Tang Dynasty Xie Lu Lang

Chapter 308 Cui Gongwang's Provincial Tower

Cui Rizhi, the Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, had served in the court for many years and was highly respected. Whenever he entered the court, he would always be ranked alongside the Ministers, and they were known as "the Ministers' colleagues." He had served in various positions both inside and outside the capital, but had never been among the eight ministers, which he resented. Therefore, when he was the Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, he built a building behind the Capital Temple Hall, where he would always reside and face the Ministry of State Affairs.

"Therefore, we lower officials privately refer to this building as Cui Gongwang's Provincial Building, but the Grand Minister especially dislikes this name and forbids anyone from saying it, and anyone who does so will be punished!"

Zhao Ling leaned close to Zhang Dai's ear and told him in detail about the origin of the tall building.

"Is there anything else going on?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dai's expression was quite interesting. He never expected that Cui Rizhi, who usually appeared so dignified when entering and leaving his home, would have such a side to him.

The so-called "Eight Seats" refers to the eight high-ranking officials of the Ministry of Personnel: the Left and Right Vice Ministers of the Ministry of Personnel, and the Ministers of the Six Ministries. At that time, the position of Gentleman of the Palace was considered a prestigious and important post, which could only be held by those selected from among the elite scholars. These eight officials of the Ministry of Personnel were the cream of the crop, and were important positions that all officials wanted to hold!
Even Wang Maozhong, who wielded immense power in the north, was disliked by Emperor Xuanzong for requesting the position of Minister of War, and was ultimately eliminated. This demonstrates the immense allure of the eight ministerial positions; some, even those already holding high positions, risked their lives to obtain them.

Cui Rizhi came from the Cui clan of Boling. As early as the Jingyun era of Emperor Ruizong of Tang, he had already held the rank of third-grade official. However, he had been stuck in this position until the mid-Kaiyuan era, and in more than ten years, he still hadn't been able to serve as a high-ranking official in the Ministry of Personnel. He was really quite unlucky.

This misfortune also implicated Zhang Yue. Last year, Zhang Yue recommended him to serve as the Imperial Censor, but the emperor rejected the recommendation and instead appointed Cui Yinfu, who was then the Governor of Henan, as the Imperial Censor. This led to a vigorous campaign to overthrow Zhang Yue, resulting in Zhang Yue's dismissal as prime minister and the complete elimination of his influence in the court.

This was originally a rather tragic situation, but when combined with Cui Rizhi's act of building the Wangsheng Tower at the Taichang Temple, it became quite artistic.

As the two were talking, the sound of drums and trumpets suddenly rang out from outside. Upon hearing this, Zhao Ling's expression changed immediately, and he quickly said, "Minister Cui has returned to his post!"

After saying this, he quickly gestured for Zhang Dai to go with him to the front courtyard to greet him. As they walked, he whispered to Zhang Dai, "According to custom, only the prime minister is accompanied by music and announcements when entering and leaving his office. Since Grand Minister Cui is the head of the ministers and is in charge of rites and music, he should also be treated the same way."

Hearing this, Zhang Dai couldn't help but chuckle, sighing that his grandfather's friends were truly amazing, so incredibly individualistic. Even if they couldn't become prime ministers or high-ranking officials, they still made sure to enjoy the same privileges as others, truly living up to their potential despite not being fortunate enough.

When they arrived at the front courtyard of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, they found officials from other departments, including Wei Tao, who had been on duty earlier, all hurrying inside to line up and respectfully welcome the Grand Minister back to his office. Seeing this, Zhang Dai was even more impressed by Cui Rizhi's masterful display of official power!

Today is the first day of the month, the day of the grand court assembly. After the assembly, Cui Rizhi, dressed in a purple robe, returned to his official residence. He walked back to his territory with his head held high, and simply nodded slightly in response to the welcoming crowd of his subordinates.

Only when he saw Zhang Dai standing in the queue did a smile appear on his face. He raised his hand to gesture for Zhang Dai to step out of the line and follow him. As they walked in, he said with a smile, "First day on duty, how are you settling in?"

