Cui Yuanshi (崔元式) (died 848?''

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 ...

'', vol. 160.''

Zizhi Tongjian ''Zizhi Tongjian'' () is a pioneering reference work in Chinese historiography, published in 1084 AD during the Northern Song dynasty in the form of a chronicle recording Chinese history from 403 BC to 959 AD, covering 16 dynast ...

'', vol. 248.Cui Yuanshi was said to have been removed from his chancellor office in 848 due to illness and had died soon thereafter, implying that he died in 848, but the matter is not completely clear.) was an official of the

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

Tang Dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

, serving briefly 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 ...

during the reign of Emperor Xuānzong.

Background

It is not known when Cui Yuanshi was born. He was from "The elder house of Boling" of the prominent

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 ...

(博陵, in modern

Hengshui Hengshui () is a prefecture-level city in southern Hebei province, People's Republic of China, bordering Shandong to the southeast. At the 2010 census its population was 4,340,373 inhabitants whom 522,147 lived in the built-up (''or metro'') are ...

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 ...

), which claimed ancestry from the ruling Jiang house of 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 ...

state Qi. Cui Xuan's traceable ancestors included officials of the

Qin Dynasty The Qin dynasty ( ; zh, c=秦朝, p=Qín cháo, w=), or Ch'in dynasty in Wade–Giles romanization ( zh, c=, p=, w=Ch'in ch'ao), was the first Dynasties in Chinese history, dynasty of Imperial China. Named for its heartland in Qin (state), ...

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 ...

Jin Dynasty (266–420) The Jin dynasty (; ) or the Jin Empire, sometimes distinguished as the (司馬晉) or the (兩晉), was an imperial dynasty of China that existed from 266 to 420. It was founded by Sima Yan (Emperor Wu), eldest son of Sima Zhao, who had pr ...

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 ...

, and the

. His father Cui Jing (崔儆) served as a secretary general of the executive bureau of government (尚書省, ''Shangshu Sheng'').''

'', vol. 72. His older brother Cui Yuanlüe (崔元略) was a prominent official during the reigns of

Emperor Xianzong Emperor Xianzong of Tang (4 March to 1 April 778''Old Book of Tang'', vol. 14. – 14 February 820; r. 805 – 820), personal name Li Chun, né Li Chun (), was an emperor of the Chinese Tang Dynasty. He was the eldest son of Emperor Shunzon ...

, Emperor Xianzong's son Emperor Muzong, and Emperor Muzong's sons Emperor Jingzong and Emperor Wenzong. Cui Yuanlüe was considered a potential

at times but was never chancellor. Cui Yuanlüe's son

Cui Xuan Cui Xuan (), courtesy name Taishuo (), formally the Duke of Wei (), was an official of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, serving two terms as a chancellor during the reigns of Emperor Wuzong and Emperor Wuzong's uncle Emperor Xuānzong. Backgrou ...

, however, served as a chancellor before Cui Yuanshi did, and would again after Cui Yuanshi. Other than Cui Yuanlüe, Cui Yuanshi also had at least one older brother, Cui Yuanshou (崔元受), and one younger brother, Cui Yuanru (崔元儒); all of these Cui brothers known in history, including Cui Yuanshi passed the

imperial examination The imperial examination (; lit. "subject recommendation") refers to a civil-service examination system in Imperial China, administered for the purpose of selecting candidates for the state bureaucracy. The concept of choosing bureaucrats by ...

s in the ''Jinshi'' class.''

Old Book of Tang The ''Old Book of Tang'', or simply the ''Book of Tang'', is the first classic historical work about the Tang dynasty, comprising 200 chapters, and is one of the Twenty-Four Histories. Originally compiled during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdo ...

'', vol. 163. Cui Yuanshi himself served on the staffs of regional governors early in his career. He was eventually himself made the governor (觀察使, ''Guanchashi'') of Hunan Circuit (湖南, headquartered in modern

Changsha Changsha (; ; ; Changshanese pronunciation: (), Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is the capital and the largest city of Hunan Province of China. Changsha is the 17th most populous city in China with a population of over 10 million, an ...

Hunan Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to ...

During Emperor Wuzong's reign

In 843, during the reign of Emperor Wuzong, Cui Yuanshi was made the military governor of Hezhong Circuit (河中, headquartered in modern

Yuncheng, Shanxi Yuncheng is the southernmost prefecture-level city in Shanxi province, People's Republic of China. It borders Linfen and Jincheng municipalities to the north and east, and Henan (Luoyang and Jiyuan to the east, Sanmenxia to the south) and Shaan ...

), as well as the mayor of its capital Hezhong Municipality. In 844, he was made the military governor of Hedong Circuit (河東, headquartered in modern

Taiyuan Taiyuan (; ; ; Mandarin pronunciation: ; also known as (), ()) is the capital and largest city of Shanxi Province, People's Republic of China. Taiyuan is the political, economic, cultural and international exchange center of Shanxi Province. ...

Shanxi Shanxi (; ; formerly romanised as Shansi) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China and is part of the North China region. The capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-lev ...

), as well as the mayor of its capital Taiyuan Municipality. In 846, he was recalled to the capital

Chang'an Chang'an (; ) is the traditional name of Xi'an. The site had been settled since Neolithic times, during which the Yangshao culture was established in Banpo, in the city's suburbs. Furthermore, in the northern vicinity of modern Xi'an, Qin Shi ...

to serve as the minister of justice (刑部尚書, ''Xingbu Shangshu'').

During Emperor Xuānzong's reign

Emperor Wuzong died in 846 and was succeeded by his uncle Emperor Xuānzong. Thereafter, in 847, Cui Yuanshi was made the director of finances, and then further made ''Menxia Shilang'' (門下侍郎), the deputy head of the examination bureau of government (門下省, ''Menxia Sheng''), as well as chancellor ''de facto'' with the designation ''Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi'' (同中書門下平章事). In 848, Cui was removed from his chancellor position and made the minister of census (戶部尚書, ''Hubu Shangshu''), due to illness. He died thereafter, and was given posthumous honors and the

posthumous name A posthumous name is an honorary name given mostly to the notable dead in East Asian culture. It is predominantly practiced in East Asian countries such as China, Korea, Vietnam, Japan, and Thailand. Reflecting on the person's accomplishments or ...

of ''Zhuang'' (莊, "prevailing").

Notes and references

* ''

'', vol. 163. * ''

'', vol. 160. * ''

'', vols. 247,

248 __NOTOC__ Year 248 ( CCXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Philippus and Severus (or, less frequently, year 1001 '' ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Cui Yuanshi 848 deaths Chancellors under Emperor Xuānzong of Tang Tang dynasty jiedushi of Hezhong Circuit Tang dynasty jiedushi of Hedong Circuit Mayors of Taiyuan Year of birth unknown Cui clan of Boling