Cui Lin
Cui Lin | |
|---|---|
| 崔林 | |
You Province (幽州刺史) | |
| In office 220–? | |
| Monarch | Cao Pi |
| Master of Writing (尚書) | |
| In office 220–? | |
| Monarch | Cao Pi |
| Palace Assistant Imperial Clerk (御史中丞) | |
| In office 213–220 | |
| Monarch | Emperor Xian of Han |
| Chancellor | Cao Cao |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Unknown Cui family of Qinghe |
| Children |
|
| Occupation | Politician |
| Courtesy name | Deru (德儒) |
| Posthumous name | Marquis Xiao (孝侯) |
| Peerage | Marquis of Anyang District (安陽鄉侯) |
Cui Lin (died January or February 245),
Service under Cao Cao
Although Cui Lin was a member of the influential
Zhang Zhi (張陟), the inspector of
In 213, Cao Cao was enfeoffed as the Duke of Wei (魏公), and Cui Lin was promoted to Palace Assistant Imperial Clerk (御史中丞), a powerful position overseeing correspondence from the provincial inspectors and their subordinates. When
As Minister Herald
From the Administrator of Hejian Commandery, Cui Lin rose to the position of Minister Herald, in charge of interstate affairs with foreign dependencies. In 222,[4] while Cui Lin occupied this post, the King of Kucha sent a son to study under and be sinicised by the Wei court, which richly rewarded the king for sending his son such a long way. Sensing opportunity, the other border states each sent a prince to study at the Wei court. Cui Lin feared some of the envoys sent to collect their princes' ransoms were unreliable, so he stamped and sealed their rewards and attached to their return missions groups of mercantile border people who guarded the treasure the entire road back.[5]
At Dunhuang, Cui Lin had the imperial decrees promulgated, and engraved important stories from Chinese history to ensure their endurance. In 226, Cao Rui granted Cui Lin the landless title of a Secondary Marquis, and promoted him to Minister of the Household (光祿勳)[6] and Colonel-Director of Retainers, one of the Three Venerables (三獨坐).
Late career
As Colonel-Director of Retainers, Cui Lin wielded supervisory power over officials in and around the capital region. In the areas he controlled, he fired all government officials who had engaged in illegal conduct or committed multiple transgressions. He enforced honesty in governance, streamlined process, and protected the body politic, earning him lasting acclaim.[5] A future Colonel-Director of Retainers under Cao Fang, Wang Jing, was a farmer from the same commandery as Cui Lin, whom Cui Lin plucked from obscurity out of an infantry squad.[7]
In 238, following a strong recommendation from the imperial adviser Meng Kang (
See also
Notes
- ^ a b c Cao Fang's biography in the Sanguozhi recorded that Cui Lin died in the 12th month of the 5th year of the Zhengshi era of Cao Fang's reign.[1] This month corresponds to 15 January to 13 February 245 in the Gregorian calendar.
- ^ Hejian Commandery had, in different points in its history, been classified as a commandery or a state; during the early Cao Wei dynasty it was a commandery, encompassing an area somewhat greater than present-day Hejian City in Cangzhou, Hebei.
References
- ^ ([正始五年]十二月，司空崔林薨。) Sanguozhi vol. 4.
- ^ a b c d Records of the Three Kingdoms, 24.679
- ^ Records of the Three Kingdoms, 24.680 n 2
- ^ Records of the Three Kingdoms, 2.79
- ^ a b Records of the Three Kingdoms, 24.680
- ^ At the point in time when it was conferred upon Cui Lin, the title Minister of the Household (光祿勳) was in the process of becoming a purely honorary title. See Hucker, 288, at 3347.
- ^ a b Records of the Three Kingdoms, 24.682 n 1
- ^ Records of the Three Kingdoms, 24.681
- Chen Shou. 三國志 (Records of the Three Kingdoms), 280s or 290s. Pei Songzhi. annotation, 429. Hong Kong: Zhonghua Publishing, 1971. 5 vols.
- Hucker, Charles O. (1985). Dictionary of Official Titles of Imperial China. Stanford: Stanford University Press.