"Your Excellency, I have only recently joined the office and am still touring the temple and office under the guidance of the registrar Zhao Ling to familiarize myself with the personnel."

Zhang Dai quickly bowed and replied. He understood Cui Rizhi's personality. Regardless of their private relationship, he needed to be especially respectful and flattering in front of everyone, much like a certain blond-haired dragon in later generations.

As expected, Cui Rizhi was very satisfied with Zhang Dai's attitude, and his attitude became even more amiable. He simply took Zhang Dai's arm, turned around and looked at his subordinates, saying: "This disciple is named Zhang Dai, the grandson of Zhang Yan, and a young literary talent who is famous throughout the capital. He has been appointed as the Assistant Musician here."

You officials may not be the most capable, but when it comes to tasks, you should all be given priority. Within your respective duties, you must look out for each other. If I find out anyone has taken advantage of others, I will not let them off lightly!

Regardless of how the people present reacted, Zhang Dai secretly groaned in his heart after hearing these words. "I really thank you. If this continues, will I still have any friends here?"

He quickly stepped aside to create distance between himself and Cui Rizhi, then cupped his hands and said, "Minister Cui is a senior official and the head of all ministers. His administration is strict and clear, and he is praised by both the court and the public. All the officials of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices respectfully follow his rule, each fulfilling their duties in an orderly manner. I am fortunate to be among them, and I look up to Minister Cui. All my colleagues in the department follow his example and strive to emulate him, hoping to be respected by all the virtuous and avoid being disgraced."

Although Cui Rizhi's words were meant to support Zhang Dai, they still caused some dissatisfaction among the officials. It's one thing for you to take care of your old friend's grandson, but why are you giving us a hard time? We are also officials who receive salaries, are we just tools for you to use to pamper your child?
However, after hearing Zhang Dai's statement, everyone's mood improved considerably. After all, they didn't dislike Zhang Dai as a person; it was just that Cui Rizhi's tone and manner were quite unpleasant. Now, seeing Zhang Dai as a handsome young man who was not only elegant but also polite and humble, they naturally developed a good impression of him.

Upon hearing this, Cui Rizhi said nothing more, waved for the officials to disperse, and then led Zhang Dai to the Wangsheng Tower behind the hall. He usually worked or spent his leisure time in this tower when he was at the Taichang Temple, where he would summon his subordinates and meet with his colleagues.

Zhang Dai followed him upstairs and looked out; indeed, the view was incredibly expansive. Not only could he see the various departments of the Ministry of Personnel to the north, but also the offices of the Court of Judicial Review and the Court of Imperial Sacrifices to the left and right, as well as the bustling streets and alleys outside the eastern city. It was a pity that Cui Rizhi wasn't quite so audacious; the west wall of the building had no windows, otherwise, it would have been possible to see directly into the Eastern Palace. Clearly, this guy knew where the red line lay.

After sitting down in the building, Cui Rizhi looked Zhang Dai up and down a few more times and said with a satisfied expression, "Zongzhi's style is outstanding. My family also has a disciple with the same name. You two are equally good. I wonder if your grandfather had any associations when he was choosing your name?"

There was another court musician, Ma Lizheng, in the temple, old and hunched over, an unsightly sight. After Zongzhi entered the service, he took charge of the music and participated in grand ceremonies. How dare the officials in the court still mock my Court of Imperial Sacrifices for having no one to serve?

The Cui family of Boling had a son named Cui Zongzhi, who was the son of the former prime minister and Duke of Qi, Cui Riyong. He was the same Cui Zongzhi described in Du Fu's poem, "Zongzhi, a handsome and dashing young man, raises his measuring cup and looks at the blue sky with disdain, as radiant as a jade tree standing in the wind."

Zhang Dai had never met Cui Zongzhi, but he was still somewhat unconvinced by Cui Rizhi's words. Although he didn't often mention it, he considered himself exceptionally handsome, and besides, this name wasn't something he had copied from Cui Zongzhi; he had originally intended to be called Zhang Changzong!

However, when Zhang Dai heard Cui Rizhi mocking another Xie Lulang, he secretly decided that if he wanted to survive in the Taichang Temple and in the officialdom, he would have to stay away from his superior, Cui Rizhi. He guessed that his grandfather had accumulated a lot of hatred because of his friendship with Cui Rizhi.

