Cui Qi (崔器) | 24 Histories

Overview

Cui Qi was an official and Judge.

Life and dates

Death

AD 760 上元元年七月
Illness · Cause leg edema turning critical; after visions of Daxi Xun 腳腫疾亟
Directly stated · Old Book of Tang 119, passages 26, 28

Attested activity

AD 760 上元元年七月
Directly stated · Old Book of Tang 119, passage 26
AD 747 天寶六載
Directly stated · Old Book of Tang 119, passage 6
AD 747 天寶六載
Dated from the passage context · Old Book of Tang 119, passages 6-7
AD 754 天寶十三年
Directly stated · Old Book of Tang 119, passage 9
AD 756 天寶十五載
Dated from the passage context · Old Book of Tang 119, passage 10

Family

Immediate relationships attested in the translated histories.

Descendant of Cui Gongli (崔恭禮)
great-grandfather 曾祖 · paternal line · 3 generations
Directly stated · Old Book of Tang 119, passage 2
Child of Cui Suran (崔肅然)
father 父 · paternal line
Directly stated · Old Book of Tang 119, passage 4

Career and standing

administrator 吏
Directly stated · Old Book of Tang 119, passage 5
Vice Minister of Revenue 戶部侍郎
Appointed · Concurrent true
Directly stated · Old Book of Tang 119, passage 14
Supervisory Censor 監察御史
AD 747 天寶六載 · Appointed
Directly stated · Old Book of Tang 119, passage 6
Magistrate of Fengxian 奉先令
AD 754 天寶十三年 · Appointed
Directly stated · Old Book of Tang 119, passage 9
Vice Director in the Ministry of Justice 都官員外郎
AD 754 天寶十三年 · Appointed
Directly stated · Old Book of Tang 119, passage 9
Commissioner of Court Ritual 禮儀使
Appointed
Directly stated · Old Book of Tang 119, passage 15

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Commissioner of the Three Offices 三司使
Appointed
Directly stated · Old Book of Tang 119, passage 16
legal aide 判官
Appointed
Directly stated · Old Book of Tang 119, passage 7
Vice Censor-in-Chief 御史中丞
Appointed
Directly stated · Old Book of Tang 119, passage 14
Warden of Wannian County 萬年尉
Appointed · From Source Date: Text: 天寶六載 · Western Year: AD 747
Directly stated · Old Book of Tang 119, passage 6
Censor-in-Chief 御史大夫
Recommended for
Directly stated · Old Book of Tang 119, passage 25
Vice Director of the Ministry of Personnel 吏部侍郎
Recommended for
Directly stated · Old Book of Tang 119, passage 25
Recorder of Jingzhao Prefecture 京兆府司錄
AD 754 天寶十三年 · Transferred
Directly stated · Old Book of Tang 119, passage 9
Entered
Exile
Directly stated · Old Book of Tang 119, passage 8

Places and affiliations

Tang 唐
Relation Served
Strongly inferred · Old Book of Tang 119, passage 1
At Anping in Shen prefecture 深州安平
Directly stated · Old Book of Tang 119, passage 1
At Anping 安平 · Relation Native of
Directly stated · Old Book of Tang 119, passage 1

Learning and skills

Earned
Credential Mingjing 明經
Directly stated · Old Book of Tang 119, passage 5

Works and attributed material

Memorial · Author · Summary proposed death for all officials who served rebels
Directly stated · Old Book of Tang 119, passage 19
Speech · Speaker · Summary Daxi pleaded and I refused
Directly stated · Old Book of Tang 119, passage 27

