Sima Yuanxian 司馬元顯

Sima Yuanxian 司馬元顯 (382-402) was a prince of the Eastern Jin dynasty 東晉 (317-420) and a significant figure in the final decades of that imperial house. He was the son of Sima Daozi 司馬道子, Prince of Guiji 會稽.

At the beginning of Emperor An's 晉安帝 (r. 396-418) reign, Yuanxian served as Palace Attendant (shizhong 侍中). When Wang Gong 王恭 (350-398), regional inspector (cishi 刺史) of the province of Yanzhou 兗州, rebelled against the court, Yuanxian urged his father to initiate a military campaign.

In 398, Yuanxian was appointed General Conquering the Bandits (zhenglu jiangjun 征虜將軍) and Commander-in-Chief of the Suppression Campaign (zhengtao dudu 征討都督), participating in the expedition that resulted in Wang Gong's death.

He was subsequently promoted to Cavalier Attendant-in-Ordinary (sanji changshi 散騎常侍) and Director of the Palace Secretariat (zhongshu ling 中書令), while also assuming roles as Commander of the Capital Army (zhonglingjun 領中領軍) and bearer of special warrants (chijie 持節). In 399, he was further appointed regional inspector of Yangzhou 揚州. From this juncture, Yuanxian monopolised state affairs and wielded life-and-death authority over officials.

To counter Huan Xuan's 桓玄 (369-404) rebellious army from Jingzhou 荊州, he forcibly conscripted people by reclassifying exempted serfs in the eastern commanderies of the Yangtze region, which provoked the uprising of Sun En 孫恩 (d. 402). The court ordered Yuanxian to lead the central army against the rebels and additionally promoted him to Overseer of all Ministries (lu shangshu shi 錄尚書事). At that time, the state treasury was depleted; nevertheless, Yuanxian engaged in aggressive hoarding, amassing wealth that surpassed even that of the imperial household.

In 405, he requested to be appointed regional inspector of Xuzhou 徐州 and was granted the titles of Palace Attendant (shizhong 侍中), General of the Rear (hou jiangjun 后將軍), Minister of the State with the Privileges of the Three Excellencies (kaifu yitong sansi 開府儀同三司), and Commander-in-chief (dudu 都督) of Military Affairs in Sixteen Provinces. Shortly thereafter, due to ominous astrological signs, he was removed from his position as Overseer of the Ministries and instead granted the post of Director of the Imperial Secretariat (shangshu ling 尚書令).

During the height of Sun En's rebellion, Huan Xuan initiated an eastward campaign, directly assaulting the capital Jiankang 建康 (modern-day Nanjing 南京, Jiangsu). In 402, Yuanxian was appointed General-in-chief of Cavalry (piaoji da jiangjun 驃騎大將軍) and Commander-in-Chief of the Suppression Campaign (zhengtao da dudu 征討大都督), leading forces to resist; however, he was ultimately defeated and killed.