), though its original title was probably "Fu on the Excursions and Hunts of the Son of Heaven" (Tianzi youlie fu ). The emperor was so pleased with Sima's composition that he immediately appointed him to a position at the imperial court. Sima served Emperor Wu by composing fu for special court occasions, though none of these have survived to modern times. Because of his background in the Shu area, the emperor made Sima his personal envoy to what was then the southwestern frontier of China, of which Shu was a part. Around 131BC, Sima traveled to Shu on an imperial mission to mediate a dispute between the local population and the area's oppressive governor, after which the emperor promoted him to General of the Gentlemen of the Household (zhonglang jiang ), a fairly high-ranking position at the imperial court. Sometime later, Sima was accused of taking bribes while on the mission, and was summarily dismissed from his position. Although he continued to enjoy the emperor's favor, and was brought back to court after several years, he never again served in a high-ranking position, and seems to have largely lost interest in court affairs. During Sima's brief tenure as General of the Gentlemen of the Household, Emperor Wu dispatched him back to Shu to oversee a roadbuilding project in the southwest. Upon arriving with his large entourage from the capital, Sima was proudly greeted by his father-in-law Zhuo Wangsun, who decided to bequeath Zhuo Wenjun with a large portion of his estate, equal to that of a son's. This generous inheritance made Sima and his wife independently wealthy, such that after Sima was dismissed from his post around 130BC, he had no need for further employment. Later life Between 130 and 120BC, Sima's primary activities were writing poetry and occasionally accompanying Emperor Wu on imperial outings. Around 120BC, Sima accepted an appointment as director of Emperor Wen of Han's funerary park, though the position was probably a sinecure. Around 119BC, Sima resigned this position due to increasing illness (likely diabetes), and retired to Maoling, a town where Emperor Wu had members of wealthy and influential families live so he could surveil them. In 117BC, word reached the imperial court that Sima was dying, and Emperor Wu dispatched an official to visit his home and collect his writings to preserve them. However, by the time the official reached Sima's mansion, he