The Sima Family initially flourished with military merits. It had transformed from a military family to a scholarly one by the time of Sima Fang

and the family members transformed from military generals to Confucian scholars. The practice of Confucianism became the cultural characteristics of the Sima Family since then. Yingchuan County was not only the most important area where the Sima Family had built up its social relationship and power networks

but also the place where the family rose and thrived. Sima Yi was the founder of the Western Jin Dynasty

but it was his grandfather

Sima Jun

who initially built up the social network. The Sima Family were not only masters of Confucianism

but also well versed in Taoism of Zhuangzi and Legalism of Shen Buhai and Han Fei. The comprehensive understanding and integration of various schools of knowledge and the flexible practice of them came to be the tradition of the Sima Family. The family tradition of modesty

vigilance

responsiveness

perseverance

and self-protection might be one of the reasons why the Sima Family stood out among many gentry and scholarly families in the Han and Wei dynasties

and why it was able to establish Jin dynasty and bring the former Wei dynasty to an end.