Sima Tan (Jin dynasty)
crown prince of the Western Jin (295–308)
Sima Tan (295 – 24 March 308) was a crown prince of the Western Jin. He was installed to the position in 302 to serve as heir apparent for his uncle, Emperor Hui of Jin, but was removed in 304. After his removal, there were several plots to restore him to the position before he was finally put to death by the Prince of Donghai, Sima Yue in 308.
Life
Background
Sima Tan was born the eldest son to Sima Xia (司馬遐; 273 - 15 July 300), Prince Kang of Qinghe and the 13th son of Emperor Wu of Jin, and Xia's wife Lady Zhou (周氏). Lady Zhou's father was Zhou Hui (周恢) and her mother Lady Sima was a paternal aunt of Sima Yue, Prince Xiaoxian of Donghai, and a daughter of Sima Kui, a younger brother of Sima Xia's great-grandfather Sima Yi. According to a story in his biography in the Book of Jin, while Tan was still his father's heir, he wore a golden bell that one day shrivelled up like millet. A fortune teller believe that the gold represented the prosperity of the Jin dynasty, and was a good omen for Tan who would one day ascend the imperial throne. However, his paternal grandmother, Consort Dowager Chen (陳太妃), thought that the bell was a bad sign, so she broke it and had it sold instead. After his father's death in July 300, Sima Tan inherited his title.
As crown prince and removals
By May 302, the last of Emperor Hui's male descendants (sons of his only son Sima Yu, Crown Prince Minhuai) had died, leaving him with no heir to succeed him.
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