The Accession of Sima Yan, AD 265: Legitimation by Ritual Replication

Abstract Using what textual material can be found in the standard histories and in statements by later commentators, this paper traces the process by which the Sima family was able finally to replace the Wei state of the Three Kingdoms with their own Jin dynasty. It provides a close reading of these materials in the context of the Sima family's need to gain widespread support and to be seen as Wei's legitimate successors. The events of ad 239–65 may be useful for comparative purposes of analysis in other cases of replacement through abdication of one dynasty by another, especially in respect to the importance of legitimacy. This study thus considers usurpation not as a matter of raw power but rather a carefully planned series of steps that involve also an observance, indeed, a conscious exploitation of the traditional symbols of such a transition. The elements of precedent, ritual, sympathetic magic, and temporal manipulation can all be combined in a legitimating formulation.