Background

It is not known when Cui Gong was born. He was from the "Second Boling branch" of Cui clan of Boling. Cui Gong's grandfather Cui Yi (崔意) and Cui Gong's father Cui Ting (崔頲) were served as a prefectural prefect. Cui Ting had eight sons, all of whom were considered capable and who later became Tang officials, and it was said that they were compared to the Han Dynasty official Xun Yu's father and his seven uncles, who were known as the "eight dragons."

Cui Gong had the same mother as his older brother Cui Guan (崔琯), who would also have a prominent career of his own. It was said that Cui Gong passed a special imperial examinations for making prompt rulings, and subsequently served on staffs of regional governors. It was also said that he was serious in disposition, and was skillful in administration.

During Emperor Wenzongs reign

Early in the Taihe era (827–835) of Emperor Wenzong, Cui Gong served as the prefect of Si Prefecture (泗州, in modern Huai'an, Jiangsu), and later was recalled to the capital Chang'an to serve as the minister of palace supplies (太府卿, Taifu Qing). In 833, he was commissioned at the military governor (Jiedushi) of Lingnan Circuit (嶺南, headquartered in modern Guangzhou, Guangdong) and the prefect of its capital Guang Prefecture (廣州). Before he departed, he met with Emperor Wenzong to thank the emperor for the commission. Emperor Wenzong asked him how he planned to govern the circuit, and Cui was able to respond clearly and concretely, impressing Emperor Wenzong. At that time, Gao Yu (高瑀) was the military governor of Wuning Circuit (武寧, headquartered in modern Xuzhou, Jiangsu), which was well known for its unruly and difficult-to-control soldiers. As Gao was unable to control them, Emperor Wenzong wanted someone with serious presence to govern Wuning, and he therefore decided to transfer Cui to Wuning to serve as its military governor and the prefect of its capital Xu Prefecture (徐州); Wang Maoyuan (王茂元) was sent to Lingnan instead. It was said that after Cui arrived at Wuning, he was able to draw a balance between strictness and grace, causing the Wuning people to fall into line.

In 837, Cui was recalled to Chang'an and made the commander of the Chang'an police. Soon thereafter, he was made the mayor of Jingzhao Municipality (京兆, i.e., the Chang'an region). That year, there was a serious drought in the region. Cui requested that the Chan River (滻水) waters that usually were directed into the palace be reduced by 90%, so that the water could be used to water the people's fields, and Emperor Wenzong agreed. In 838, when an assassination attempt was made against the chancellor Li Shi (traditionally believed to be engineered by the powerful eunuch Qiu Shiliang), Cui, who was unable to capture Li Shi's would-be assassins, was punished by being stripped of part of his salary.

During Emperor Wuzongs reign

Emperor Wenzong died in 840 and was succeeded by his brother Emperor Wuzong. At that time, Cui Gong was serving as the minister of justice (刑部尚書, Xingbu Shangshu), and soon after Emperor Wuzong's ascension was made a chancellor de facto with the title Tong Zhongshu Menxia Pingzhangshi (同中書門下平章事). He was also made the director of the salt and iron monopolies. When, in 841, Emperor Wuzong, believing the former chancellors Yang Sifu and Li Jue had opposed his succession and therefore wanted to force them to commit suicide, Cui, along with his fellow chancellors Li Deyu, Cui Dan, and Chen Yixing, interceded, and Yang and Li Jue were spared of their lives, although they were exiled.

It was said that Cui Gong was friendly with Li Deyu, who was then, effectively, the leading chancellor. However, in 842, there was an occasion when Cui Gong recommended Liu Gongquan to be an imperial scholar at Jixian Institute (集賢院) and serve as its acting director. Li Deyu, displeased that this recommendation did not come from himself, found an excuse soon thereafter to have Liu demoted. Further, Cui Gong had a rivalry with another official, Cui Xuan. After Cui Gong was removed from his chancellor post in 843 and made You Pushe (右僕射, one of the heads of the executive bureau of government (尚書省, Shangshu Sheng)), Cui Xian succeeded him as chancellor and the director of salt and iron monopolies, and accused him of having misused the salt and iron monopoly funds from Songzhou and Hua (滑州, in modern Anyang, Henan) Prefectures, as well as being protective of the warlord Liu Congjian. As a result, Cui Gong was exiled and demoted to be the prefect of Li Prefecture (澧州, in modern Changde, Hunan), and yet later further demoted to be the military advisor to the prefect of En Prefecture (恩州, in modern Jiangmen, Guangdong).

