Cui Zhaowei

Cui Zhaowei (崔昭緯) (d. 896), courtesy name Yunyao (蘊曜), was an official of the Chinese Tang dynasty, who served as a chancellor during the reign of Emperor Zhaozong. According to traditional histories, he was disloyal to Emperor Zhaozong and manipulated the court scene by conspiring with the eunuchs and the warlords Li Maozhen the military governor of Fengxiang Circuit (鳳翔, headquartered in modern Baoji, Shaanxi) and Wang Xingyu the military governor of Jingnan Circuit (靜難, headquartered in modern Xianyang, Shaanxi). After Li Keyong the military governor of Hedong Circuit (河東, headquartered in modern Taiyuan, Shanxi) defeated Wang and forced LI Maozhen into submission, Emperor Zhaozong exiled Cui and later had him executed.

Background It is not known when Cui Zhaowei was born. His biographies in the Old Book of Tang and the New Book of Tang both indicate that he was from the prominent Cui clan of Qinghe, which was descended from the Spring and Autumn period state Qi; and the table of the chancellors' family trees in the New Book of Tang further traced him specifically to the "Southern Ancestor" branch of the clan, which included officials of Han dynasty, Cao Wei, Jin dynasty (266–420), Later Zhao, Liu Song, Northern Wei, Northern Qi, Northern Zhou, and Tang dynasty. According to Cui Zhaowei's biography in the Old Book of Tang, his grandfather Cui Bi (崔庇) served as a county sheriff, while his father Cui Yan (崔巘) served as the governor of Eyue Circuit (鄂岳, headquartered in modern Wuhan, Hubei),

As chancellor It was said that, as a chancellor, Cui Zhaowei was treacherous and jealous of others with seniority or ability. He formed alliances with eunuchs and nearby warlords to further enhance his power at the imperial court. It was said that from this point on, Emperor Zhaozong could no longer rule independently of Li Maozhen and Wang, due to the close connection between Cui and the two warlords — in particular, if there were any proposals by other chancellors that Cui opposed, Cui would have his clansman Cui Ting (崔鋌), who served on Wang's staff, inform Wang, and have Wang Chao (王超), who served on Li Maozhen's staff, inform Li Maozhen. The two warlords would then submit petitions opposing the proposals, and if Emperor Zhaozong even hesitated at rescinding the proposals, they would next submit petitions threatening the emperor.

In reaction to Li Xi's and Wei's deaths, Li Keyong launched an army and headed for Chang'an, preparing to attack Li Maozhen, Wang Xingyu, and Han. Subsequently, a rift developed between Li Maozhen and Wang, as both wanted to take Emperor Zhaozong to his circuit. Emperor Zhaozong, knowing that they wanted to seize him, instead fled into the Qinling Mountains. Cui, as well as the other chancellors Xu and Wang Tuan, followed. Meanwhile, Li Keyong defeated Li Maozhen and Wang Xingyu, and subsequently put Wang's capital Bin Prefecture (邠州) under siege. Wang tried to flee out of the siege, but was killed by his own subordinates in flight. In fear, Li Maozhen and Han outward submitted to the imperial government, and Emperor Zhaozong, who also did not want Li Keyong to grow overly strong, ordered Li Keyong to end his campaign against Li Maozhen. Still, for the time being, Cui had lost his warlord allies, and, after Emperor Zhaozong returned to Chang'an, Cui was stripped of his chancellorship and made You Pushe (右僕射), one of the heads of the executive bureau (尚書省, Shangshu Sheng), but no longer chancellor.

Exile and death Shortly after Cui Zhaowei was stripped of his chancellorship, Emperor Zhaozong further exiled him to be the military advisor to the prefect of Wu Prefecture (梧州, in modern Wuzhou, Guangxi). On the way to exile, Cui wrote Zhu Quanzhong, hoping that Zhu would intercede on his behalf. Instead, Emperor Zhaozong issued an edict ordering Cui to commit suicide. The eunuch delivering the edict intercepted Cui at Jingnan Circuit (荊南, headquartered in modern Jingzhou, Hubei, not the same circuit that Wang Xingyu ruled) and had him beheaded.

Notes and references

Old Book of Tang, vol. 179. New Book of Tang, vol. 223, part 2. Zizhi Tongjian, vols. 258, 259, 260.