Cui Ban
| NAME | |
|---|---|
| Chinese Name | 崔盘 |
| Courtesy name | Bo'an (伯安) |
| FAMILY | |
| Children | |
Biography & Historical Record
Cui Ban, courtesy name Bo’an, was a venerable Eastern Han scholar-official and patriarch of the preeminent Boling Cui clan from Anping, Boling Commandery; the father of Grand Commandant Cui Lie and grandfather of Cui Jun (Cui Zhouping). Hailing from one of the most prestigious aristocratic scholarly clans of northern China, Cui Ban was renowned for his profound expertise in the Classic of Filial Piety, the Spring and Autumn Annals, and the Rites of Zhou.
Cui Ban served the Eastern Han government as an Erudite (博士) and Commandery Administrator, establishing prestigious private academies in Jizhou that trained hundreds of Confucian disciples. His teachings instilled a rigorous standard of public rectitude, literary polish, and genealogical pride that elevated the Boling Cui clan into one of the ‘Four Surnames and Seven Clans’ that dominated northern Chinese political and cultural life for centuries.
Role in Romance of the Three Kingdoms
In literary lore and the scholarly traditions of northern China, Cui Ban represents the venerable ancestral teachers whose families nurtured the cultural elite of the Three Kingdoms, including Zhuge Liang’s intimate friend Cui Zhouping.
“The scrolls of Boling were read by candlelight beneath Mount Taihang; from Cui Ban’s strict instruction arose chancellors, hermits, and strategists who advised the monarchs of the age.”
Cui Ban — Historical Timeline
Key Relationships
Family
- Son Cui Lie (崔烈, Thôi Liệt): Son; Eastern Han Grand Commandant (Taiwei) and loyalist martyr who resisted Li Jue and Guo Si.
- Grandson Cui Jun (崔钧, Thôi Quân): Grandson; courtesy name Zhouping (州平), famed recluse-philosopher and close friend of Zhuge Liang.
- Grandson Cui Yi (崔毅, Thôi Nghị): Grandson; filial scholar who rescued family members during the capital turmoil.
Friends
- Boling & Jizhou Confucian Masters: Elite northern literati who upheld classical standards against eunuch factions.
Enemies
- Ten Attendants (Eunuchs): Corrupt palace cliques whose sale of offices and persecution of scholars Cui Ban openly lamented.
Other
- Zhuge Liang (诸葛亮, Gia Cát Lượng): Foremost friend of his grandson Cui Zhouping, who frequently visited the Boling scholars in Longzhong.
In Novel
Chapter 37 (Three Visits to the Thatched Cottage)
- Cui Ban (崔盘, Thôi Ban): Patriarch of the Boling Cui house; his scholarly legacy is reflected in the lofty wisdom of his grandson Cui Zhouping when meeting Liu Bei.
Chapter 119 (The Great Clans of Northern China)
- Cui Ban (崔盘, Thôi Ban): Celebrated in genealogical retrospectives as the foundation of the Boling Cui clan's cultural brilliance.
In History
Summary
- Cui Ban (崔盘, Thôi Ban) (c. 110s–c. 175 AD), courtesy name Bo'an (伯安, Bá An), was an Eastern Han Confucian scholar and patriarch of the Boling Cui clan; father of Grand Commandant Cui Lie (崔烈, Thôi Liệt).
Year: 145 AD
- Appointed Erudite of the Imperial Academy in Luoyang, lecturing on ritual governance.
Year: 160 AD
- Mentored his son Cui Lie, who achieved nationwide fame for literary eloquence and legal rectitude.
Historical Record
- Book of Later Han (后汉书), Volume 52 (Biography of Cui Lie): Traces the venerable scholarly lineage of the Boling Cui family.
- Records of the Gentry Clans of Northern Dynasties (元和姓纂): Records Cui Ban's foundational role in Boling pedigree.
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