed the strong and supported the weak, and put an end to private favors and solicitations. At the time a palace eunuch wished to make a request of Sima Zhi but dared not speak directly, and so went through Dong Zhao, the elder uncle of Sima Zhi's wife. Dong Zhao too was wary of Sima Zhi and would not pass the message on. Sima Zhi issued an instruction to his subordinates: "A ruler can establish edicts but cannot guarantee that officials will not break the law; officials can break the law but cannot guarantee that the ruler will not hear of it. The ruler being incompetent above and officials causing calamity below—this is why governance is in disorder. Should not everyone strive to do their part?" Thereupon his subordinate officials all spurred themselves on^[4]. A patrolling clerk had once suspected the gatekeeper of stealing a hairpin, and when the gatekeeper's account did not match, the clerk took him into custody. Sima Zhi instructed: "Of things that are similar and hard to distinguish, only one with eyes as keen as Lilou's would seldom be confused. Even if the matter were true, how could the patrol bear to value a single hairpin so dearly and lightly injure his own kind? Let this matter be set aside and questioned no further"^[4].

When handling capital cases, Sima Zhi insisted on first reporting to the emperor for approval. He once submitted a memorial pointing out that the former dynasty's edict forbidding licentious sacrifices to rectify customs was now being applied in handling cases of sorcery; as the wording was just being settled, the Yellow Gate attendant Wu Da came bearing an order from the Grand Empress Dowager. Sima Zhi dared not pass it on, fearing someone might intervene to rescue the accused, and so he swiftly reported to the emperor; if it could not be helped, he requested that execution be postponed. He held that failing to conclude a matter in time because of circumstances was his own fault, and so, having transgressed the standing regulations and presumed to order the county office to interrogate and carry out the execution, he requested to accept punishment^[5].

Sima Zhi also submitted a memorial stressing that a king's governance should honor the root and curb the branch, attending to agriculture and valuing grain. He cited the *Wangzhi*'s words that "without a three-year reserve, a state is not truly a state" and Guanzi's saying that "accumulating grain is the urgent matter," pointing out that with the two enemies not yet destroyed and warfare unending, the state's essentials lay in grain and cloth. He traced back how Emperor Wu had established the system of military agricultural colonies, making farming and sericulture the occupation, so that during the Jian'an era the realm's granaries were full and the people were prosperous. Yet since the Huangchu era, the agricultural officials had been left to seek livelihoods each for their own subordinates, which was not what the great body of the state required. He held that a king takes the realm within the seas as his household; if the people are not sufficient, how can the ruler be sufficient? Abundant fields lie in not missing the seasons of Heaven and exhausting the strength of the land. He pointed out that although merchants pursuing profit gained conspicuous gains, to the state as a whole there was no small loss, inferior to reclaiming fields to increase yield. Farmers plow from the first month and harvest in the tenth, with not a single day all year free from farm work. He opposed the agricultural officials confounding farming and sericulture with commerce, advocating devotion solely to farming and sericulture, holding this more beneficial to the state's interests^[6].

After Sima Zhi died, his son Sima Qi succeeded to his position. Sima Qi moved from Assistant of Henan to Director of the Commandant of Justice, and later was transferred to Chancellor of Chenliu. In Liang Commandery there was once a case of detained prisoners that implicated many people and had gone undecided for several years. An imperial edict transferred the case to the county under Sima Qi's jurisdiction, and the county requested that prison implements be prepared. Sima Qi said: "There are now several dozen prisoners; they are cunning and hard to confront with evidence, and they have already suffered cruel torture, so their circumstances are easy to see. How can they be kept in prison any longer!" Once the prisoners entered the chamber and Sima Qi interrogated them, none dared conceal or deceive, and he decided the case within a single day, whereupon he was promoted by special advancement to Commandant of Justice^[7]. At the time the General-in-Chief Cao Shuang held sole power, with the Masters of Writing He Yan, Deng Yang, and others as his wings. Gui Tai of Nanyang had once offended Cao Shuang with his words and was interrogated and held in the Commandant of Justice's prison. Deng Yang examined the case and wished to inflict heavy punishment on Gui Tai. Sima Qi rebuked Deng Yang to his face: "A high minister of the pivotal offices is an aide to the royal house. Unable to assist the ruler in achieving virtuous governance, on a par with the ancients, you instead give free rein to private resentment and wrongly condemn the innocent. To make the people fearful—is this not your responsibility?" Hearing this, Deng Yang withdrew in shame and anger. Sima Qi, ultimately fearing that long remaining in this post would bring him punishment, resigned office on the pretext of illness. He died within a year of returning home, aged only thirty-five. His son Sima Zhao succeeded to his position^[7].

