Cui Zao (崔造) (737 – October 25, 787),
courtesy name
A courtesy name (), also known as a style name, is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to one's given name. This practice is a tradition in the East Asian cultural sphere, including China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.Ulrich Theobald ...
Xuanzai (玄宰), was a Chinese economist, military general, and politician during the
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 a
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 Dezong. During his chancellorship, he tried to reform the taxation system, but his reforms were opposed by
Han Huang
Han Huang () (723 – March 17, 787), courtesy name Taichong (太沖), formally Duke Zhongsu of Jin (晉忠肅公), was a Chinese economist and politician of the Tang dynasty, serving as a chancellor during the reign of the Emperor Dezong. He was ...
and soon reversed.
Background
Cui Zao was born in 737, during the reign of
Emperor Xuanzong. His family was from "the second 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 ...
. Cui's immediate male ancestors — great-grandfather Cui Shaorui (崔紹睿), grandfather Cui Ding (崔頂), and father Cui Shengzhi (崔昇之) — however, did not reach offices any higher than county magistrate or sheriff positions. Cui Zao had at least two brothers, an elder brother named Cui Lin (崔遴), who served as a county secretary general, and a younger brother named Cui Shu (崔述), who served as a prefectural prefect.
When Cui Zao was young, he was said to be studious. During the ''Yongtai'' era (765-766) of Emperor Xuanzong's grandson
Emperor Daizong, Cui lived at Shangyuan (上元, in modern
Nanjing
Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...
,
Jiangsu
Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, Postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an Eastern China, eastern coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is o ...
), and he had three close friends, Han Hui (韓會), Lu Dongmei (盧東美), and Zhang Zhengze (張正則). The four all were not native to Shangyuan, and they often met to discuss their views on economics. They also all had ambitions to serve the emperor, and the people at the time referred to them as the Four
Kui. He was later invited by Li Qiyun (李栖筠) the governor of Zhexi Circuit (浙西, headquartered in modern
Zhenjiang
Zhenjiang, alternately romanized as Chinkiang, is a prefecture-level city in Jiangsu Province, China. It lies on the southern bank of the Yangtze River near its intersection with the Grand Canal. It is opposite Yangzhou (to its north) and b ...
,
Jiangsu
Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, Postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an Eastern China, eastern coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is o ...
) to serve on Li's staff.
[As Li Qiyun was governor of Zhexi Circuit from 768 to 771, Cui's service under him must have during that time. See ''Old Book of Tang'']
vol. 11
. Cui later served as ''Zuosi Yuanwailang'' (左司員外郎), a low-level official under one of the Secretaries General of the executive bureau of government (尚書省, ''Shangshu Sheng''). While serving thus, he became friendly with the senior official
Liu Yan.
[''Old Book of Tang'']
vol. 130
.
During Emperor Dezong's reign
In 780, during the reign of Emperor Daizong's son
Emperor Dezong, Liu Yan was demoted and then killed after false accusations by
Yang Yan and Yu Zhun (庾準). Cui Zao, as an associate of Liu's, was demoted to be the secretary general of Xin Prefecture (信州, in modern
Shangrao
Shangrao () is a medium-sized prefecture-level city located in the northeast of Jiangxi province, People's Republic of China. The city borders the province of Anhui to the north, the province of Zhejiang to the east, and the province of Fujian to t ...
,
Jiangxi
Jiangxi (; ; formerly romanized as Kiangsi or Chianghsi) is a landlocked province in the east of the People's Republic of China. Its major cities include Nanchang and Jiujiang. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze river in the north int ...
). As of 783, when Emperor Dezong was forced to flee from 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 Fengtian (奉天, in modern
Xianyang
Xianyang () is a prefecture-level city in central Shaanxi province, situated on the Wei River a few kilometers upstream (west) from the provincial capital of Xi'an. Once the capital of the Qin dynasty, it is now integrated into the Xi'an metrop ...
,
Shaanxi
Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see #Name, § Name) is a landlocked Provinces of China, province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichu ...
), due to a rebellion led by
Zhu Ci
Zhu Ci (; 742–784) was a Chinese military general, monarch, and rebel during the Tang dynasty. He initially served as military governor (''Jiedushi'') of Lulong Circuit (盧龍, headquartered in modern Beijing), but later became a general ...
, Cui was serving as the prefect of Jian Prefecture (建州, in modern
Nanping
Nanping (), historically known as Yanping (), is a third-tier prefecture-level city in northwestern Fujian Province, People's Republic of China. It borders Ningde to the east, Sanming to the south, and the provinces of Zhejiang and Jiangxi to th ...
,
Fujian
Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capi ...
). He sent a declaration to the nearby prefectures, asking them to raise troops together to aid the emperor. He then himself took 2,000 troops from his prefecture and headed toward Fengtian. Emperor Dezong heard this and praised him. After Tang forces recaptured Chang'an in 784, he summoned Cui to Chang'an, but Cui, because his uncle Yuan Xiu (源休) had been a major contributor to Zhu's rebellion and had been executed, did not dare to head to Chang'an immediately; instead, he submitted a petition asking for punishment. Emperor Dezong, believing that he was acting appropriately, issued an edict praising and consoling him, and he made Cui ''Libu Langzhong'' (吏部郎中), a mid-level official at the ministry of the civil service affairs (吏部, ''Lìbu''), as well as imperial attendant (給事中, ''Jishizhong'').
