Sima Zhi (pronunciationⓘ) (fl.190s - 230s), courtesy name Zihua, was a government official who served in the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China.
"[4] Originally a scholar, Sima Zhi had to leave home when chaos broke out throughout China in the final decades of the Eastern Han dynasty.
[6][3] Sima Zhi lived in Jing Province for over ten years and spent his time farming.
[11] Sima Zhi then wrote a letter to Liu Jie as follows: "Sir, you come from an influential family and occupy an important position in the commandery office, yet you allow your retainers to repeatedly avoid serving in the army.
"[12] On the day the men were ordered to report for duty, Liu Jie not only refused to send Wang Tong and the others to the camp, but also secretly instructed (or bribed) a commandery-level inspector to go to Jian County and deliberately find fault with Sima Zhi's administration.
Sima Zhi's subordinates felt intimidated by the inspector so they agreed to serve in the army in place of Liu Jie's retainers.
[13] When Sima Zhi found out, he wrote to Hao Guang (郝光), the Administrator of Jinan Commandery, to explain the situation and expose Liu Jie's wrongdoings.
[15] After this incident, there was a saying circulating around Qing Province: "(Sima Zhi) turned a commandery registrar into a soldier.
Sima Zhi, who was unaffected by the incident, received praise for his wisdom in choosing to distance himself from Liu Xun.
[20][21] During this time, Sima Zhi heard a case of theft in which a maid was accused of stealing silk from the official treasury and hiding it in the latrine.
[26] In the middle of Cao Pi's reign, he was appointed as the Intendant of Henan (河南尹), i.e., the administrator of the capital commandery.
[20] During his tenure, he kept elite influence in check, helped the poor, and governed in an impartial manner without showing favour to anyone.
In one incident, a sentry serving under one of Sima Zhi's subordinates was arrested on suspicions of stealing a hairstick.
[34] Shortly after, a servant of Princess Linfen and the former wet nurse of the veteran general Cao Hong were arrested and imprisoned for heresy because they worshipped a certain "deity" of Mount Wujian (無澗山) at the northeast of Luoyang.
Sima Zhi did not inform Cao Rui about the Grand Empress Dowager's interference in the case.
Now, (Cao Hong's wet nurse and Princess Linfen's servant) have confessed to committing the offence of heresy.
When the Grand Empress Dowager sent the palace eunuch Wu Da to relay her order to me, I did not inform Your Majesty because I was worried that someone would try to save the convicts.
I have violated standard protocol when I did not inform Your Majesty about the interference, and authorised the officials to settle the case on their own and execute the convicts.
Although merchants and traders can generate profit and wealth through commerce, their activities are not directly relevant to the State's grand plan of unifying the Empire.
When he had disagreements with his colleagues during discussions, he voiced his objections in front of them, criticised them directly and never spoke behind their backs.
Throughout the Cao Wei state's existence from 220 to 265, none of the persons who served as the Intendant of Henan managed to perform better in office than Sima Zhi.
[49] During his tenure, the Wei imperial court ordered several prisoners to be transferred from Liang Commandery (梁郡; around present-day Shangqiu, Henan) to the counties in Chenliu State.
"[51] When the prisoners were transferred over, Sima Qi interrogated them, determined their guilt, and settled all the cases within one morning.
[52] When Sima Qi was Minister of Justice, the regent Cao Shuang monopolised power and controlled the Wei central government along with his supporters such as He Yan and Deng Yang.
When one Gui Tai (圭泰) from Nanyang Commandery verbally defied an imperial edict, he was arrested and sent to the Ministry of Justice for interrogation.
Deng Yang, who was in charge of dealing with the case, ordered Gui Tai to be severely tortured to force him to admit his guilt.
[53] When Sima Qi heard about it, he reprimanded Deng Yang: "The officials serving in the central government agencies are the pillars of our state.
You are already failing to promote civil culture and morality, and you can't match the standards set by the ancients.
Sima Qi later thought that he might have offended Cao Shuang and his supporters, and feared that they would find ways to get back at him so he claimed that he was ill and resigned.
[56] Sima Zhao served as a Master of Writing (尚書) and as the Inspector of Ji Province during the Taikang era (280–289) of the reign of Emperor Wu in the Jin dynasty.