[New Word Dictionary] Impo - Successful Traitor

Impo is a term derived from the English word imposter, inspired by the role of the character Impostor in the game Among Us, commonly used to refer to a traitor hidden within a group. Illustration by artist Oh Seong-su

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] Sima Yi, a politician of the Cao Wei period in China, was a loyal minister who served four generations of kings from Cao Cao to his great-grandson Cao Fang, never losing his position as the second-in-command. However, history often views him not as a loyal subject of Wei but as the actual founder of the Jin dynasty. Sima Yi, sensing the emperor's moves to curb his growing power as the second-in-command, staged a palace coup, seized power, and reduced the king to a puppet. When Cao Cao's grandson Cao Huan ascended the throne, the imperial guards advised the emperor to expel Sima Yi. In response, Sima Yi feigned illness and old age to retire from office and went into seclusion. When the king sent officials to check on him, Sima Yi lay in bed with his hair disheveled, trembling hands spilling medicine onto his clothes as he greeted them. When asked about his health, he repeatedly gave irrelevant answers, saying, "My hearing is no longer reliable." The officials reported this to the emperor, who, reassured, forgot about Sima Yi along with the imperial guards. Meanwhile, Sima Yi secretly prepared a coup and successfully seized power. Concealing his sword and blade, Sima Yi’s strategic patience on a dark new moon night foretold the end of the Wei dynasty. He made Emperor Cao Huan a puppet, and when the Wei dynasty fell during Cao Fang’s reign, Sima Yi’s grandson Sima Yan established the Jin dynasty. For this reason, Chinese history regards him as the de facto founder of the Jin dynasty.

“Impo” is a term derived from the English word “imposter,” inspired by the role of the imposter character in the game Among Us, commonly used to refer to a hidden traitor within a group. Sima Yi was known for his intelligence from childhood, and his eight brothers were all talented, each having the character “達” (Dal) in their courtesy names, earning them the nickname “Sama Paldal.” Cao Cao made great efforts comparable to the “Three Visits to the Thatched Cottage” to recruit Sima Yi, but while he admired Sima Yi’s talent, he thought his appearance resembled a “wolf looking back” (Langgo, 狼顧), implying disloyalty and eventual betrayal. Moreover, Cao Cao’s nature?being an excellent leader but distrustful of others and jealous of those more talented than himself?may have planted the seeds of betrayal in Sima Yi’s heart for survival. Although there is no such thing as a beautiful betrayal, Sima Yi, who usurped power yet never took the throne himself and ruled from behind the scenes, enjoyed the glory of elevating his family to a dynasty from the position of second-in-command. Thus, the historical perspective that views him as the founder of the Jin dynasty essentially defines him as a successful traitor.

Usage

A: I think I stayed up all night playing games with C yesterday.
B: Hey, you have an exam today. Why didn’t you at least skim through your book?
A: I was going to, but C said, “Let’s play just one more round,” so we ended up playing.
B: Huh, that’s weird. C joined our camp study yesterday. The study motivation group. Wasn’t that his younger sibling playing games with you?
A: OMG, isn’t that a total impo? I got tricked, I really did. I better look over the summary notes quickly.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.