| Zhang Chunhua 張春華 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | 189[1][a] Pinggao County, Henei Commandery,Han Empire (present-dayWen County, Henan) | ||||||||
| Died | May or June 247 (aged 58)[1][a] | ||||||||
| Burial | |||||||||
| Spouse | Sima Yi | ||||||||
| Issue Detail | |||||||||
| |||||||||
| House | House of Sima | ||||||||
| Father | Zhang Wang | ||||||||
| Mother | Lady Shan | ||||||||
Zhang Chunhua (189 – May or June 247) was a Chinese noble lady andaristocrat. She was the wife ofSima Yi, a prominent military general and regent of the state ofCao Wei during theThree Kingdoms period of China. She was posthumously honoured asEmpress Xuanmu in 266 by her grandsonSima Yan, who ended the Cao Wei state and established theJin dynasty that year.[1]
Zhang Chunhua was from Pinggao County (平臯縣),Henei Commandery (河內郡), which is present-dayWen County, Henan. She was born in the lateEastern Han dynasty. Her father, Zhang Wang (張汪), served as the Prefect of Suyi County (粟邑縣) in the state ofCao Wei during theThree Kingdoms period. Her mother, whose maiden family name was "Shan" (山), was a grandaunt ofShan Tao, one of theSeven Sages of the Bamboo Grove. In her youth, Zhang Chunhua was already known for her good moral conduct, intelligence and wisdom.[4]
Zhang Chunhua marriedSima Yi and bore him three sons –Sima Shi,Sima Zhao andSima Gan (司馬幹). She also bore him a daughter whose personal name was not recorded in history, but was historically known as Princess Nanyang (南陽公主) of theJin dynasty.[5] Princess Nanyang was the wife of Xun Yi, a grandson ofXun Yu.[b]
Sometime before 208,[c] when the warlordCao Cao wanted to recruit him to serve in the government, Sima Yi lied that he suffered fromparalysis and stayed at home. One day, while Sima Yi was drying his books under the sun, there was a sudden downpour, so he immediately rushed out to collect his books. One of his maids saw what happened. Zhang Chunhua was worried that the maid would leak out news that Sima Yi was well and get their family into trouble, so she killed the maid to silence her. She then personally prepared meals for the family. Sima Yi was very impressed with her.[7]
In his later years, Sima Yi favoured his concubine Lady Bai (柏夫人; mother ofSima Lun) and started neglecting Zhang Chunhua. Once, when Sima Yi was ill, Zhang Chunhua visited him, and he said to her, "Old creature, your looks are disgusting! Why do you even bother to visit me?" Zhang Chunhua became angry and attempted to starve herself to death. Their sons did so too. Sima Yi was so shocked that he immediately apologised to his wife and reconciled with her. Sima Yi later secretly told someone, "It doesn't matter if that old creature died. I was actually worried about my boys!"[8]
Zhang Chunhua died sometime between 22 May and 19 June 247 at the age of 59 (byEast Asian age reckoning).[a] She was buried at the Gaoyuan Mausoleum (高原陵; somewhere in present-dayYanshi,Luoyang, Henan). The Wei emperorCao Fang granted her theposthumous title "Lady of Guangping County" (廣平縣君). In 264, during the reign ofCao Huan, she was given the posthumous name "Consort Xuanmu". In February 266, Sima Yi's grandsonSima Yan forced Cao Huan to abdicate in his favour and established theJin dynasty to replace the state of Cao Wei. Sima Yan became emperor and he posthumously honoured his grandmother as "Empress Xuanmu".[9]
Zhang Chunhua is first introduced as a playable character in theeighth instalment ofKoei'sDynasty Warriors video game series. She also appeared in the Hong Kong comic seriesThe Ravages of Time byChan Mou.[d]Liu Tao portrayed Zhang Chunhua in the 2017 Chinese television seriesThe Advisors Alliance.
