Jia Mi
賈謐
Cavalier In Regular Attendance (散騎常侍)
In office
? (?)–? (?)
MonarchEmperor Hui of Jin
General of the Rear Army (後軍將軍)
In office
? (?)–? (?)
MonarchEmperor Hui of Jin
Custodian of the Private Library(秘書監)
In office
296 (296)–? (?)
MonarchEmperor Hui of Jin
Palace Attendant (侍中)
In office
? (?)–? (?)
MonarchEmperor Hui of Jin
Resident Instructor of the Eastern Palace (侍講東宮)
In office
299 (299)–? (?)
MonarchEmperor Hui of Jin
Personal details
BornUnknown
Xiangfen County, Shanxi
Died300
Luoyang, Henan
RelationsJia Nanfeng (aunt)
Jia Chong (grandfather)
Guo Huai
Parents
  • Han Shuo
    Jia Limin (adoptive) (father)
  • Jia Wu (mother)
OccupationPolitician
Courtesy nameChangyuan (長淵)
Changshen (長深)
Original nameHan Mi (韓謐)
PeerageDuke of Lu

Jia Mi (died 7 May 300[1]), courtesy name Changyuan[lower-alpha 1], originally named Han Mi, was a Chinese politician of the Jin dynasty (266–420). He was the grandson of the Jin minister Jia Chong and nephew of Jin's de facto ruler between 291 and 300, Jia Nanfeng. Jia Mi was trusted with state affair by his aunt throughout her regency and wielded much influence over the Jin court. He was an extravagant minister, and under him, the Jin court became increasingly corrupted. Between 299 and 300, Jia Mi pushed his aunt for the removal and later execution of the Crown Prince, Sima Yu, a decision that would lead to the Jia clan's downfall. In 300, Jia Mi was killed during Sima Lun's coup d'état.

Life

Early life and background

Han Mi was born in Xiangling County, Pingyang Commandery (平陽, roughly modern Linfen, Shanxi). He was the grandson of the powerful minister, Jia Chong, through his mother, Jia Wu, who was married to an official named Han Shou (韓壽). He was described as having a beautiful appearance. Jia Chong died in 282 without leaving a male heir. Because of this, Han Mi's grandmother, Guo Huai, decided to make Han Mi the adopted son of Chong's deceased eldest son and initial heir, Jia Limin (賈黎民). Han Mi thus changed his name to Jia Mi, and succeeded his grandfather's title of Duke of Lu.[2]

Handling state affairs

In 290, Emperor Wu of Jin died and was succeeded by his developmentally disabled son, Emperor Hui. Emperor Hui's wife, Jia Nanfeng, was Jia Mi's aunt. Following her successful coup against her husband's regent, Yang Jun in 291, Empress Jia appointed Jia Mi as one of the few people to handle state affairs alongside Jia Mo (賈模), Guo Zhang (Empress Jia's maternal relative), Sima Wei and Sima Yao (司馬繇). Soon, Sima Yao was sent into exile while Sima Wei was executed by Empress Jia later in 291, leaving her family solely in power over the court. Both Jia Mi and Jia Nanfeng considered if they should remove the minister Zhang Hua as well, but through Pei Wei's consultation, they concluded that he was loyal to the Jia clan and pose no threat.

Shortly after the coup against Yang Jun, Jia Mi began meeting with many scholars-officials and filling his house with guests. Some of these scholar-officials began to closely associate themselves with Jia Mi, and they would be known as the "Twenty-Four Friends of Jingu". The closest of these associates were Shi Chong and Pan Yue, who constantly showered him with flattery. Purportedly, whenever the two spot Jia Mi and Guo Huai travelling together, they would get off their carriages, stand by the side of the road to bow down and pay their respects.[3]

With his aunt ruling behind the curtains, Jia Mi's power was said to have exceeded that of a sovereign. He also had a very extravagant behaviour. The luxuriousness of his mansion was said to have surpassed that of his status. His possessions and clothing were usually rare and beautiful. He would also get the best singers and dancing girls to perform for him. Because of this, many throughout the state would rush to visit his residence whenever he held a grand banquet. Jia Mi's writing was praised by many during his time, so much so that he was compared to the Western Han dynasty writer, Jia Yi.[4]

In 296, the Prince of Zhao, Sima Lun was called to the capital due to negligence over military affairs in Qinzhou and Yongzhou. At the advice of Sun Xiu, Sima Lun befriended Jia Mi along with the Empress and Guo Zhang to gain their trust. The same year, Guo Huai died, so Jia Mi temporarily resigned from his positions of Cavalier In Regular Attendance and General of the Rear Army to mourn.

