Cui Qun (崔群) (772 – August 30, 832''

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 Kingd ...

'', vol. 17, part 2.),

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 Theo ...

Dunshi (敦詩), was an official of the Chinese dynasty

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 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 Xianzong.

Background

Cui Qun was born in 772, during the reign of

Emperor Daizong Emperor Daizong of Tang (9 January 727 According to Daizong's biography in the '' Old Book of Tang'', he was born on the 13th day in the 12th month of the 14th year of the Kaiyuan era of Tang Xuanzong's reign. This date corresponds to 9 Jan 727 ...

.''Old Book of Tang'', vol. 159. His family was from Bei Prefecture (貝州, in modern Xingtai,

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, and ...

)''

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. 165. and traced its ancestry to a line of officials of

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

Middle Chinese

: *''ŋjwei^C'' < Liu Song,

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 dynasties, it ruled northern China from 386 to 535 during t ...

, and

. His grandfather Cui Chao () served as a prefectural prefect, while his father Cui Ji () served as a supervisorial official in the central government. His family was a cadet branch of the Cui clan of Qinghe. In 790, during the reign of Emperor Daizong's son Emperor Dezong, when Cui Qun was 18, he 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 class of those with policy proposals. He was initially made ''Xiaoshu Lang'' (), a copyeditor at the

Palace Library The Palace Library (; in Vietnam: 秘書所, ''Bí thư sở'') was a central government agency in monarchical China, Korea, and Vietnam generally in charge of maintaining and archiving the collection of the monarch's documents. China The off ...

, and later was made ''You Bujue'' (), a consultant at the legislative bureau of government (中書省, ''Zhongshu Sheng'').

During Emperor Xianzong's reign

Early in the ''Yuanhe'' era (805-821) of Emperor Dezong's grandson Emperor Xianzong, Cui Qun was made ''Hanlin Xueshi'' (), an imperial scholar. In 810, when the official Yuan Zhen was exiled after a conflict with a

eunuch A eunuch ( ) is a male who has been castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. The earliest records for intentional castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 2nd millenni ...

, Cui and his imperial scholar colleagues Li Jiang and

Bai Juyi Bai Juyi (also Bo Juyi or Po Chü-i; ; 772–846), courtesy name Letian (樂天), was a renowned Chinese poet and Tang dynasty government official. Many of his poems concern his career or observations made about everyday life, including as g ...

tried to defend Yuan, but they were not listened to. Emperor Xianzong appreciated Cui for his honesty, and in 812, when Cui also carried the title of ''Kubu Langzhong'' (), a supervisorial official at the ministry of defense (兵部, ''Bingbu''), he was promoted to be ''Zhongshu Sheren'' (), a mid-level official at the legislative bureau, but continued to serve as imperial scholar as well. Emperor Xianzong also ordered that, when the other imperial scholars were to submit suggestions, they were to have Cui cosign the petition. Cui, however, opposed this order, pointing out that imperial scholars were to provide advice to the emperor, and that creating this precedent may cause the ability of the imperial scholars to do so be impeded in the future. Emperor Xianzong agreed and rescinded the order.''

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. 238. After Emperor Xianzong's first

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 w ...

Li Ning died in 812, Emperor Xianzong was set to create his son Li You the Prince of Sui, a son of his wife Consort Guo crown prince, but as another son born of a

concubine Concubinage is an interpersonal and sexual relationship between a man and a woman in which the couple does not want, or cannot enter into a full marriage. Concubinage and marriage are often regarded as similar but mutually exclusive. Concubi ...

, Li Kuan () the Prince of Li, was older and had his own supporters among the eunuchs, he had Cui draft a petition in Li Kuan's name offering to yield the crown prince position to Li You. Cui pointed out that to "yield" a position implied an otherwise-entitlement to the position and that, Li You, as the son of a wife, had precedence over a son of a concubine by

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 religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or ...

principles. Emperor Xianzong agreed and did not have Cui draft such a petition for Li Kuan before creating Li You crown prince (and changing Li You's name to Li Heng). Around the same time, the warlord Tian Ji'an, 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 Weibo Circuit (魏博, headquartered in modern

Handan Handan is a prefecture-level city located in the southwest of Hebei province, China. The southernmost prefecture-level city of the province, it borders Xingtai on the north, and the provinces of Shanxi on the west, Henan on the south and Shan ...

