Zhang Chunhua

Zhang Chunhua (onyomi: Chō Shunka) is Sima Yi's wife and the mother of Sima Shi and Sima Zhao. She was said to have been a virtuous and resourceful woman who was not loved by her husband throughout their marriage. Depending on the many interpretations of historical records, she intimidated her husband by either outwitting him with her scholarly knowledge or by unnerving him with her cold and violent nature.

Prior to her playable Dynasty Warriors appearance, she ranked tenth place in Famitsu's first most wanted playable character poll and was the top fan voted name for the female model in Dynasty Warriors 7: Empires's first edit character contest. She ranked twenty-ninth place in Gamecity's Dynasty Warriors 8: Xtreme Legends popularity poll. The latest poll for the eighth installment puts her in fifty-ninth.

Role in Games
"Mother, you are strong! No wonder Father is afraid of you!"
 * ―Sima Zhao; Dynasty Warriors 8

Dynasty Warriors
Zhang Chunhua supports her husband during his rise to power by keeping a close eye on him and their sons. She disappears the same time as Sima Yi in the historical route. In Jin's hypothetical story route, she and her spouse suppress Zhong Hui's rebellion, and join the final battle against the Wu and Shu coalition. During Wu's hypothetical story at Runan, she joins forces with Wang Yuanji in an attempt to subdue the Wu officers.

In the Xtreme Legends expansion, Zhang Chunhua appears in Jin and Wei's new stages. In Jin's scenario, she is included among the besieged at Luoyang against Cao Shuang. Quickly rebounding from the attack, she calls Jia Chong to cut off Cao Shuang's escape route. She is also among one of the "beauties" that the Wei officers encounter in their kingdom's final stage. Mistaking them the officers for salesmen, she and Sima Shi attempt to drive them out.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms
In her debut in the eleventh title, her in-game biography and portrait are modeled after stories regarding her charming wit and maternal love. The twelfth title instead focuses on the alternate perception of her in popular culture, in which Zhang Chunhua is infamously regarded as one of the few female murderers of the era. In either title, she excels with strategies and domestic affairs. However, she virtually has no ability for war like most of the non-combatant women in the series.

100man-nin no Sangokushi has her star in a character episode event after Sima Yi falls from the shock of Zhuge Liang's last tactic. A fussy and bossy wife, Zhang Chunhua seeks to care for him. When she visits his quarters, she mistakes the maid within it as her husband's mistress and subdues her on the spot. The maid informs her that her master has returned to duties and is within his office. Sima Yi has recovered before her visit so he insults her for being senile. She throws a tantrum, beats him in a duel, and expects an apology from him by going on a hunger strike.

When her sons send their sisters and wives to check on her, she mistakes their concern as sympathy for her cause and forces them to join her. The trio become delirious from hunger, but the mother physically punishes her sons for trying to sneak in food from their wives. Before she collapses from exhaustion, Zhang Chunhua crawls toward Sima Yi's offices to pressure him for an apology. She beats Sima Fu along the way, mistaking him for her husband due to their facial similarities. An exasperated Sima Yi finds her during her lurch and patronizes her for dragging his sons into her charade. He apologizes through gritted teeth after he loses another duel against her. Pleased by his reluctant submission to her, she returns to her sons to nurse them back to health.

Development
Omega Force developers are aware of the many stories depicting her as a "demonic wife", but Akihiro Suzuki remarks that they wanted to make her a "frightening, wise mother with good intentions". She was purposely designed to resemble Sima Zhao, since Sima Shi already has physical traits matching with Sima Yi. Her default color scheme is meant to represent quiet maternity and kindness.

Personality
Always seen with a soft smile on her face, Zhang Chunhua is a wise and capable mother. Yet she shows signs of her wickedly cryptic side when she is not pleased, causing even her own family to fear offending her. Her criticism is blunt to help bring out the other party's true potential.

Zhang Chunhua sees past Sima Yi's facade enough for him to be afraid of her. Despite being the seemingly dominant one in their relationship, her relationship with her husband is harmonious and she does care for him. The wife is content to step aside for her husband, but will occasionally force him to make decisions he would normally reject. She sternly addresses Sima Yi as "My Lord" or "Husband" (旦那様, Danna-sama). Zhang Chunhua deems Wang Yuanji to be more responsible than either of her sons, often giving the younger lady tips on how to discipline Sima Zhao.

