Sima Xiangru ( , c. 179117BC) was a Chinese musician, poet, and politician who lived during the Western Han dynasty. Sima is a significant figure in the history of Classical Chinese poetry, and is generally regarded as the greatest of all composers of Chinese fu rhapsodies. His poetry includes his invention or at least development of the fu form, applying new metrical rhythms to the lines of poetry, which he mixed with lines of prose, and provided with several of what would in ensuing centuries become among a group of common set topics for this genre. Sima Xiangru was also versatile enough to write in the Chu ci style, while it was enjoying a renaissance, and he also wrote lyrics in what would become known as the yuefu formal style. Early life and career Sima Xiangru was born in the commandery of Shu (now Sichuan Province) in the early 2nd century BC. His birth year is generally given as 179BC, but other sources give it variously as 172, 171, or 169BC. Most sources agree that he was born in Chengdu, though the 19th-century scholar Wang Peixun proposed he may actually have been from Pengzhou (modern Peng'an County). Little is known of Sima's family and ancestry. His family may have been descended from Sima Cuo (; fl. 316–280BC), a Qin general who led Qin's invasion of Shu in the late 4th century BC. During his youth he is said to have been a studious child who read widely, and to have been a lover of swordsmanship. As a youth, Sima took the name "Xiangru" out of admiration for the Warring States period leader Lin Xiangru. Around 150BC, while in his twenties, Sima left his home in Shu and traveled to the imperial capital Chang'an, where he received a court appointment "by virtue of property", meaning he possessed at least 40,000 copper cash. He was made a mounted military attendant to Emperor Jing of Han, which was a low-ranking position but allowed Sima to accompany the emperor and the court on imperial excursions. Sima does not seem to have enjoyed this position, likely because Emperor Jing, and his mostly Legalist advisors, were known for their dislike of literary embellishment. In 149BC, Sima moved to Liang (modern northern Anhui, southern Shandong, northeastern Henan, centered around modern Shangqiu city) to become a guest scholar at the court of Liu Wu, Prince of Liang, Emperor