The Cui clan of Qinghe (清河崔氏) was an eminent Chinese family of high-ranking government officials and

Confucian Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a Religious Confucianism, religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, ...

scholars. The clan's

ancestral home An ancestral home is the place of origin of one's extended family, particularly the home owned and preserved by the same family for several generations. The term can refer to an individual house or estate, or to a broader geographic area such as a ...

was in

Qinghe Commandery Qinghe Commandery ( zh, 清河郡) was a historical commandery of China, located in present-day southern Hebei and western Shandong. The commandery was established during late Qin dynasty. In Western Han dynasty, the commandery administered 14 co ...

(清河郡), which covered parts of present-day

Shandong Shandong ( , ; ; alternately romanized as Shantung) is a coastal province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the East China region. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilizati ...

and

Hebei Hebei or , (; alternately Hopeh) is a northern province of China. Hebei is China's sixth most populous province, with over 75 million people. Shijiazhuang is the capital city. The province is 96% Han Chinese, 3% Manchu, 0.8% Hui, an ...

provinces. The first notable member of this clan, according to the ''

New Book of Tang The ''New Book of Tang'', generally translated as the "New History of the Tang" or "New Tang History", is a work of official history covering the Tang dynasty in ten volumes and 225 chapters. The work was compiled by a team of scholars of the So ...

'', was Cui Ye (崔業), who held the peerage of Marquis of Donglai (東萊候) during the

Han dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a warr ...

. The Cui clans of Boling and Qinghe both traced their ancestry to a common ancestor, Cui Ming, an official who lived in the

Spring and Autumn period The Spring and Autumn period was a period in Chinese history from approximately 770 to 476 BC (or according to some authorities until 403 BC) which corresponds roughly to the first half of the Eastern Zhou period. The period's name derives fr ...

Cui Lin Cui Lin (died January or February 245), courtesy name Deru, was a Chinese politician of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. He was known for his scruples in good governance, judgment of character, and for being the f ...

, a high-ranking minister of the

Cao Wei Wei ( Hanzi: 魏; pinyin: ''Wèi'' <

Middle Chinese

: *''ŋjwei^C'' <

state in the

Three Kingdoms The Three Kingdoms () from 220 to 280 AD was the tripartite division of China among the dynastic states of Cao Wei, Shu Han, and Eastern Wu. The Three Kingdoms period was preceded by the Han dynasty#Eastern Han, Eastern Han dynasty and wa ...

period, was from the Cui family of Qinghe, as was his relative

Cui Yan Cui Yan (165–216), courtesy name Jigui, was a Chinese politician serving under the warlord Cao Cao during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. In his early life, he served briefly in the local district office before leaving home to study und ...

, a notable official who served in the administration of the Imperial Chancellor

Cao Cao Cao Cao () (; 155 – 15 March 220), courtesy name Mengde (), was a Chinese statesman, warlord and poet. He was the penultimate Grand chancellor (China), grand chancellor of the Eastern Han dynasty, and he amassed immense power in the End of ...

in the late Eastern Han dynasty. A female member of the Cui clan of Qinghe married Liu Kun. The Liu clan of Zhongshan, Lu clan of Luyang and Cui family of Qinghe formed a network. The Cui clan expanded its power over many official positions during the

Northern Wei Wei (), known in historiography as the Northern Wei (), Tuoba Wei (), Yuan Wei () and Later Wei (), was founded by the Tuoba (Tabgach) clan of the Xianbei. The first of the Northern and Southern dynasties#Northern dynasties, Northern dynasties ...

dynasty through political marriages, and became one of the four clans of northern China at the time.

Cui Hao Cui Hao () (died 450 CE), courtesy name Boyuan (伯淵), was a ''shangshu'' of the Xianbei-led Northern Wei dynasty of China. Largely because of Cui's counsel, Emperor Taiwu of Northern Wei was able to unify northern China, ending the Sixteen Kin ...

was also from the Cui clan of Qinghe. Cui Hao's family, a cadet branch of the Cui clan of Qinghe, was exterminated during the Northern Wei dynasty but the other branches of the Cui clan of Qinghe survived. During the Sui and

Tang Tang or TANG most often refers to: * Tang dynasty * Tang (drink mix) Tang or TANG may also refer to: Chinese states and dynasties * Jin (Chinese state) (11th century – 376 BC), a state during the Spring and Autumn period, called Tang (唐) b ...

dynasties, the Cui clan of Qinghe was able to maintain its prosperity by producing a total of 12 statesmen who served as

chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

s in the imperial government. Among the 12 chancellors, five were from the southern branch, two were from the elder branch, two were from the junior branch, and the remaining three each came from the Xuzhou Yanling, Qingzhou and Zhengzhou branches. The Cui family lost their political privilege by the end of the Tang dynasty and dissolved into different social classes.

