Sima Daozi 司馬道子

Sima Daozi 司馬道子 (364-403) was a prince of the Eastern Jin dynasty 東晉 (317-420) and a powerful figure in the last decades of that imperial house. He was the son of Emperor Jianwen 晉簡文帝 (r. 371-372). At the age of ten, he was invested as Prince of Langye 瑯邪王.

At the beginning of Emperor Xiaowu's reign, 孝武帝, he was appointed cavalier attendant-in-ordinary (sanji changshi 散騎常侍) and General of the Capital Army (zhongjun jiangjun 中軍將軍), and was later promoted to General of Cavalry (piaoji jiangjun 驃騎將軍).

In 380, he was appointed Minister over the Masses (situ 司徒). In 383, he was made Overseer of the Six Ministries (lu shangshu liu tiao shi 錄尚書六條事). In 385, he became Commander-in-chief of all military affairs within and outside the Capital (dudu zhong-wai zhujun shi 都督中外諸軍事). During his time in high office, Sima Daozi appointed sycophants, ruled with foolishness and indulgence, lived in luxury and excess, and abused his power by accepting bribes, which led to widespread disorder in the administration.

In 392, he was demoted in title to Prince of Guiji 會稽. When Emperor An 晉安帝 (r. 396-418) ascended the throne, Daozi was appointed Grand Mentor (taifu 太傅) and served as regent. At that time, tensions between central and regional powers were severe; however, Daozi was preoccupied with drunken revelry. This provoked Wang Gong 王恭 (350-398), regional inspector (cishi 刺史) of the province of Yanzhou 兗州, to raise troops against the powerful minister Wang Guobao 王國寶 (350-397). With no alternative, Daozi had Wang Guobao executed in an attempt to appease the rebels.

By that time, real authority had begun to shift into the hands of his son, Sima Yuanxian 司馬元顯 (382-402). In 397, Huan Xuan 桓玄 (369-404) rose in rebellion against the Jin court. Daozi was granted the "golden axe" (huangyue 黃鉞) as a token of imperial power and personally led troops to resist. In 402, Daozi's forces were defeated, and he was killed by Huan Xuan.