Jing's younger brother. The prince's court already held a number of prominent literary men of the era, including Mei Sheng (; d. 141BC), Zou Yang (; fl. 150BC), and Zhuang Ji (). During this period, Sima began composition of his "Fu on Sir Vacuous" (Zixu fu 子虛賦), which later became the first half of his famous fu on the Shanglin imperial hunting park. Sima stayed in Liang until Prince Liu Wu's death in 143BC, after which he returned to his home area of Shu. Sima no longer had any money, and lived in a state of near poverty after returning home. His fortunes improved when he was taken on as a protégé of Wang Ji, the magistrate of Linqiong (modern Qionglai, Sichuan). Wang introduced Sima to Zhuo Wangsun (; fl. 140BC), a wealthy iron manufacturer, and Sima immediately fell in love with Zhuo's recently widowed daughter Zhuo Wenjun. In 142BC, the following year, Sima and Zhuo Wenjun eloped together. Sima's biography states that the couple supported themselves by running an ale shop until Zhuo's father was forced by public shame into recognizing their marriage, giving the couple 1,000,000 copper cash, 100 servants, and valuables from the dowry of Zhuo's first marriage. Imperial career In 137BC, Sima was summoned to Chang'an by the young Emperor Wu of Han. The well known, traditional account of this incident states that the emperor happened across a copy of Sima's "Fu of Sir Vacuous", and was so impressed by it that he exclaimed, "Why do I not have the privilege of being this man's contemporary?!" The account states that Yang Deyi, the keeper of the imperial hounds and a native of Shu, happened to overhear the emperor's exclamation, and informed him that Sima was the piece's author, whereupon Emperor Wu immediately had Sima summoned to the imperial capital. Notwithstanding its liveliness and charm, modern scholars have noted a number of logical inconsistencies in this traditional account, and do not consider it to be accurate. In the subsequent, more credible portion of the story, Sima appeared before Emperor Wu and stated that he wished to compose a grand fu on the emperor's excursions and hunts. The emperor had the chief steward of writing give Sima a supply of brushes and bamboo slips which Sima used to compose his magnum opus, a fu on the imperial hunting reserve usually entitled "Fu on the Shanglin Park" (Shanglin fu