Cui Yuan style name

Chinese style name

A Chinese style name, sometimes also known as a courtesy name , is a given name to be used later in life. After 20 years of age, the zì is assigned in place of one's given name as a symbol of adulthood and respect...

 Ziyu, was a minor military officer, mathematician, scholar, noted calligrapher, poet, and temporary fugitive of the Han Dynasty

Han Dynasty

The Han Dynasty was the second imperial dynasty of China, preceded by the Qin Dynasty and succeeded by the Three Kingdoms . It was founded by the rebel leader Liu Bang, known posthumously as Emperor Gaozu of Han. It was briefly interrupted by the Xin Dynasty of the former regent Wang Mang...

 (202 BC–220 AD) in China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

. He is known for his many written works, although in political life he became involved in court intrigues which damaged his career.

Life

Cui Yuan was born in the commandery of Lecheng (renamed Anping in 122) in what is now modern Hebei

Hebei

' is a province of the People's Republic of China in the North China region. Its one-character abbreviation is "" , named after Ji Province, a Han Dynasty province that included what is now southern Hebei...

 province. He was the son of Cui Yin, who died while Yuan was in his teens. After years of study, he ventured to the Han capital at Luoyang

Luoyang

Luoyang is a prefecture-level city in western Henan province of Central China. It borders the provincial capital of Zhengzhou to the east, Pingdingshan to the southeast, Nanyang to the south, Sanmenxia to the west, Jiyuan to the north, and Jiaozuo to the northeast.Situated on the central plain of...

 when he was eighteen. There he studied under Jia Kui and befriended notable persons such as the scholar and commentator Ma Rong

Ma Rong

Ma Rong , courtesy name Jichang , was a commentator of the Han Dynasty. He was born in modern Xianyang, Shaanxi in former Fufeng county. He was known for his commentaries on the books on the Five Classics, and the first scholar known to have done this. He also developed the double column...

 (79–166) and the prolific inventor, mathematician, scientist, and official Zhang Heng

Zhang Heng

Zhang Heng was a Chinese astronomer, mathematician, inventor, geographer, cartographer, artist, poet, statesman, and literary scholar from Nanyang, Henan. He lived during the Eastern Han Dynasty of China. He was educated in the capital cities of Luoyang and Chang'an, and began his career as a...

 (78–139). Cui gained a reputation as a mathematician

Chinese mathematics

Mathematics in China emerged independently by the 11th century BC. The Chinese independently developed very large and negative numbers, decimals, a place value decimal system, a binary system, algebra, geometry, and trigonometry....

 with his work on reforming the Chinese calendar

Chinese calendar

The Chinese calendar is a lunisolar calendar, incorporating elements of a lunar calendar with those of a solar calendar. It is not exclusive to China, but followed by many other Asian cultures as well...

 and as a scholar following his commentary on the I Ching

I Ching

The I Ching or "Yì Jīng" , also known as the Classic of Changes, Book of Changes and Zhouyi, is one of the oldest of the Chinese classic texts...

.