During Emperor Xuānzongs reign

In 846, after Emperor Wuzong died and was succeeded by his uncle Emperor Xuānzong, Cui Gong and four other former chancellors that Emperor Wuzong had exiled – Li Zongmin, Niu Sengru, Yang Sifu, and Li Jue – were allowed to be moved closer to Chang'an; in Cui's case, he was made the secretary general of An Prefecture (安州, in modern Xiaogan, Hubei). Sometime thereafter, he was made an advisor to the Crown Prince, and then the military governor of Fengxiang Circuit (鳳翔, headquartered in modern Baoji, Shaanxi). In 848, in the middle of Tang campaigns to recover territory that had been lost to Tufan ever since the end of the Anshi Rebellion, Cui had a victory over Tufan forces and recaptured Qingshui (清水, in modern Tianshui, Gansu).

In 849, Cui Xian was again chancellor. When Cui Gong heard this, he offered to resign on account of illness. Emperor Xuānzong made him an advisor to the Crown Prince, with his office at the eastern capital Luoyang. Sometime before 851 he served as defender of Luoyang, and in 852 he was made military governor of Fengxiang Circuit again. He died in office, probably in 854, as in this year a new military governor of Fengxiang Circuit was appointed. His grandnephew Cui Yuan later served as a chancellor during the reigns of Emperor Zhaozong and Emperor Ai, near the end of Tang Dynasty.

Notes and references

• Old Book of Tang, vol. 177.

• New Book of Tang, vol. 182.

• Zizhi Tongjian, vols. 244, 246, 247, 248.

家世

崔珙出自博陵崔氏最顯赫的博陵第二房。祖父崔意是博州聊城縣縣令，父親崔頲官至同州刺史。崔頲有八子，皆至達官，時人比于漢朝荀氏，也號為「八龍」。

崔珙與同樣仕途顯赫的哥哥崔琯同母。崔珙在書判拔萃科中取得高等，在地方節度使幕府為僚佐。性格威嚴持重，尤精于吏術。

唐文宗年間

唐文宗太和（827年-835年）初年，崔珙為泗州刺史，陸暢有詩《夜到泗州酬崔使君》。後入長安為太府卿。太和七年（833年）正月，拜廣州刺史、嶺南節度使。赴任前，他去延英殿面聖謝恩，文宗問他治理南海的計劃，他回答得明確而具體，文宗很欣賞。當時，武寧軍節度使高瑀部卒驕橫悖亂。高瑀不能制，時議認為徐州應由有威望的節度使管領，文宗也這麼想，對宰相說：「崔珙言事，神氣精爽，此可以臨徐人。」七月，調崔珙為兼檢校工部尚書、徐州刺史兼御史大夫，充武寧軍節度、徐泗濠觀察使。派王茂元去嶺南代崔珙。崔珙到任後，在任兩年，寬猛適宜，徐州人得以安寧。

開成初年，加檢校兵部尚書。二年（837年），改檢校吏部尚書、右金吾大將軍，充街使。六月，遷京兆尹。當時其兄崔琯官居尚書左丞，兄弟倆都位居顯官。當年，京畿鬧旱災。次年（838年）正月，崔珙奏請差少尹去終南廣惠公廟祈禱降雪，及將引入宮中的滻水減去十分之九，改給貧民灌溉田地，文宗同意。當月，發生了一般認為是當權宦官仇士良主使的對宰相李石的刺殺，崔珙因不能抓獲兇手，被罰俸，聲望也略有衰落。四年（839年）三月之前卸任京兆尹。

唐武宗年間

唐文宗于開成五年（840年）正月駕崩，弟唐武宗繼位。崔珙和實質上為首相的李德裕相善，累遷戶部侍郎，進刑部尚書、充諸道鹽鐵轉運等使。進階銀青光祿大夫。五月，崔珙被授同平章事，為實質宰相，兼鹽鐵轉運使，兼門下侍郎（《新唐書》作拜中書侍郎），後又兼尚書左僕射。增江淮茶稅。會昌元年（841年）三月，武宗認為前宰相楊嗣複和李玨反對他繼位而分別意圖擁立當時已被賜死的安王李溶和陳王李成美，想賜死楊、李，崔珙和同僚宰相李德裕、崔鄲、陳夷行介入，請求開延英殿論事，李德裕、崔珙等並指出楊嗣複、李玨意欲另立他人事真假難辨，武宗雖堅稱楊、李確有擁立他人之事，但也同意寬恕，于是楊、李雖然被貶，卻得以免死。當月，李德裕、陳夷行、崔珙、李紳等奏唐憲宗有恢復中興之功，請為百代不遷之廟，武宗也認為此論至當並繼續議論此事，但最終沒有實行。