演中（In the Novel）

In *Romance of the Three Kingdoms* there is no separate literary portrayal of Sima Zhi, and his deeds are not mentioned in the novel. Sima Zhi therefore has no independent storyline or notable characterization in the novel.

关键关系

* Cao Wei: Sima Zhi served the Cao Wei regime all his life. Beginning in Cao Cao's time, he successively held the posts of chief of Jian County, magistrate of Guangping, Director of the Court of Judicial Review, Grand Administrator of Ganling, Pei, and Yangping, and up to the Huangchu era Intendant of Henan—throughout an important official of Cao Wei^[2].
* Cao Cao: Sima Zhi's talent and integrity were recognized by Cao Cao. When Sima Zhi was Director of the Court of Judicial Review, Cao Cao adopted his counsel on the trial of a theft case, reflecting the trust between ruler and minister^[3].
* Liu Xun: He had once been Sima Zhi's commandery general, high in rank and power, but Sima Zhi enforced the law impartially, unafraid of the powerful, and refused Liu Xun's requests. Liu Xun was ultimately executed for treason, and Sima Zhi's integrity was praised for it^[2].
* Dong Zhao: The elder uncle of Sima Zhi's wife, who, wary of Sima Zhi's integrity, dared not solicit Sima Zhi on behalf of a palace eunuch—an indirect reflection of Sima Zhi's reputation for incorruptibility^[4].
* Sima Qi: Sima Zhi's son, who inherited his father's integrity and talent. He once decided in a single day a Liang Commandery case of detained prisoners that had been pending for years, and dared to rebuke the powerful Deng Yang to his face, displaying a disposition akin to Sima Zhi's^[7].

标志性场景

* Protecting his mother from bandits in the Luyang Mountains: When Sima Zhi encountered bandits in the Luyang Mountains, he disregarded his own safety to protect his aged mother alone, and moved the bandits with his filial piety, thereby escaping harm. This scene fully displays his filial virtue^[1].
* "Making the commandery registrar a soldier": As chief of Jian County, facing obstruction from the powerful clansman Liu Jie, Sima Zhi insisted on conscripting Liu Jie's retainers and ultimately, through the power of Grand Administrator Hao Guang, had Liu Jie himself go in their place. This affair became a celebrated story in Qing Province, a signature example of his impartial enforcement of the law and fearlessness before power^[2].
* Refusing Liu Xun's requests: Facing the requests of General Who Conquers the Caitiffs Liu Xun, who had once been his superior, Sima Zhi was unmoved and handled everything by the law. After Liu Xun was executed, Sima Zhi was praised for it, manifesting his "loyal, upright, and unswerving" character^[2].
* Instructing his subordinates as Intendant of Henan: As Intendant of Henan, Sima Zhi issued an instruction pointing out that when a ruler establishes edicts yet officials break the law, the ruler bears responsibility; when officials break the law yet the ruler comes to know it, the officials face calamity. He used this to spur his subordinates to strive, reflecting his deep understanding of and strict demands for administrative integrity^[4].
* Memorializing to value agriculture and curb commerce: Sima Zhi submitted a memorial to the emperor stressing that the state should honor the root and curb the branch, attend to agriculture and value grain, opposing the agricultural officials' confounding of farming and sericulture with commerce, and advocating devotion solely to farming and sericulture. This reflects his far-reaching consideration for the great matters of the state's economy and the people's livelihood^[6].
* His son Qi rebuking Deng Yang: Sima Zhi's son Sima Qi, while serving as Commandant of Justice, faced the sole power of General-in-Chief Cao Shuang; when his wing Deng Yang wished to inflict heavy punishment on an innocent man, Sima Qi rebuked Deng Yang to his face, charging that he could not assist the ruler in achieving virtuous governance but instead gave free rein to private resentment. Although this scene was the deed of his son, its upright and fearless spirit was of one strain with Sima Zhi's^[7].