), submitted a tribute of silk in the name of assisting with the rebuilding of Kaiye Temple (). Cui considered the tribute to be improper and advised Emperor Xianzong to decline it, and Emperor Xianzong agreed. Cui often made suggestions that Emperor Xianzong found agreeable and therefore were often accepted by Emperor Xianzong. He was subsequently made the deputy minister of rites (禮部侍郎, ''Lǐbu Shilang''), and in that capacity was said to be fair and proper in his selection of imperial examinees. He was later made the deputy minister of census (戶部侍郎, ''Hubu Shilang''). In 817, when the

Pei Du left 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 ...

to oversee the campaign against the warlord Wu Yuanji, Cui was made ''Zhongshu Shilang'' (), the deputy head of the legislative bureau, as well as chancellor ''de facto'' with the title ''Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi'' (). Later that year, when Emperor Xianzong was set to make his close associate Zhang Su () a high-level consultant, Cui and fellow chancellor Wang Ya opposed, but Emperor Xianzong disagreed with them, only agreeing them when they, as a compromise, had Zhang made an ''acting'' consultant. Still, Zhang, as a result, resented the chancellors, and attacked them along with another close associate of Emperor Xianzong's,

Huangfu Bo Huangfu Bo (皇甫鎛) (died 820) was a Chinese economist and politician. He served as an official of the Chinese Tang Dynasty, serving as a chancellor during the reign of Emperor Xianzong. He was viewed by traditional historians as a wicked offici ...

.''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 240. In 818, by which time the campaign against Wu had been concluded successfully, Emperor Xianzong made Huangfu and Cheng Yi, both of whom had received favor from him for extracting wealth from the people, chancellors, over the strenuous objections of both Cui and Pei (who was back in Chang'an by this point to serve as chancellor again). Later in the year, when the eunuch Yang Chaowen () arrested over 1,000 people for owing money to the imperial palace, the deputy chief imperial censor Xiao Mian accused Yang for false arrests, and with Pei and Cui supporting Xiao in his accusation, Emperor Xianzong ordered Yang to commit suicide and released the people Yang arrested. In 819, when the deputy minister of justice

Han Yu Han Yu (; 76825 December 824), courtesy name Tuizhi (), and commonly known by his posthumous name Han Wengong (韓文公), was a Chinese essayist, poet, philosopher, and politician during the Tang dynasty who significantly influenced the devel ...

submitted a fervently-worded petition urging Emperor Xianzong not to carry out a grand ceremony to receive a bone, purportedly of a finger of

Gautama Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in L ...

, into the palace, and Emperor Xianzong, in anger, wanted to put Han to death, it was Pei's and Cui's intercession that Han was merely exiled to serve as a prefectural prefect. Later that year, there was an occasion when Emperor Xianzong asked the chancellors why the reign of his ancestor Emperor Xuanzong started out well but ended in disaster. Cui pointed out that initially, Emperor Xuanzong trusted such chancellors as Yao Chong, Song Jing,

Lu Huaishen Lu Huaishen (盧懷慎; died December 11, 716), formally Count Wencheng of Yuyang (魚陽文成伯), was an official of the Chinese Tang dynasty and Wu Zetian's Zhou (Wu Zhou) dynasty, serving as a chancellor during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong. ...

Su Ting Su Ting (蘇頲; 680 – July 31, 737), courtesy name Tingshuo (廷碩),According to the biographies of Su Ting's father Su Gui in the ''Old Book of Tang'' and the ''New Book of Tang'', Su Gui's courtesy name was Changrong (昌容), but according to ...

Han Xiu Han Xiu () (672–739), courtesy name Liangshi (良士),''New Book of Tang'', vol. 73. formally Viscount Wenzhong of Yiyang (宜陽文忠子), was a Chinese politician during the Tang Dynasty, briefly serving as chancellor during the reign of Empero ...

, and Zhang Jiuling, but late in the reign trusted such chancellors as

Yuwen Rong Yuwen Rong () (d. 730 or 731) was a Tang dynasty politician, serving as a chancellor for 100 days during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong. He was said to be the first official during Emperor Xuanzong's reign who became powerful on account of his abi ...

