Cui Lin

Historical Record

Cui Lin, styled Deru, was a native of Dongwucheng in Qinghe. In his youth he was a late bloomer, and no one in his clan recognized his talent; only his elder cousin Cui Yan regarded him with special esteem^[1]. After Cao Cao pacified Jizhou, Cui Lin was conscripted as chief of Wu, and because his family was poor he even went to take up the post on foot. When Cao Cao campaigned against Huguan, he once asked which of the senior officials had the best administrative record, and Zhang Zhi, Inspector of Bing Province, recommended Cui Lin; thereupon Cui Lin was promoted to recorder of Jizhou, then transferred to aide-de-camp and to the staff of the chancellor's secretariat. After the state of Wei was established, he rose step by step to palace counselor-in-chief^[1].

After Emperor Wen ascended the throne, Cui Lin was appointed master of writing, and subsequently went out to serve as Inspector of You Province. At that time the General of the Household Gentlemen of the North, Wu Zhi, commanded the military affairs of Hebei, and Wang Xiong, Grand Administrator of Zhuo Commandery, once reminded Cui Lin's aide-de-camp that Wu Zhi was a trusted and powerful minister of the emperor, to whom all provinces and commanderies paid their respects, yet Cui Lin had never once communicated with Wu Zhi. To this Cui Lin replied that he regarded leaving this province as easy as slipping off a shoe, and would not burden himself on that account. He held that You Province bordered the Hu barbarians and ought to be governed with stillness controlling motion; if disturbed, it might provoke their rebellious hearts and bring upon the state the worry of looking to the north^[2]. During his tenure, the banditry on the frontier subsided. However, because he did not serve his superiors, he was demoted to Grand Administrator of Hejian, and in public opinion many held this to be the result of resentment against Cui Lin. The memorial of the palace attendant Xin Pi records that when Huan Jie served as director of the secretariat, he considered Cui Lin not the stuff of a master of writing, and so transferred him to be Grand Administrator of Hejian^[2].

Cui Lin was later transferred to grand herald. The king of Kucha sent a hostage-son to pay tribute, and the court, because he had come from afar, lavished praise and reward upon him. Thereafter the other states also dispatched sons and younger brothers to court, and envoys came and went without cease. Cui Lin worried that among them there might be impostors—using distant relatives or Hu merchants to pose as envoys in order to obtain seals and ribbons—while the escorting along the way was hugely costly, exhausting the people and draining resources, yet earning the mockery of the barbarians; this was precisely the malady faced in the past. He therefore sent a letter to Dunhuang explaining this intent, and compiled the precedents of bygone eras for the generous or sparing treatment of the various states, so as to establish a constant system^[3]. After Emperor Ming ascended the throne, Cui Lin was granted the rank of marquis within the passes, and transferred to superintendent of the imperial household and colonel-director of retainers. He dismissed the illegal supernumerary staff in the commanderies and counties under his charge. Cui Lin governed with sincerity, keeping to the broad essentials, and so after he left office the people often remembered him^[3].

In the first year of the Jingchu era, the posts of minister over the masses and minister of works fell vacant, and the cavalier attendant-in-ordinary Meng Kang recommended Cui Lin, praising him as one who "received the upright nature of the natural and embodied the broad capacity of the lofty and refined," and ranking him alongside ancients such as Shi Yu and Ji Wen, holding him to be "a fine vessel for the chancellery and a worthy talent for the high offices"^[4]. The next year Cui Lin was indeed appointed minister of works and enfeoffed as marquis of Anyang precinct, with a fief of six hundred households. The enfeoffment of one of the Three Excellencies as a full marquis began with Cui Lin. Soon after, he was further advanced to marquis of Anyang district^[4]. In the fifth year of the Zhengshi era, Cui Lin died, with the posthumous title of Marquis Xiao. His son Cui Shu inherited the rank^[5].

In the Novel

The Romance of the Three Kingdoms does not give Cui Lin any independent literary treatment, and his deeds are not incorporated into the novel's main narrative line. Therefore, in the novel Cui Lin has no specific appearance or episode, and his life, official transfers, and interactions with others are all unmentioned. The novel focuses chiefly on the wars, political struggles, and the heroic exploits of the major figures of the Three Kingdoms period; for a man like Cui Lin—a civil official renowned in the historical record for his integrity and uprightness, and who did not directly take part in major military or political turning points—it usually offers no detailed portrayal. Thus Cui Lin's presence in the novel is nearly nil; his image neither deviates from the historical record nor receives any supplement or dramatization.

Key Relationships

* Cao Wei (serves): Cui Lin served the Cao Wei regime throughout his life, entering officialdom from the time of Cao Cao, passing through the two reigns of Emperor Wen and Emperor Ming, and finally rising to minister of works—an important pillar minister of Cao Wei^[4].
* Cui Yan (kin_of): Cui Yan was Cui Lin's elder cousin and the sole confidant of Cui Lin's early years. When Cui Lin had not yet revealed his talent and was not valued by his clan, Cui Yan alone had the discernment to regard him as extraordinary^[1].
* Wu Zhi (rival_of): While serving as Inspector of You Province, Cui Lin, owing to his "not serving his superiors" temperament, never took the initiative to communicate with Wu Zhi, the General of the Household Gentlemen of the North who commanded the military affairs of Hebei. This was regarded as one of the reasons for his demotion to Grand Administrator of Hejian, reflecting the difference in official conduct and the latent opposition between Cui Lin and Wu Zhi^[2].
* Wang Jing (mentor_of): With his eye for recognizing and employing talent, Cui Lin discovered and promoted Wang Jing of the same commandery from among the common folk, enabling him eventually to become a man of renown. The world praised Cui Lin on this account^[5].

Iconic Scenes

* Taking office on foot and serving with integrity: When Cui Lin first served as chief of Wu, because his family was poor and had no carriage or horse, he went to take up his post on foot, displaying his upright and frugal character. Afterward, in his post as Inspector of You Province, in the face of Wu Zhi's power, he still held firm to his own views and was unmoved, and was finally demoted on that account—yet his reputation for purity and rectitude spread far as a result^[2].
* Reforming the frontier tribute system: During his term as grand herald, addressing the problem in the frontier states' tribute of impostors posing as envoys and falsely reporting their identities in order to obtain rewards, Cui Lin sent a letter to Dunhuang and compiled the precedents of bygone eras for the generous or sparing treatment of the various states, aiming to establish a constant system, so as to root out the malady, avoid exhausting the people and draining resources, and preserve the dignity of the state^[3].
* Recommended as minister of works: In the first year of the Jingchu era, when the posts of minister over the masses and minister of works fell vacant, the cavalier attendant-in-ordinary Meng Kang recommended Cui Lin to Emperor Ming, praising him as one who "received the upright nature of the natural and embodied the broad capacity of the lofty and refined," and as "a fine vessel for the chancellery and a worthy talent for the high offices." The next year Cui Lin was indeed appointed minister of works and enfeoffed as marquis of Anyang precinct, setting the precedent of one of the Three Excellencies being enfeoffed as a full marquis^[4]. This scene fully embodies Cui Lin's prestige at court and his image as one possessed of both virtue and talent.