Cui Yuzhi

Life

In the first year of Shaoxi (1190), he entered the National Academy as a student; in the fourth year (1193), he earned the jinshi degree and received his first appointment as Judicial Registrar of Xunzhou. He subsequently served as Legal Clerk in the Huaixi Judicial Commission, magistrate of Xincheng (also given as Jianchang County), Assistant Prefect of Yongzhou, magistrate of Binzhou, and Inspector of Criminal Justice for Guangxi. His service was credited with administrative achievements; as Inspector of Criminal Justice for Guangxi, he rewarded the incorrupt, impeached the corrupt, discontinued harmful practices, and displayed an imposing bearing.

In the sixth year of Jiading (1213), he was summoned as an Assistant Director in the Finance Section; in the seventh year (1214), he became governor of Yangzhou and Pacification Commissioner for Huai-East. At Yangzhou, he dredged the city moats, established five fortified camps, and organized loyal militia to resist the Jin; Jin forces penetrated deeply but achieved no success.

In the twelfth year of Jiading (1219), he was summoned as Director of the Palace Library and Lecturer to the Heir Apparent, acting Vice Minister of Works, and then sent out as governor of Chengdu and Pacification Commissioner for Sichuan; in the fourteenth year (1221), he became Military Commissioner for Sichuan. In Chengdu and Sichuan he strengthened frontier defenses and reassured the troops, after which the Jin did not dare to attack; the people of Shu compared him with Zhang Yong and Zhao Bian, calling the three the “Three Worthies,” and built shrines in their honor. He was later transferred to govern Tanzhou and Longxing, but declined to take up the posts and instead received a sinecure.

In the seventeenth year of Jiading (1224), he was summoned as Minister of Rites, but declined and returned to Guang. After Lizong took the throne, one account says that he supervised palace establishments, while another says that he declined repeated appointments. In the second year of Duanping (1235), he became governor of Guangzhou and Guangdong Pacification Commissioner. He was soon appointed Vice Chief Councillor and Right Chancellor, but declined both posts because of age and illness; he repeatedly submitted memorials discussing which policies should be halted or implemented and which talents should be appointed or dismissed.

In the third year of Jiaxi (1239), he retired as Grand Academician of the Guanwen Hall and died at the age of eighty-two. He was posthumously granted the title of Grand Tutor, ennobled as Duke of Nanhai, and given the posthumous name Qingxian.

Family and associations

His father was Cui Shiming and his son was Cui Sui. His associates included Wang Lü and Tan Kai; Tan Kai was unmoved by worldly splendor, declined to sit for the examinations after reaching his twenties, and was praised by Cui Yuzhi for his worth, after which Yang Changru, the prefect of Guang, recommended him on Cui Yuzhi’s recommendation. Zeng Shizhuo and Huang Yong studied under Cui Yuzhi; he also recommended Song Xu, Wu Chunchen, and Wen Ruochun, valuing Wen Ruochun’s learning and conduct and recommending him to the court. Liu Kezhuang and Li Angying composed funerary texts for him, and Li Angying also wrote the Biography of Cui Qingxian.

Works and posthumous legacy

His collected works are represented by the titles “Cui Qingxian gong ji” and “Jupo ji”; the catalogue also lists “Jupo ji (Cui Yuzhi)”. The collection was compiled by later editors, and one volume of his poetry survives. A later compilation, “Song Chancellor Cui Qingxian gong quan lu,” was likewise produced by later editors.