San Cui refers to the three writers of the Eastern Han Dynasty: Cui Xiang, Cui Yuan, and Cui Shi, their father and their descendants.
"Three Cui" were all ministers of the Eastern Han Dynasty. They were good at diction and wrote poems, inscriptions, proverbs, and odes expressing political opinions and emotions, which had great literary influence.
Liang Liu Xie of the Southern Dynasties, "Wen Xin Diao Long Chronology": "From An and He down to Shun and Huan, there are Ban, Fu, San Cui, Wang, Ma, Zhang and Cai."
Among them, Cui Xiang achieved slightly greater achievements. Liu Xie praised his poems as "the ingenuity of liberal arts". Cui Yuan was good at inscriptions, chants, and admonitions, while Cui Shi was praised by the world for his "Political Commentary".
Extended information:
1. Cui Xiang
Cui Xiang (?-92 years), named Tingbo, was born in Anping, Jizhou (now Anping County, Hebei Province) . Minister of the Eastern Han Dynasty.
He has been extremely smart and erudite since he was a child. He read "Poetry", "Yi" and "Spring and Autumn" at the age of 13, and is proficient in exegesis of hundreds of schools of thought. He traveled less to Taixue and became as famous as Ban Gu and Fu Yi. During the reign of Emperor Zhang of the Han Dynasty, he wrote "Ode to the Four Inspections", praising the virtues of the Han Dynasty, with beautiful diction, and was valued by Emperor Zhang of the Han Dynasty.
When Empress Dowager Dou was in power, General Dou Xian regarded her as the master. Dou Xian was tyrannical and arrogant, and repeatedly criticized and dissuaded him. Dou Xian couldn't tolerate it and worshiped his elder Cen. Abandon it and return home. In the fourth year of Yongyuan, he died of illness at home.
Representative works include "Ode to the Four Patrols", "Poetry of An Fenghou", "Three Character Poems", etc.
2. Cui Yuan
Cui Yuan (date of birth and death unknown), named Ziyu, was born in Anping, Zhuojun (now Anping, Hebei). He was a famous calligrapher, writer and scholar in the Eastern Han Dynasty.
In calligraphy, he is especially good at cursive calligraphy. He learned from Du Du and was known as "Cui Du" at that time. He wrote "Cursive Script Shi", and his article can be found in "Book of Jin Volume 36·Biography of Wei Heng". Cui Yuan's cursive script was highly praised by later generations. Later, Zhang Zhi adopted Fa Cui and Du, and his calligraphy made great progress. He became the master of cursive calligraphy in the Han Dynasty and was known as the "Sage of Cursive Calligraphy".
Representative works include "Nanyang Literary Official Chronicle", "Motto", etc.
3. Cui Shi
Cui Shi (about 103 years to about 170 years), an agriculturist and writer of the Eastern Han Dynasty, was born in Anping, Jizhou (now Anping County, Hengshui City, Hebei Province). He is the grandson of the writer Cui Xiang and the son of Cui Yuan.
In the first year of Yuanjia (151), he published "Political Commentary". Later, he served as Yilang, Wuyuan prefect, etc., and he was helpful in administration.
Representative works include "Political Commentary", "Four People's Monthly Orders", etc.
Baidu Encyclopedia——Three Cui