The Gathering Storm in Late Wei

The winter of 248 CE marked a pivotal moment in the decline of the Wei dynasty. Li Sheng’s courtesy visit to the Sima residence before assuming office was more than mere protocol—it was a reconnaissance mission in a simmering power struggle. By early 249, the political landscape was tense. Emperor Cao Fang, only 18 and still under regency, prepared to visit the Gaoping陵 (Gaoping Mausoleum) to honor his adoptive father, Emperor Ming.

Accompanying him were the powerful Cao brothers—Cao Shuang, the大将军 (Grand General), and his siblings holding key military posts. Their dominance seemed unshakable, but beneath the surface, the Sima clan, led by the aging but shrewd Sima Yi (Sima Zhongda), plotted their downfall.

The Sima Gambit: A Coup in the Shadows

As the imperial procession departed Luoyang, Sima Yi sprang his trap. Citing an edict from Empress Dowager Guo—who harbored no loyalty to the Cao regime—he sealed the city gates. The Sima faction swiftly seized military strongholds, isolating the Caos.

Sima Yi’s son, Sima Shi, had masterminded the operation. Their justification? A supposed mandate from the late Emperor Ming to curb Cao Shuang’s abuses: privatizing imperial guards, nepotism, and manipulating the young emperor. The historical record paints Cao Shuang as arrogant and inept, but the Simas’ move was less about reform and more about dynastic ambition.

The Fall of the Cao Faction

Trapped outside Luoyang, Cao Shuang faced a critical choice. Adviser Huan Fan urged him to flee to Xuchang, a Cao power base, and rally loyalists. “With the emperor in hand, the realm will answer your call!” he argued. But Cao Shuang wavered, ultimately surrendering on promises of leniency—a fatal miscalculation.

The Simas, however, had no intention of mercy. They unearthed a damning charge: Cao Shuang had conspired with eunuch Zhang Dang to divert imperial concubines for his pleasure. This “treason” justified exterminating the entire Cao faction, including intellectuals like He Yan and Huan Fan. By March 249, the purge was complete, and the era name changed to “Jiaping”—a symbolic rebirth under Sima dominance.

The Ripple Effects: From Politics to Philosophy

The coup’s aftermath reshaped Wei society. The brutal elimination of the Caos exposed the fragility of Confucian loyalism. If the Cao family could overthrow the Han, and now the Simas the Caos, where was the moral constant? This existential crisis fueled a cultural shift:

– The Rise of Daoism and Buddhism: As Confucianism waned, Daoist “Dark Learning” (玄学) and Buddhist teachings gained traction. The famed “Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove” epitomized this turn toward escapism and metaphysical debate.
– Political Nihilism: Fear of Sima surveillance bred a culture of “pure conversation” (清谈), where elites avoided politics by discussing abstract philosophy—and sometimes indulged in the hallucinogenic “Five Minerals Powder.”

Legacy: The Sima Dynasty’s Inevitable Rise

Sima Yi died in 251, having avoided the “usurper” label he dreaded. His sons, however, marched steadily toward founding the Jin dynasty. The Gaoping陵 Incident wasn’t just a coup; it was the death knell of Wei. By neutralizing the Caos and intimidating dissenters, the Simas set a template for imperial takeovers—one where ideological flexibility trumped Confucian rigidity.

The incident also underscored a timeless lesson: in power struggles, the victors write morality. Sima Yi’s “loyal opposition” narrative collapsed into outright dynasty-building, proving that in the Three Kingdoms era, survival favored the pragmatists, not the idealists.

As Luoyang’s elites whispered about the futility of loyalty, one question lingered: if history was cyclical, how long before the Simas, too, faced their Gaoping陵?