Even before the mourning period had ended, he was appointed Custodian of the Private Library to revise the Jin dynasty's national history. During his tenure, Emperor Hui ordered for another discussion to decide on which date should serve as a division point between Jin and its predecessor, Cao Wei after a previous one failed to reach a conclusive agreement. Following some debate, Jia Mi chose to listen to the opinions of Zhang Hua, Wang Rong and others that the first year of Taishi (Sima Yan's ascension on February 8, 266) would serve as the starting year of the Jin dynasty.[5]

In 299, the Master of Writing to the Ministry of Personnel, Liu Song, established a system of nine classes to assess each minister's capability and how they should be rewarded or punished. However, this was never properly implemented due to the fact that Jia Mi and Guo Zhang opposed this as it limited their influences. Furthermore, it was not well-received by officials who wanted to advance their careers quicker through bribery.[6] Under Jia Mi and Guo Zhang, bribery was very common in the Jin government as officials would present the two with gifts to curry their favour. A satirical article titled Discussion on the Divinity of Money (錢神論) was written by the hermit, Lu Bao (魯褒) to criticize this trend.[7]

Conflict with Crown Prince Sima Yu

Crown Prince Sima Yu was despised by the Jia family due to the fact that he was not Jia Nanfeng's biological son. Jia Mi also disliked Sima Yu and refused to treat him with proper ceremony even after his grandmother told him to treat Yu kindly. Both Guo Huai and Sima Yu proposed that Yu marry with Jia Mi's sister to establish stronger ties between Yu and the Jia clan. However, this was turned down by Empress Jia and Jia Wu. Instead, the sisters wedded Sima Yu to Wang Yan's younger daughter and Jia Mi to Wang's elder daughter. Sima Yu was discontent at the fact that Jia Mi was given the most beautiful of the two.[8]

In 299, Jia Mi was made a tutor to Sima Yu. However, Jia Mi still refused to show him respect. Sima Yu's uncle, the Prince of Chengdu, Sima Ying, confronted and scolded Jia Mi for his rudeness towards the Crown Prince. Jia Mi was angered by this, so he brought the matter to Empress Jia and arranged for Sima Ying to be moved away from Luoyang to Yecheng, assuringly to have him command the garrison. The hostile reception from Jia Mi caused Sima Yu to avoid him despite his Attendant, Pei Kai (裴權) warning him not to.

Jia Mi eventually took steps to remove Sima Yu from his title of Crown Prince. He told Empress Jia that Sima Yu would seek to destroy the Jia clan if he were to succeed Emperor Hui. He suggested to her that a more submissive and controllable Crown Prince should replace him at once. Empress Jia agreed with her nephew, so she began spreading degrading rumours of Sima Yu. She also started pretending to stuff objects such as hay under her cloths to give the assumption that she was pregnant, and also adopted Jia Mi's brother, Han Weizu (韓慰祖), as her own.[9]

Finally, Sima Yu was made a commoner and later put under house arrest after he was tricked into writing a threatening edict against his father. Before he was escorted to Xuchang, an edict was made forbidding any minister to see him leave. However, some ministers like Jiang Tong and Wang Dun ignored it to bid their farewells. These ministers were thrown into jail in Luoyang and Henan, but the prisoners in Henan were purposefully released by Yue Guang. The official, Sun Tan (孫琰), admonished Jia Mi to let the prisoners and Yue Guang off to prevent further exalting over Sima Yu. Jia Mi agreed and ordered the Prefect of Luoyang, Cao Shu (曹攄) to release the prisoners in Luoyang.

Sima Lun's coup and death

Many in the Jin court were unhappy with what had happened to Sima Yu. A group of conspirators flocked to Sima Lun who had the military capacity to stage a coup against the Jia clan. Lun agreed, but Sun Xiu told him to delay the plot in order to first get rid of Sima Yu, who they saw as a roadblock to their imperial ambition. Sun Xiu began to spread a rumour of a plot to place Sima Yu on the throne which reached Empress Jia. As Empress Jia began to worry, Sima Lun and Sun Xiu advised Jia Mi that he should convince his aunt to kill Sima Yu to destroy any hope of restoration. Jia Mi did so, and on April 27, 300, Sima Yu was assassinated.

