Cui Renshi ( 580s–650s) was a Chinese official of the Tang dynasty who briefly served as a chancellor late in the reign of Emperor Taizong. His grandson, Cui Shi, later served as chancellor during the reigns of the emperors Zhongzong and Ruizong. Background Cui Renshi was born in the 580s, during the reign of Emperor Wen in the Sui dynasty. He was from Ding Prefecture (定州, roughly modern Dingzhou, Hebei). Early in the reign of Emperor Gaozu (r. 618–626), the founder of the Tang dynasty, Cui Renshi passed an imperial examination and was made the military advisor to the prefect of Guan Prefecture (管州, part of modern Zhengzhou, Henan). In 622, the chancellor Chen Shuda recommended Cui Renshi to be capable of editing imperial histories, and he was promoted to the post of military advisor to the commander of one of the imperial armies, but also given the responsibility of assisting in editing the histories of the Liang dynasty and Northern Wei. During Emperor Taizong's reign Early in the reign of Emperor Gaozu's son, Emperor Taizong, Cui Renshi was made an assistant to the imperial censorate. In 627, there was an alleged treasonous plot that occurred in Qing Prefecture (青州, roughly modern Qingzhou, Shandong), and Cui was sent to investigate. When he got to Qing Prefecture, there had been many people already arrested by the local authorities on suspicion that they were involved in the plot. Cui removed their restraints, gave them food, and allowed them to bathe. He eventually sentenced only the ten-odd leaders to death, while releasing all of the rest. After he returned to the capital Chang'an, Emperor Taizong sent an imperial messenger to Qing Prefecture to carry out the executions, and the assistant chief judge at the supreme court, Sun Fuqie (), who was friendly with him, warned him that if he released too many people, he might be accused by those sentenced to death of unfairness. Cui responded, "I have heard that an official in charge of criminal law should be kind and forgiving, and therefore, even if he were going to execute people or cut off their feet, he needed to do so with respect. How can I worry about my personal safety and not care about those wrongly accused? If I suffer, but I get 10 innocent people released, that would be my wish." Sun Fuqie, in shame, withdrew from his presence. Meanwhile,