, Li Linfu, and Yang Guozhong, and that it was his poor selection of chancellors at the end that led to the disaster. It was said that because this comment was viewed as directed at Huangfu, Huangfu much resented Cui for the comment.''Zizhi Tongjian'', vol. 241. Around that time, after the warlord Li Shidao was killed after an imperial campaign against him, Emperor Xianzong asked for opinions on how to deal with Li Shidao's sister-in-law Lady Pei (the wife of Li Shidao's brother and predecessor

Li Shigu Li Shigu (; 778 – July 19, 806) was a Chinese military general and politician of the Tang dynasty, who, as the military governor (''Jiedushi'') of Pinglu Circuit (平盧, headquartered in modern Tai'an, Shandong), ruled the circuit in a ''de fac ...

), as well as the wife and children of another previously killed rebel, Li Zongshi (). Cui advocated lenience, and as a result, Emperor Xianzong released Lady Pei and her daughter Li Yiniang () as well as Li Zongshi's wife Lady Wei and children. Also at Cui's urging, the official Quan Changru (), who had been sentenced to death after receiving bribes but whose mother Lady Liu had made earnest pleas to the chancellors for his life, was exiled and not executed. It was said in the ''

'' that Cui's nature was merciful and that these actions were in accordance. Huangfu, meanwhile, struck back at Cui later in 819. Earlier in the year, the officials had offered Emperor Xianzong the honorary title of Emperor Yuanhe Shengwen Shenwu Fatian Yingdao (). Huangfu initially wanted two additional characters — Xiaode (孝德, "filial and virtuous"). Cui opined, "Sheng 聖)encompassed filial piety", and therefore did not include them. Huangfu thus told Emperor Xianzong, "Cui did not want Your Imperial Majesty to have the characters 'Xiaode'." At that time, the troops sent to the borders with Tufan were receiving supplies of poor quality and were so displeased that they were on the verge of mutiny — so much so that their commander, the general Li Guangyan, was so distressed to consider suicide. Li Guangyan reported this to Emperor Xianzong, but Huangfu informed Emperor Xianzong that there was nothing wrong with the supplies and that it was Cui who encouraged the soldiers to complain. Emperor Xianzong believed Huangfu, and around the new year 820, Cui was sent out of the capital to serve as 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, and ...

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, Jiangx ...

). It was said that because of this action, the people hated Huangfu.

During Emperor Muzong's and Emperor Jingzong's reigns

In 820, after Emperor Xianzong died and was succeeded by Li Heng (as Emperor Muzong), Emperor Muzong recalled Cui Qun to serve as the deputy minister of civil service affairs (吏部侍郎, ''Lìbu Shilang'', note different tone than the deputy minister of rites). When Emperor Muzong summoned him for an audience, Emperor Muzong stated to him, "I know that you had served as my wings in my rise to be crown prince." Cui, however, responded, "The late emperor's favor had long been on Your Imperial Majesty. I did not do anything." Cui was soon made the chief imperial censor (御史大夫, ''Yushi Daifu''), and later in the year was made the military governor of Wuning Circuit (武寧, headquartered in modern

Xuzhou Xuzhou (徐州), also known as Pengcheng (彭城) in ancient times, is a major city in northwestern Jiangsu province, China. The city, with a recorded population of 9,083,790 at the 2020 census (3,135,660 of which lived in the built-up area ma ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with it ...

). By 822, the imperial forces were waging campaigns against the rebels Wang Tingcou and Zhu Kerong, who had seized Chengde (成德, headquartered in modern

Shijiazhuang Shijiazhuang (; ; Mandarin: ), formerly known as Shimen and romanized as Shihkiachwang, is the capital and most populous city of China’s North China's Hebei Province. Administratively a prefecture-level city, it is about southwest of Beijin ...

) and Lulong (盧龍, headquartered in modern

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), Chinese postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the Capital city, capital of the China, People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's Li ...