[
In 786, Emperor Dezong, believing Cui to be brave and capable, gave Cui the designation ''Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi'' (同中書門下平章事), making him a ]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 ...
''de facto'', along with Liu Zi Liu Zi (劉滋) (729 – November 19, 794), courtesy name Gongmao (公茂), was an official of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty, briefly serving as a chancellor during the reign of Emperor Dezong.
Background
Liu Zi was born in 729, during the rei ...
and Qi Ying
Qi Ying (齊映) (748 – August 15, 795'' Old Book of Tang''vol. 13.), formally Baron Zhong of Hejian (河間忠男), was a Chinese politician, serving as a chancellor during the reign of Emperor Dezong.
Background
Qi Ying was born in 748, d ...
. As Emperor Dezong favored Cui's talent, both Liu and Qi yielded most of the responsibilities to Cui. Cui, during the time that he was living in the Yangtze River
The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest list of rivers of Asia, river in Asia, the list of rivers by length, third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in th ...
region, had long despised the institution of having various special directors for financial matters, believing the officials given those positions to be generally corrupt, so he advocated abolishing the director positions in charge of tax collection and transportation of food supplies. He advocated, and Emperor Dezong agreed, to have the tax collection responsibilities given to the local governors and prefects, and that the remaining financial responsibilities be returned to the executive bureau of government (尚書省, ''Shangshu Sheng''). Further, the chancellors were put in charge of the six ministries of the executive bureau directly — with Cui himself in charge of the ministries of census (戶部, ''Hubu'') and public works (工部, ''Gongbu''); Qi in charge of the ministry of defense (兵部, ''Bingbu''); Liu in charge of the ministries of civil service affairs and rites (禮部, ''Lǐbu'', note different tone than the ministry of civil service affairs); and Li Mian
Li Mian (; 717 – September 14, 788), courtesy name Xuanqing (玄卿), formally Duke Zhenjian of Qian (汧貞簡公), was a Chinese judge, military general, musician, poet, and politician during the Tang Dynasty, serving as a chancellor of Tang D ...
in charge of the ministry of justice (刑部, ''Xingbu''). Further, under Cui's recommendation, his friend Yuan Xiu (元琇, note different characters than Cui's uncle) was put in charge of the salt, iron, and wine monopolies, while Ji Zhongfu (吉中孚) was put in charge of the collected taxes.['']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. 232.
Han Huang
Han Huang () (723 – March 17, 787), courtesy name Taichong (太沖), formally Duke Zhongsu of Jin (晉忠肅公), was a Chinese economist and politician of the Tang dynasty, serving as a chancellor during the reign of the Emperor Dezong. He was ...
, the military governor (''Jiedushi
The ''jiedushi'' (), or jiedu, was a title for regional military governors in China which was established in the Tang dynasty and abolished in the Yuan dynasty. The post of ''jiedushi'' has been translated as "military commissioner", "legate", ...
'') of Zhenhai Circuit (鎮海, headquartered in modern Zhenjiang), on whom the imperial government relied on for food supplies at the time since there was a major famine in the Chang'an region, however, opposed these changes. To placate Han, Emperor Dezong did not abolish the office of director of Yangtze-Huai River
The Huai River (), Postal Map Romanization, formerly romanization of Chinese, romanized as the Hwai, is a major river in China. It is located about midway between the Yellow River and Yangtze, the two longest rivers and largest drainage basins ...
transportation and gave that office to Han as well. Yuan requested that the responsibilities be divided — that Han be in charge of the transportation south of the Yangtze, and Yuan be in charge of the transportation north of the Yangtze. Han was not pleased, however, and submitted petitions attacking Yuan's handling of the monopolies. Emperor Dezong thus removed Yuan from his financial responsibilities and made him a secretary general of the executive bureau. When a large amount of food shipment arrived from Zhenhai to Chang'an in fall 786, Emperor Dezong was very pleased with Han and gave him the additional offices as directors of the monopolies and taxes. Further, it was popular opinion at the time that while Cui's idea to return to earlier Tang regulations might have been a good one in peace, given the desperate state the empire was in at the time after years of warfare, the director positions needed to be maintained. In addition, with Yuan no longer overseeing the monopolies, Cui himself was unable to figure out financial matters and became so distressed that he fell ill. Around new year 787, with Han advocating and Emperor Dezong agreeing that the various changes that Yuan and Cui instituted needed to be reversed, Emperor Dezong removed Cui from his chancellor post and made him a member of the staff of his crown prince
A crown prince or hereditary prince is the heir apparent to the throne in a royal or imperial monarchy. The female form of the title is crown princess, which may refer either to an heiress apparent or, especially in earlier times, to the wif ...
Li Song. Cui died in fall 787.[
]
Notes and references
* ''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. 130
* ''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. 150
* ''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. 232.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cui Zao
737 births
787 deaths
Chancellors under Emperor Dezong of Tang
Cui clan of Boling
Tang dynasty economists
Tang dynasty generals
Tang dynasty politicians