Early Life
Sima Yi was one of eight brothers, all of whom were famous due to their lineage. Each of them had a Chinese style name ending with the character Da (Wade-Giles: Ta; 達). Because of this, the brothers were known collectively as the "Eight Da of Sima" (Wade-Giles: "Eight Ta of Szu-ma"; 司馬八達). This was a term of respect, as other groups of eight talented administrators in previous eras had been referred to in this way. His family resided in Luoyang when Dong Zhuo occupied the city, destroyed it, and moved the capital to Chang'an. Sima Yi's elder brother, Sima Lang led the family to their ancestral home in the Wen district (温縣), and then, correctly predicting that it would become a battlefield, moved them again to Liyang (黎陽). In 194, as Cao Cao did battle with Lü Bu, Sima Yi accompanied his family back to Wen district.
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