Sima (surname)

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Sima (simplified Chinese: 司马; traditional Chinese: 司馬; pinyin: Sīmǎ; Wade–Giles: Ssu-ma) is a Chinese family name. Unlike most single-character Chinese family names, it is one of the rare two-character family names. It is an occupation name, literally meaning "control" (sī) "horses" (mǎ). The surname originated from one of the offices of the Three Excellencies of the Zhou Dynasty. Coincidentally, this name has almost the same meaning as the common English surname Marshall, which is derived from the Frankish: "mare" (horse) + "skalkoz" (master).

[edit] List of persons with the surname

Sima Niu, discipline of Confucius
Sima Qian, historian in Western Han Dynasty and author of Records of the Grand Historian
Sima Xiangru, a minor official in Western Han Dynasty but better known for his poetic skills, Chinese wine (jiu) business and controversial marriage to a widow Zhuo Wenjun after both eloped.
Sima Yi, renowned strategist during the Three Kingdoms, ultimate adversary of Zhuge Liang in Romance of the Three Kingdoms and the revered progenitor of the Jin Dynasty (265-420).
Sima Shi, son of Sima Yi
Sima Zhao, son of Sima Yi and younger brother of Sima Shi, de facto ruler of the Kingdom of Wei and the origin of a Chinese proverb.
Sima Yan, also known as the Emperor Wu of Jin, was a son of Sima Zhao. He took the throne of the Kingdom of Wei, proclaimed the Jin Dynasty and unified China.
Sima Ai, son of Emperor Wu of Jin and Prince of Changsha among the Eight Princes
the ruling family of the Jin Dynasty (265-420).
Sima Guang, historian and statesman during the Song Dynasty (960-1279), known for his monumental historical work Zizhi Tongjian and rivalry against contemporary Wang Anshi. There is a popular story of him, as a youth, saving someone who fell into a large water pot by smashing it with a rock.
Shiba Ryotaro, Japanese author of historical novel. 司馬遼太郎 is his pen name, his real name is 福田定一(Fukuda Teiichi).

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