Events and relationships

Burned rebel credentials and summoned loyal troops
Military · Actor · At Wei River 渭上
Directly stated · Old Book of Tang 119, passage 12
Fell into rebel hands but held Fengxian
AD 756 天寶十五載 · Political · Subject · At Fengxian / Western Capital 奉先／西京
Dated from the passage context · Old Book of Tang 119, passage 10
Fled north to Lingwu
Travel · Actor · At Lingwu 靈武
Directly stated · Old Book of Tang 119, passage 13
Followed emperor to Fengxiang
Travel · Follower · With Emperor Suzong (肅宗) · At Fengxiang 鳳翔
Directly stated · Old Book of Tang 119, passage 15
Saw apparition of Daxi Xun
Medical · Subject · With Daxi Xun (達奚珣)
Directly stated · Old Book of Tang 119, passages 26-27
Staged humiliation of officials who served rebels
Legal · Protocol author · At Hanyuan Hall 含元殿
Directly stated · Old Book of Tang 119, passage 17

Show 2 more source-backed claims

Relation Friend of · Person Lü Shen (呂諲)
Directly stated · Old Book of Tang 119, passage 14
Relation Aide of · Person Song Hun (宋渾)
Directly stated · Old Book of Tang 119, passage 7

Assessments and attributes

Assessment cruel, secretive, delighted in others' ruin; ruthless · Mode historian-judgment
Directly stated · Old Book of Tang 119, passage 19
Assessment heaped severity and delighted in disaster; hidden guilt revealed by Daxi apparition · Mode historian-judgment
Directly stated · Old Book of Tang 119, passages 132, 136
Assessment upright, inflexible, little tact; scrupulous integrity · Mode historian-judgment
Directly stated · Old Book of Tang 119, passage 5

References in the histories

Search passages

History

18 passages

Old Book of Tang, Chapter 119Volume 115 Biographies 65: Cui Qi, Zhao Guozhen, Cui Guan, Jing Kuo, Wei Yuanfu, Wei Shaoyou, Wei Boyu, Li Cheng · 18 passages

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崔器，深州安平人也。 Cui Qi came from Anping in Shen prefecture.

器有吏才，性介而少通，舉明經，歷官清謹。 Qi had a gift for administration. Upright and unyielding, with little tact, he passed the Mingjing examination and served throughout with scrupulous integrity.

中丞宋渾為東畿采訪使，引器為判官； When Chief Censor Song Hun served as visiting commissioner of the Eastern Capital circuit, he took Qi on as his legal aide;

渾坐贓流貶嶺南，器亦隨貶。 when Hun was convicted of graft and exiled to Lingnan, Qi was banished along with him.

逆胡陷西京．器沒於賊，仍守奉先。 When the rebel armies seized the Western Capital, Qi was caught in occupied territory yet continued to govern Fengxian.

又渭上義兵起，一朝聚徒數萬，器懼，所受賊文牒符敕，一時焚之，榜召義師，欲應渭上軍。 Patriot militia also rose along the Wei River, and within a single morning tens of thousands had assembled. Terrified, Qi burned every rebel commission, pass, and order in his possession, posted notices calling loyal troops, and prepared to march to the Wei River army.

及渭上軍破，賊將崔乾祐先鎮蒲、同，使麾下騎三十人捉器，器遂北走靈武。 When the Wei River force was broken, the rebel general Cui Qianyou—already holding Pu and Tong—sent thirty horsemen to seize Qi, and Qi fled north to Lingwu.

器素與呂諲善，諲引為御史中丞、兼戶部侍郎。 Qi had long been close to Lü Yin, who recommended him as vice censor-in-chief and concurrent vice minister of revenue.

器草儀註，駕入城，令陷賊官立於含元殿前，露頭跣足，撫膺頓首請罪，以刀杖環衛，令扈從群官宰臣已下視之。 Qi drafted the ceremonial protocol. When the imperial procession entered the city, he had officials who had served the rebels stand before Hanyuan Hall bareheaded and barefoot, beating their breasts and kowtowing for pardon, ringed by guards with blades and staves, while every accompanying official from the chief ministers down was made to watch.

器性陰刻樂禍，殘忍寡恩，希旨奏陷賊官準律並合處死。 Qi was secretive, cruel, and delighted in others' ruin—ruthless and devoid of mercy. Currying favor, he memorialized that every official who had served the rebels deserved death under the statutes.

及聞崔器議刑太重，眾心復搖。」 When we heard that Cui Qi's proposed punishments were too harsh, our hearts wavered anew."