會昌二年（842年）正月，祀九宮貴神，崔珙奉敕攝太尉行禮。當月與陳夷行奏定左右僕射上事儀注。二月，崔珙奏薦右散騎常侍柳公權為集賢院學士、判院事。李德裕不滿此事恩非己出，找事由貶柳公權為太子詹事。四月，李德裕、時為銀青光祿大夫、守右僕射、門下侍郎、平章事的崔珙、宰相李紳、金紫光祿大夫檢校司徒兼太子太保牛僧孺等上章，請加武宗尊號仁聖文武至神大孝皇帝。崔珙以右僕射兼中書侍郎為攝中書令讀冊官，獲賜一子出身。鹽鐵判官姚勖曾平反冤案，崔珙奏請嘉獎，得任為權知職方員外郎，因尚書右丞韋溫不奉詔，改檢校禮部郎中。崔珙又和官員崔鉉不和，會昌三年（843年）二月，崔珙因兄山南西道節度使崔琯去世且本人患病而請辭，罷相為右僕射，崔鉉繼為宰相兼鹽鐵轉運使，彈劾他亂用宋州、滑州院鹽鐵錢九十萬貫及曾保護軍閥劉從諫。四年（844年）六月，崔珙因而被貶為澧州刺史，當月又以銀青光祿大夫、澧州刺史、上柱國、安平郡開國公、食邑二千戶的身份被再貶恩州司馬員外置。

唐宣宗年間

會昌六年（846年）三月，唐武宗崩，叔唐宣宗繼位，赦免武宗時期被貶的崔珙和其他四位前宰相李宗閔、牛僧孺、楊嗣複、李玨，調近京城，八月，崔珙被任為安州長史。杜牧有《上安州崔相公啟》，提及自己曾于三年八月給崔珙寫過信。約大中元年（847年）徙商州刺史，又為太子賓客，當年又被起用為鳳翔節度使。當年在桂管觀察使鄭亞幕府為書記的李商隱作《為滎陽公上鳳翔崔相公賀正啟》。大中二年（848年），十一月，奏周公祠有泉水湧出，宣宗手詔賜名潤德泉。崔珙上表謝手詔。十二月，立靈泉碑。當月，唐軍在收複安史之亂後被吐蕃占領的領地時，崔珙戰勝吐蕃軍，收複清水。

大中三年（849年），崔鉉再任宰相。崔珙聞訊，稱病請辭，被任為太子少師，分司東都，五年（851年）正月前就地拜留守，判尚書省事。六年（852年）又以守太子少保為鳳翔節度使，八年（854年）前，卒于任上。他的侄孫崔遠後在唐朝末年唐昭宗、唐哀帝年間為宰相。

評價

• 《舊唐書》

　• 史臣曰：近代衣冠人物，門族昌盛，（崔）從、頲之後，實富名流。

　• 贊曰：漢代荀、陳，我朝崔、杜。有子有弟，多登宰輔。

家庭

父母

• 崔頲，唐朝正議大夫、守左散騎常侍、博陵縣開國伯

• 滎陽鄭氏，唐朝贈博州刺史鄭進思曾孫女，贈太常少卿鄭游孫女，大理評事、商州錄事參軍鄭密長女，封博陵郡君

兄弟姐妹

• 崔琯，貞元十八年進士，銀青光祿大夫、檢校吏部尚書、興元尹、充山南西道節度使

• 崔璪，前任太常寺奉禮郎

• 崔瑝，明經出身，涇陽尉

• 崔璲，同州參軍

• 崔球，明經，寶曆二年進士

• 崔璵，長慶元年進士、大和二年制策登科、大中六年進士

• 崔璋，翼王府參軍

• 崔氏，嫁殷州西平縣令口口

• 崔氏，嫁殿中侍御史薛正倫

• 崔氏，嫁河南少尹裴複

子孫

• 崔涓，字道源，御史大夫

　• 崔仁魯，字化元

　• 崔仁矩

　• 崔仁寶，字國華

• 崔潼，字為中

注釋及參考文獻