Empress Sima Lingji

Empress Sima Lingji (司馬令姬) was, briefly, an empress of the Chinese/Xianbei dynasty Northern Zhou. Her husband was Emperor Jing, the final emperor of the dynasty.

Sima Lingji was the daughter of the Northern Zhou general Sima Xiaonan (司馬消難) the Duke of Yingyang. In 579, Emperor Jing's father, the retired emperor Emperor Xuan, took Sima Lingji to be his son Emperor Jing's wife. Sima Lingji's age at that time was not recorded in history, but Emperor Jing was six-years-old at the time.

Emperor Xuan died in summer 580, and the official Yang Jian, the father of Emperor Xuan's wife Empress Yang Lihua, seized power as regent. The general Weichi Jiong, suspicious of Yang's intentions, rose against Yang, and Empress Sima's father Sima Xiaonan and another general, Wang Qian (王謙), rose in support. Sima Xiaonan, then the governor of Xun Province (勛州, roughly modern Xiaogan, Hubei), also offered to submit to Chen Dynasty, along with the nine provinces he controlled. Weichi was soon defeated, however, as was Sima, and Sima fled to Chen. Yang then had Empress Sima deposed and reduced to commoner in rank.

In 581, Yang Jian had Emperor Jing yield the throne to him, ending Northern Zhou and establishing Sui Dynasty (as its Emperor Wen). He soon had Emperor Jing and the other members of Northern Zhou's imperial Yuwen clan put to death. Sima Lingji was not put to death, and, at a later unknown date, married the provincial governor Li Dan (李丹). Nothing further was recorded in history about her, other than she was still alive during the reign of the second emperor of the succeeding Tang Dynasty, Emperor Taizong of Tang (r. 626-649).