Cui Qun Cui Qun (崔群) (772 – August 30, 832''Old Book of Tang'', vol. 17, part 2.), courtesy name Dunshi (敦詩), was an official of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, serving as a chancellor during the reign of Emperor Xianzong. Background Cui Q ...

was a member of this family. During the Tang dynasty, the

Li clan of Zhao Commandery Li, li, or LI may refer to: Businesses and organizations * Landscape Institute, a British professional body for landscape architects * Leadership Institute, a non-profit organization located in Arlington, Virginia, US, that teaches "political te ...

( 趙郡李氏), the

Cui clan of Boling The Cui clan of Boling (博陵崔氏) was a notable Chinese clan of noble descent which was politically active from the Han dynasty to the end of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period. They shared the same ancestry as the Cui clan of Qinghe. T ...

, Cui clan of Qinghe,

Lu clan of Fanyang The Lu clan of Fanyang (范陽盧氏) was a Chinese political clan active from the late Eastern Han dynasty to the early Song dynasty. They descended from a noble clan in Qi, a ducal state under the Zhou dynasty. Their family name, Lu 盧, was der ...

Zheng clan of Xingyang The Zheng clan of Xingyang () was a prominent Chinese clan, chiefly based around Xingyang (modern day Kaifeng, Henan). Tracing their origins to the rulers of the State of Zheng, they became highly prominent in government during the Northern and Sout ...

( 滎陽鄭氏),

Wang clan of Taiyuan The Wang clan of Taiyuan () was a Chinese clan which achieved prominence between the Han and Tang dynasties, based in Taiyuan in modern-day Shanxi province. The earliest prominent members of this clan can be traced back to two brothers, Wang Rou an ...

( 太原王氏), and Li clan of Longxi ( 隴西李氏) were seven political families who were legally banned from intermarriages between their families. The Cui clan of Qinghe intermarried with the Ming family of Ge County. A woman from the Lu family of Fanyang married the son of an official serving under the

Northern Qi Qi, known as the Northern Qi (), Later Qi (後齊) or Gao Qi (高齊) in historiography, was a Chinese imperial dynasty and one of the Northern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties era. It ruled the eastern part of northern China ...

dynasty.

Cui Biao Cui or CUI may refer to: People * Cui (surname), a Chinese surname * Cui Shian (born 1957), governor of Macau * César Cui (1835–1918), Russian composer Education * Catholic University of Ireland * COMSATS University Islamabad * Concordia U ...

, a member of the Cui family of Qinghe, had his daughter married to a son of

Yang Su Yang Su (楊素; died August 31, 606), courtesy name Chudao (處道), formally Duke Jingwu of Chu (楚景武公), was a Chinese military general and politician of the Sui dynasty whose authority eventually became nearly as supreme as the emperor' ...

Branches

These were the branches of the Cui clan of Qinghe and some of their cadet branches.The edited list of chancellors in the ''

'' by Zhao Chao (1998) (). *Eastern ancestry (東祖) *Western ancestry (西祖) *Southern ancestry (南祖) **Wushui branch (烏水房) *Elder branch of Qinghe (清河大房) *Junior branch of Qinghe (清河小房) *Qingzhou branch of Qinghe (清河青州房) *Zhengzhou branch (鄭州崔氏) **Xuzhou Yanling branch (許州鄢陵房)

Prominent Members

(崔琰, 163 - 216), official serving under first

Yuan Shao Yuan Shao (, ; died 28 June 202), courtesy name Benchu (), was a Chinese military general, politician, and warlord who lived in the late Eastern Han dynasty. He occupied the northern territories of China during the civil wars that occurred to ...

and then

(崔林, d. 245), official in

Cao Wei Wei ( Hanzi: 魏; pinyin: ''Wèi'' <

Middle Chinese

: *''ŋjwei^C'' <

who became one of the

Three Excellencies The Three Ducal Ministers (), also translated as the Three Dukes, Three Excellencies, or the Three Lords, was the collective name for the three highest officials in Ancient China and Imperial China. These posts were abolished by Cao Cao in 208 AD a ...

References

{{reflist *https://searchworks.stanford.edu/view/6318443 Zhong gu shi jia da zu Qinghe Cui shi yan jiu = Zhong ... - SearchWorks *http://search.library.utoronto.ca/details?5998320 Zhong gu shi jia da zu Qinghe Cui shi yan jiu = Zhong gu shi jia da Chinese clans