) Circuits, respectively. Cui's deputy military governor

Wang Zhixing Wang Zhixing (758– August 21, 836),Academia Sinicabr>Chinese-Western Calendar Converter./ref>''Old Book of Tang'', vol. 17, part 2. courtesy name Kuangjian and formally the Prince of Yanmen, was a general of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty. ...

was then commanding the Wuning troops at the front. Cui was apprehensive of Wang Zhixing, as Wang Zhixing had the support of the soldiers, and he petitioned that Wang Zhixing be given the military governorship of another circuit or be summoned to Chang'an to be given a position in the imperial government. Emperor Muzong did neither, but Wang Zhixing discovered this and felt that he no longer had Cui's trust. After Emperor Muzong ended the campaigns against Wang Tingcou and Zhu in 822, Wang Zhixing took the Wuning troops back to Wuning and forcibly entered the headquarters, effectively taking Cui and his staff as hostage, although he still treated them with respect but had them escorted out of the circuit, back to Chang'an, while taking over control of the circuit himself. The imperial government, blaming Cui for losing the circuit to Wang Zhixing, gave Cui the office of ''Mishu Jian'' (), the deputy director of the archival bureau, but had him report to the eastern capital

Luoyang Luoyang is a city located in the confluence area of Luo River and Yellow River in the west of Henan province. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the southeast, Nanyan ...

rather than Chang'an. He was later made the prefect of Hua Prefecture (華州, in modern

Weinan Weinan () is a prefecture-level city in the east central Shaanxi province, China. The city lies on the lower section of the Wei River confluence into the Yellow River, about east of the provincial capital Xi'an, and borders the provinces of S ...

Shaanxi Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see § Name) is a landlocked province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichuan (SW), Gansu (W), N ...

), and yet later made the governor of Xuanshe Circuit (宣歙, headquartered in modern

Xuancheng Xuancheng () is a city in the southeast of Anhui province. Archeological digs suggest that the city has been settled for over 4,000 years, and has been under formal administration since the Qin dynasty. Located in the lower Yangtze River drainage ...

Anhui Anhui , (; formerly romanized as Anhwei) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the East China region. Its provincial capital and largest city is Hefei. The province is located across the basins of the Yangtze Riv ...

) as well as the prefect of its capital Xuan Prefecture ().

During Emperor Wenzong's reign

In 827, by which time Emperor Muzong's son Emperor Wenzong was emperor, Cui Qun was recalled to serve as the minister of defense (兵部尚書, ''Bingbu Shangshu''). In 829, he was made the military governor of Jingnan Circuit (荊南, headquartered in modern

Jingzhou Jingzhou () is a prefecture-level city in southern Hubei province, China, located on the banks of the Yangtze River. Its total residential population was 5,231,180 based on the 2020 census, 1,068,291 of whom resided in the built-up (''or metro' ...

Hubei Hubei (; ; alternately Hupeh) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, and is part of the Central China region. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Dongting Lake. The p ...

), as well as the mayor of its capital Jiangling Municipality.''Old Book of Tang'', vol. 17, part 1. In 830, he was recalled to Chang'an to serve as acting ''You Pushe'' (), one of the heads of the executive bureau (尚書省, ''Shangshu Sheng''), as well as the minister of worship (太常卿, ''Taichang Qing''). In 833, he was made acting ''Zuo Pushe'' (), the other head of the executive bureau, as well as the minister of civil service affairs (吏部尚書, ''Lìbu Shangshu''). He died in 834 and was given posthumous honors.

Notes and references

* ''

'' (945), vol. 159. (Compilation for the Emperor of earlier annals.) * ''

'' (1060), vol. 165. (Revision for the Emperor of the ''Old Book of Tang''.) * ''

'' (1084), vols.

238 __NOTOC__ Year 238 ( CCXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Pius and Pontianus (or, less frequently, year 991 ''Ab ...

240 __NOTOC__ Year 240 ( CCXL) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Sabinus and Venustus (or, less frequently, year 993 ''Ab u ...

, 241, 242. (Compilation for the Emperor of an history of China.) {{DEFAULTSORT:Cui Qun 772 births 832 deaths Chancellors under Emperor Xianzong of Tang Tang dynasty jiedushi of Wuning Circuit Tang dynasty jiedushi of Jingnan Circuit Mayors of Jingzhou Cui clan of Qinghe