Cui Rizhi summoned Zhang Dai upstairs not just to praise the handsome young man. He rummaged through the chests beside his desk for a while, then took out several volumes of documents and placed them on the desk. He then said to Zhang Dai, "You are young and new to officialdom, so it's inevitable that you have a strong sense of curiosity and want to get involved in everything. But you should only satisfy your curiosity with some mundane matters and not get too involved."

Your grandfather must have told you that there would be a grand ceremony to be performed when the emperor returned to Xijing. Although the officials are still in Luoyang, preparations for the rites and music should begin.

The sacrificial rites are different from folk music; you must learn them from scratch so that you can strive to excel in the future. This collection contains ritual and musical texts written by various officials of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices in previous years. Take it with you and practice them, striving to be able to harmonize with the elegant music as soon as possible!

When Zhang Dai took the imperial examination, he wrote ten poems in different styles, mostly Yuefu songs, but they did not belong to the true ritual music.

The true ritual music of the Tang Dynasty was the "Twelve Harmonies". Different chapters of the "Twelve Harmonies" were used in grand ceremonies such as sacrifices to Heaven and Earth, announcements to the ancestral temple, grand banquets at court, investiture of the empress and crown prince, sacrifices to the god of agriculture, and the crown prince's sacrificial ceremony.

The dances used in ceremonies were divided into the civil dance "Zhikang" and the military dance "Kaian". These two dances were used only for events in the southern suburbs and for offering dances at the Imperial Ancestral Temple. There were also the "Seven Virtues Dance", originally named Qin King's Battle Music, and the "Nine Merits Dance", originally named Merit Achievement Celebration Music. The former was not included in the elegant music, and the latter could not be used to invoke the gods. Therefore, only these two dances were used in the suburbs and temples. Other lower-level ceremonies, such as the mausoleums and temples of emperors, used other dances.

Therefore, the Taichang (Imperial Music Bureau) only performed the "Twelve Harmonies" and two dances, "Zhikang" and "Kaian," while the rest were all banquet music and popular music. Taichang officials who wished to achieve extraordinary results had to diligently study within the scope of these ritual music pieces; excelling in other areas was merely a matter of luck.

Zhang Dai was not opposed to taking shortcuts, but the problem was that there was a rare opportunity on the right path, so of course he still had to take the proper route.

What Cui Rizhi was telling him was genuine. Although the Court of Imperial Sacrifices had a wide range of authority and managed many people, its most important task was to ensure the proper execution of ceremonies and music. No matter how much was done in other matters, they were merely administrative tasks, requiring only hard work but not real merit.

"Thank you for your guidance, Your Excellency. I will certainly keep your teachings in mind and quickly familiarize myself with the composition and performance of classical music."

Zhang Dai quickly bowed deeply to Cui Rizhi to express his gratitude, and then accepted the excellent pieces of Taichang Yayue music that Cui Rizhi had selected for him.

When he glanced through the titles of these chapters, he found that most of them were compiled by the Jixian Academy, which was led by Zhang Yue, and some were compiled by the Taichang Temple, such as He Zhizhang, the former Vice Minister of the Taichang Temple.

This made Zhang Dai even more convinced that he had fallen into his comfort zone. The blessings left by his grandfather made him completely oblivious to the storms outside!
Zhang Shuo's generation had already left such a rich legacy for his descendants; one can only imagine how much benefit those aristocratic families who had been in power for hundreds of years had gained.

The difficulty of their career path is on a completely different level compared to that of those from humble backgrounds, yet they are gradually being eliminated by the times. This shows that those who are crammed into small circles and fed with intensive care are merely defective products produced on an assembly line. They may appear plump and strong, but they lack long-term competitiveness.

While admiring the legacy his grandfather had built through hard work, Zhang Dai lamented that many from prestigious families were useless, and that he himself needed to take on more challenging tasks to avoid being corrupted by the comfortable official career and ultimately becoming a mediocre person who would only gnaw on the bones in a tomb.

(End of this chapter)