2 replies to this topic

[f0ma]

Hello all, this is my first post, but I've been lurking here for as long as I can remember. I was just hoping maybe someone could help me clarify something. I've been researching the Jin Dynasty and I've encountered one particular controversy over the number of concubine's in Sima Yan's harem. Sun Hao is often seen as corrupting Sima Yan and causing his fall from grace in 280CE, after he brought with him to the capital his personal harem of 5,000 concubines. I've read other sources, however, which claim Sima Yan's own harem consisted of 10,000 concubines - before or after, however, I'm not certain, but I presumed before. It seems an excessive number, however, so I'm not certain if I trust it. I don't really believe Sima Yan could be corrupted solely by the addition of Sun Hao's concubines (I think he just saw his work as complete after uniting the country, which is why he gave himself up to a life of luxury) and if he already had such a large harem, it would go some way to shaping a much more objective argument - instead of just assigning all the blame to Sun Hao. So, in short, can anyone confirm that Sima Yan did in fact already have such a large harem before the conquest of Wu?

[Sima2013]

I see it's been a while since you've posted this question but I've always wondered if Sima Yan really had that many concubines, the numbers do seem too large... I'm not an expert, but maybe I can find some info.

[f0ma]

I think the number is too high also. I still don't have a definitive answer yet, but I believe i) the 10,000 concubines was a mistranslation in the book I read (a very dated western text) and ii) the original 5,000 concubines in and of themselves were probably historiographic hyperbole. I'd be grateful if you could dig anything else up on the subject though.