On the day of the coup, Sima Lun presented a forged edict from Emperor Hui, denouncing Empress Jia, Jia Mi and their partisans and calling for the Empress's disposal. The Prince of Qi, Sima Jiong, had his own edict summoning Jia Mi to face his execution. Hearing this, Jia Mi fled under the Western Bells (西鍾), where he reportedly cried out, "O Empress, save me!".[10] He was eventually caught and beheaded while his aunt was overthrown and later forced to commit suicide.

Twenty-Four Friends of Jingu

The Twenty-Four Friends of Jingu (金谷二十四友) was an inner circle comprising celebrities in art and literature. All members were politically associated with Jia Mi and would usually socialize at Shi Chong's Jingu Garden (金谷園) in Luoyang. There, they would discuss current affairs, talk about literature, recite poetry and compose fus with one another.[11] The group went into decline following Sima Lun's coup in 300. Apart from Jia Mi's execution, Shi Chong was also sentenced to death by Sun Xiu and had all his property confiscated later in 300. Other members who were purged by Sima Lun and Sun Xiu were Ouyang Jian, Pan Yue and Du Bin (杜斌). Some, like Lu Ji, sided with Sima Lun during the coup and served under his government. The group's associates were:[12]

  1. Shi Chong
  2. Ouyang Jian
  3. Pan Yue
  4. Lu Ji
  5. Lu Yun
  6. Miao Zhi (缪徵)
  7. Du Bin
  8. Zhi Yu
  9. Zhuge Quan (諸葛銓)
  10. Wang Cui (王粹)
  11. Du Yu (杜毓)
  12. Zou Jie (鄒捷)
  13. Zuo Si
  14. Cui Ji (崔基)
  15. Liu Gui (劉瑰)
  16. He Yu (和郁)
  17. Zhou Hui (周恢)
  18. Qian Xiu
  19. Chen Zhen (陳眕)
  20. Guo Zhang
  21. Xu Meng (許猛)
  22. Liu Na (劉訥)
  23. Liu Yu
  24. Liu Kun

Note

  1. ↑ Jia Mi's courtesy name is written as Changshen (長深) in the Book of Jin due to Tang dynasty naming taboo, as the word "yuan (淵)" is the same as the one in the name of Tang's first emperor, Li Yuan (李淵)

