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 Shin Sangoku Musou 7: Moushouden popularity poll.

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 join the final battle against Wu. During Wu's hypothetical story at Runan, she joins forces with Wang Yuanji in an attempt to subdue the Wu officers.

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.

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 who harbors a frightening temper that causes even her own family to fear offending her in any way possible. Due to her frank nature, she shows no fear in criticizing others including her sons if it helps bring out their true potential. She addresses Sima Yi as "My Lord" with a very stern tone at all times when speaking to him. In the Japanese script it is "Husband" (旦那様, Danna-sama).

Voice Actors

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

Quotes

 * "My lord's dying wish will never perish. The next generation of dragons will create a land of benevolence in his memory!"
 * "You both are so irresponsible. I feel sorry for the young people who are forced to carry your burdens."
 * Yueying and Zhang Chunhua; Dynasty Warriors 8


 * "Hehe ... I told you we were right to lie in wait here ... My sons still have some growing up to do. As does my husband..."
 * "One person is only capable of so much. And if we take care of this here, that's one less thing to worry about."
 * "Oh, you're such a smart little thing! Please do not forsake my imbecile son!"
 * "Your son is not as hopeless as you say... I think at least."
 * "Hehe, so polite... Come now, let's take care of this ourselves."
 * "Yes."
 * Zhang Chunhua and Wang Yuanji; Dynasty Warriors 8

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:
 * 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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