Cui Xuanwei

Cui Xuanwei (崔玄暐; 638–706), né Cui Ye (崔曄), formally Prince Wenxian of Boling (博陵文獻王), was an official of the Chinese dynasty Tang Dynasty and Wu Zetian's Zhou Dynasty, serving as a chancellor during the reigns of Wu Zetian and her son Emperor Zhongzong. He was a key figure in the coup that overthrew Wu Zetian and restored Emperor Zhongzong in 705, but was later exiled due to false accusations instigated by Wu Zetian's nephew Wu Sansi and died in exile.

Cui Chu was born late in the reign of Emperor Taizong. He was from the "The elder house of Boling" of the prominent Cui clan of Boling.His father Cui Xingjin (崔行謹) served as the magistrate of Husu County (胡蘇, in modern Dezhou, Shandong), and his uncle Cui Xinggong (崔行功) was the head of the Palace Library. During the Longshuo era of Emperor Taizong's son Emperor Gaozong, he passed the imperial examinations and became a low level official at the ministry of treasury (庫部, Kubu). His mother Lady Lu often encouraged him to be an honest and clean official. He heeded his mother's teachings and became known for his honesty and carefulness. At some point, because the character of his name Ye (曄) apparently had a similar appearance to the name of one of the ancestors of Emperor Gaozong's wife Empress Wu (later known as Wu Zetian), he changed his name to Xuanwei. He eventually served as a Fengge Sheren (鳳閣舍人), a mid-level official at the legislative bureau of government (鳳閣, Fengge).

In 701, by which time Empress Wu had taken the throne herself as "emperor" of a new Zhou Dynasty, interrupting Tang Dynasty, Cui Xuanwei was made the deputy minister of civil service affairs (天官侍郎, Tianguan Shilang), and he was said to be upright and not susceptible to improper influence by powerful people. Later that year, he was made Wenchang Zuo Cheng (文昌左丞), one of the secretaries general of the executive bureau (文昌臺, Wenchang Tai). A month later, Wu Zetian summoned him and told him, "Since your office was changed, I heard that the officials often feasted because they could now again be corrupt. I will put you back in your old position." She thus made him deputy minister of civil service again and gave him an award of silk.

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