References

  1. ↑ According to Sima Zhong's biography in Book of Jin, Jia Nanfeng was deposed as empress and her associates (including Jia Mi) were killed on the guisi day of the 4th month of the 1st year of the Yongkang era of his reign. This corresponds to 7 May 300 in the Julian calendar. [(永康元年夏四月)癸巳，梁王肜、赵王伦矫诏废贾后为庶人，司空张华、尚书仆射裴𬱟皆遇害,侍中贾谧及党与数十人皆伏诛.)] Jin Shu, vol.04)
  2. ↑ (太宰素取外孫韓謐爲世子黎民後。吾退而斷之，外孫骨肉至近，推恩計情，合於人心。其以謐爲魯公世孫，以嗣其國。) Book of Jin, Volume 40
  3. ↑ (於是賈謐、郭彰權勢愈盛，賓客盈門。謐雖驕奢而好學，喜延士大夫，郭彰、石崇、陸機、機弟雲、和郁及滎陽潘岳、清河崔基、勃海歐陽建、蘭陵繆徵、京兆杜斌、摯虞、琅邪諸葛詮、弘農王粹、襄城杜育、南陽鄒捷、齊國左思、沛國劉瓌、周恢、安平牽秀、潁川陳眕、高陽許猛、彭城劉訥、中山劉輿、輿弟琨皆附於謐，號曰二十四友。郁，嶠之弟也。崇與岳尤諂事謐，每候謐及廣城君郭槐出，皆降車路左，望塵而拜。) Zizhi Tongjian, Volume 82
  4. ↑ (謐好學，有才思。既爲充嗣，繼佐命之後，又賈后專恣，謐權過人主，至乃鎖繫黃門侍郎，其爲威福如此。負其驕寵，奢侈逾度，室宇崇僭，器服珍麗，歌僮舞女，選極一時。開閣延賓。海內輻湊，貴游豪戚及浮競之徙，莫不盡禮事之。或著文章稱美謐，以方賈誼。) Book of Jin, Volume 40
  5. ↑ (歷位散騎常侍、後軍將軍。廣城君薨，去職。喪未終。起爲秘書監，掌國史。先是，朝廷議立晉書限斷，中書監荀勖謂宜以魏正始起年，著作郎王瓚欲引嘉平已下朝臣盡入晉史，於時依違未有所決。惠帝立，更使議之。謐上議，請從泰始爲斷。於是事下三府，司徒王戎、司空張華、領軍將軍王衍、侍中樂廣、黃門侍郎嵇紹、國子博士謝衡皆從謐議。騎都尉濟北侯荀畯、侍中荀籓、黃門侍郎華混以爲宜用正始開元。博士荀熙、刁協謂宜嘉平起年。謐重執奏戎、華之議，事遂施行。) Book of Jin, Volume 40
  6. ↑ (頌遷吏部尚書，建九班之制，欲令百官居職希遷，考課能否，明其賞罰。賈、郭用權，仕者欲速，事竟不行。) Zizhi Tongjian, Volume 83
  7. ↑ (由是權在羣下，政出多門，勢位之家，更相薦託，有如互市。賈、郭恣橫，貨賂公行。南陽魯褒作《錢神論》以譏之曰：「錢之爲體，有《乾》、《坤》之象，親之如兄，字曰孔方。無德而尊，無勢而熱，排金門，入紫闥，危可使安，死可使活，貴可使賤，生可使殺。是故忿爭非錢不勝，幽滯非錢不拔，怨讎非錢不解，令聞非錢不發。洛中朱衣、當塗之士，愛我家兄，皆無已已，執我之手，抱我終始。凡今之人，惟錢而已！」) Zizhi Tongjian, Volume 83
  8. ↑ (太子性剛，知賈謐恃後之貴，不能假借之。謐至東宮，或舍之而於後庭遊戲。詹事裴權諫曰：「賈謐甚有寵于中宮，而有不順之色，若一旦交構，大事去矣。宜深自謙屈，以防其變，廣延賢士，用自輔翼。」太子不能從。初，賈后母郭槐欲以韓壽女為太子妃，太子亦欲婚韓氏以自固。而壽妻賈午及後皆不聽，而為太子聘王衍小女惠風。太子聞衍長女美，而賈后為謐聘之，心不能平，頗以為言。) Book of Jin, Volume 53
  9. ↑ (太子性剛，知賈謐恃中宮驕貴，不能假借之。謐時爲侍中，至東宮，或捨之，於後庭遊戲。詹事裴權諫曰：「謐，后所親昵，一旦交構，則事危矣。」不從。謐譖太子於后曰：「太子多畜私財以結小人者，爲賈氏故也。若宮車晏駕，彼居大位，依楊氏故事，誅臣等，廢后於金墉，如反手耳。不如早圖之，更立慈順者，可以自安。」后納其言，乃宣揚太子之短，布於遠近。又詐爲有娠，內藁物、產具，取妹夫韓壽子慰祖養之，欲以代太子。) Zizhi Tongjian, Volume 83
  10. ↑ (及期，倫矯詔敕三部司馬曰：「中宮與賈謐等殺吾太子，今使車騎入廢中宮，汝等皆當從命，事畢，賜爵關中侯，不從者誅三族。」衆皆從之。又矯詔開門，夜入，陳兵道南，遣翊軍校尉齊王冏將百人排閤而入，華林令駱休爲內應，迎帝幸東堂，以詔召賈謐於殿前，將誅之。謐走入西鍾下，呼曰：「阿后救我！」就斬之。) Zizhi Tongjian, Volume 83
  11. ↑ (有別廬在河南縣界金谷澗中，或高或下，有清泉茂林，眾果竹柏，藥草之屬，莫不畢備。又有水碓、魚池、土窟，其為娛目歡心之物備矣……餘與眾賢共送往澗中，晝夜遊宴，屢遷其坐，或登高臨下，或列坐水濱。時琴瑟笙築，合載車中，道路並作。及住，令與鼓吹遞奏。遂各賦詩，以敘中懷。或不能者，罰酒三鬥。) Liu Xiaobiao's annotation, Wang Yin's Book of Jin, Volume 6
  12. ↑ (於是賈謐、郭彰權勢愈盛，賓客盈門。謐雖驕奢而好學，喜延士大夫。郭彰、石崇、陸機、機弟雲、和郁及滎陽潘岳、清河崔基、勃海歐陽建、蘭陵繆徵、京兆杜斌、摯虞、琅邪諸葛詮、弘農王粹、襄城杜育、南陽鄒捷、齊國左思、沛國劉瑰、週恢、安平牽秀、穎川陳眕、高陽許猛、彭城劉訥、中山劉輿、輿弟琨，皆附於謐，號曰二十四友。鬱，嶠之弟也。) Zizhi Tongjian, Volume 82
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