Voice Actors

 * Cindy Robinson - Dynasty Warriors 8 (English-uncredited)
 * Masumi Asano - Dynasty Warriors 8 (Japanese)

Quotes

 * See also: Zhang Chunhua/Quotes


 * "Lady Zhang Chunhua, do you have a moment? It's about Master Zhao..."
 * "Is that idiot son of mine causing you grief, Lady Yuanji? I'll be sure to punish him, so please don't give up on him."
 * "Oh no, it isn't that bad..."
 * "You must not go easy on him. It is vital to take a strong stance from the beginning."
 * "...Y-Yes, my lady."
 * Wang Yuanji and Zhang Chunhua; Dynasty Warriors 8


 * "Oh, that husband of mine. He can't even wipe his bottom by himself without me around. So here I am, my lovely!"
 * "Ch-Chunhua!? How many times have I told you not to barge into my work? I got over the flu weeks before you showed up. And you wonder why I call you old hag!"
 * "How dare you! I'll have you know I'm ten years younger than you!"
 * Zhang Chunhua and Sima Yi; 100man-nin no Sangokushi

Gameplay
Zhang Chunhua‎‎ is affiliated with the wired gloves in this appearance. When she is equipped with it, she can perform a unique attack exclusive to her. Upon performing her Musou techniques, she will automatically use the weapon in her attacks.


 * EX Attack 1:, , , , undefined, (undefined): Sends out a wall of blue-green threads that momentarily suspend her opponents.
 * EX Attack 2 (Xtreme Legends only):, , , undefined, undefined: Suspends enemies in mid-air by launching a series of wires projected vertically, horizontally, and radially.
 * Musou - Crazed Web (狂沸糸): : Releases countless threads that pierce through several foes before blowing them away.
 * Alternate Musou - Spider Web (陥穽糸): R1 + : Uses teal-colored wires to restrain the nearest enemy and skewer them from the inside out in all directions. If the attack misses, she will claw at another nearby opponent instead.
 * Aerial Musou - Circular Web (円網糸):, : Launches enemies airborne by ensnaring them with a web of wires.
 * Awakening Musou: Ejects a series of multiple threads forward. The attack ends with a burst of energy followed by more wires traveling at random parts of the vicinity. During the extension, she will start performing low arcing kicks several times in a row before unleashing more threads at a faster pace near the end.

Dynasty Warriors 8
Zhang Chunhua‎‎ uses the wired gloves as her default weapon in this title.

Historical Information
Zhang Chunhua was born in Henei Commandery, Pinghao District. Her father was the Prefect of Suyi, Zhang Wang, and her mother was a daughter of the Shan family sharing the same roots as Shan Tao. It's unknown when she was married to her husband. During their marriage, she personally gave birth to Sima Shi, Sima Zhao, Sima Gan, and Princess Nanyang.

In 201, when Zhang Chunhua was thirteen, Sima Yi feigned illness to initially avoid serving Cao Cao. According to the Book of Jin, she helped maintain his charade by killing one of their maids who saw him trying to dry his books under the sun. She allegedly feared her family's future was jeopardized if Cao Cao were to learn the truth. Once Sima Yi learned of his wife's deeds, he apparently became wary of her. Since this story only appears in the Book of Jin, however, skeptics reason that it may have been a fictional story devised by Fang Xuanling rather than truth. Other records mention instead that she lost her husband's favor soon after he swore fealty to Cao Cao and eloped with one of his concubines, Lady Bai.

One day, Sima Yi fell ill and Zhang Chunhua paid him a visit. When Sima Yi heard his wife came to see him, he flew into a blind rage, "What a foolish woman! Her visit means nothing to me!" Zhang Chunhua was upset and humiliated when she learned of his outburst and starved herself in protest to her husband's tantrum. Her sons learned of her acts and sought to save her, eventually pleading to their father to apologize. After he did, he insisted to her from outside her room, "I didn't do it for you, you old hag. I did it so my adorable sons would no longer need to suffer on your behalf." She resumed her normal eating habits after the incident.

Zhang Chunhua died due to illness when she was 59 years old. After her death, Sima Yi pretended to mourn her –claiming to have been "consumed with misery and grief"– in order to hide his plot to seize power from Cao Shuang. She was buried in Luoyang, and her posthumous title as empress was bestowed in her memory by Sima Yan. Her posthumous title literally states that she was a "calm, gentle, and modest person".

Gallery
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