Sima Hui

Sima Hui (onyomi: Shiba Ki) is a well known hermit during the late Han period. He is said to be the one who taught several talented scholars such as Xu Shu, Zhuge Liang, and Pang Tong. He is also known under his Taoist name as "Water Mirror" (水鏡; Shui-ching or Shui Jing).

Role in Games
Often depicted as an elderly man, Sima Hui never joins a particular faction in his game appearances. He often acts as a side character who gives advice to the player in some manner. He'll present new bodyguards for the player in Dynasty Warriors 5. In the Xtreme Legends expansion, he appears during Destiny Mode while the player creates a new character. His questions are basically the step-by-step process needed to customize the player's character.

Dynasty Warriors Next has him and Xu Shu help Liu Bei find a suitable strategist during one of Shu's chapters. In Shin Sangoku Musou SLASH, he introduces himself as Shui Jing to new players and serves as the game's tutor. Blast has him reprise this role during the battle system tutorial. Dynasty Warriors 8: Empires has Master Water Mirror randomly appear to provide the player with stratagems.

Sima Hui is a non-recruitable character in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms series, in which he often reenacts his actions from the novel. Depending on the title, he occasionally visits Liu Bei and offers advice for the lord or brings Huang Ying's father to meet with Zhuge Liang. He may also be in one of the hidden shrines on the map and offers to teach the player a skill to one of their vassals, a trait that continues in Dynasty Tactics. In the online adaption, players can visit the village where he resides and see him in person for various quests.

Development
His design theme for Blast was inspired by his actions in Romance of the Three Kingdoms.

The main planner for Sangokushi Legion explains that the team wanted to borrow from history. Since his habitual verbiage was considered odd, the development team strove to make their Sima Hui seem "a bit off his rocker", though he failed to appear due to the game's abrupt end.

Voice Actors

 * Michael Forest - Dynasty Warriors 5 (English)
 * Dan Woren - Dynasty Warriors Next (English)
 * Hideo Ishikawa - Dynasty Warriors 5 (Japanese)
 * Kōji Yada - Romance of the Three Kingdoms drama CD series

Historical Information
Sima Hui was a hermit who lived near Yuzhou. His earlier history remains unknown yet he was visited by many famous figures. Pang Tong met him when he was eighteen and Liu Bei and Cao Cao also came to see him. He treated Pang Degong (the accepted name for Pang Tong's father) as though he were his older brother. In return, his brother named him "Water Mirror", Pang Tong "Young Phoenix", and Zhuge Liang "Sleeping Dragon". Sima Hui had a very affable nature and was close with the Pang family and Zhuge Liang. A few stories state that he also taught Xu Shu, Xiang Lang, Yin Mo, and Li Ren. While he officially served Liu Biao, Sima Hui was allowed to continue his life of seclusion and was rarely called for in the court.

An odd trait that he exhibited was stating "Good, very good!" to everything relayed to him. He applied this to nearly anything, whether the news was actually pleasant or grave. When someone mourned that their son passed away, for instance, Sima Hui would say this phrase and would not elaborate on his thoughts. Even when hounded for an answer, he merely said an alternative phrase with the same meaning such as "And just as so, that's why it's fine!" or "It's fair for the mind". His wife jokingly stated that the words were ingrained in his normal vocabulary. When Liu Bei met him, the lord took him to be a simple man who wanted to be free of labor. It's commonly speculated that this was Sima Hui's way to avoid being summoned for political affairs.

After Liu Biao's son surrendered to Cao Cao, he tried to employ Sima Hui. However, Sima Hui passed away before the conqueror could fully make use of his talents.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms
In the novel, Sima Hui is a wizened elder who is called "Master Water Mirror". Pang Degong was his uncle ten years older than him and Pang Tong was his nephew who was five years younger than him. He was very fond of Pang Tong and called him brother.

He first meets Liu Bei in chapter 35, after the lord fled from Cai Mao's assassination attempt. His young servant guided Liu Bei to his hut as Water Mirror had already foretold all that happened to the lord. Once Liu Bei explained what happened to him, Water Mirror suggested that he find a worthy adviser. He introduced two mysterious men and said, "If you could find either Sleeping Dragon or Young Phoenix, you could restore order in the empire." After giving vague descriptions as to who these men were, he gave no other hints to Liu Bei and responded with "Good, good!" whenever he was asked. Zhao Yun's arrival interrupted their conversation and Liu Bei left the hermit's residence soon after.

Xu Shu mentioned being scolded by his master in the following chapter. Water Mirror told his protege of Liu Bei and his student hurried to his side. Water Mirror later visited Liu Bei to meet Xu Shu and is disappointed to hear that he fell for Cao Cao's ruse. Once he heard that Zhuge Liang was recommended as the Sleeping Dragon, Water Mirror related a few stories regarding the man's talents. He compared Zhuge Liang to Lu Wang and Zhang Liang before taking his leave.

Trivia

 * The original names for the Quizmaster and Eager Student Dynasty Warriors 7 trophies mention him through his Taoist name. He grants them a certificate or license based on the trophies' names.