Cui Liang

Biography & Historical Record

Cui Liang (died 228 AD) was an officer and imperial administrator who served the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period. He served as the Grand Administrator of Anding Commandery (present-day Zhenyuan County, Gansu Province) along the western frontier during the reign of Emperor Cao Rui.

In 228 AD, Zhuge Liang launched Shu Han’s First Northern Expedition, invading Wei territory and causing widespread panic across Liang Province. After Nan’an Commandery came under siege by Shu forces, Grand Administrator of Nan’an Yang Ling sent an urgent courier to Cui Liang requesting military reinforcements. Unaware that Zhuge Liang had already captured Nan’an and set a trap, Cui Liang assembled a relief force of 5,000 soldiers from Anding and marched out. Mid-route, Cui Liang’s division was surrounded in a narrow valley by Shu generals Zhang Bao and Guan Xing. Captured and brought before Zhuge Liang, Cui Liang feigned submission to save his life and offered to return to Nan’an to persuade Yang Ling to surrender.

However, upon arriving at Nan’an, Cui Liang secretly revealed Zhuge Liang’s plan to Yang Ling and conspired to trick the Shu general Zhang Bao into entering the city gates to be slaughtered. Unbeknownst to Cui Liang, Zhuge Liang had anticipated his betrayal. When Cui Liang opened the gates, Shu forces led by Guan Xing and Zhang Bao stormed the city. In the chaotic battle, Yang Ling was slain by Zhang Bao, while Cui Liang fled toward Anding in panic. Intercepted on the battlefield by the legendary Shu general Zhang Fei (or Zhang Bao in novel variants), Cui Liang was speared and killed instantly by Zhang Bao as his forces completely collapsed.

Role in Romance of the Three Kingdoms

In Luo Guanzhong’s Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Cui Liang’s downfall is prominently detailed in Chapter 92. As Grand Administrator of Anding, Cui Liang falls for Zhuge Liang’s false dispatch pretending to be from Nan’an. Trapped in an ambush by Guan Xing and Zhang Bao, Cui Liang surrenders and promises to negotiate Nan’an’s surrender. Once inside Nan’an, he conspires with Yang Ling to lure Shu vanguard troops into a fatal trap. However, Zhuge Liang sees through his scheme completely; Shu forces storm Nan’an, slay Yang Ling, and pursue Cui Liang. As Cui Liang desperately flees back toward Anding, he is caught by Zhang Bao and killed with a single spear thrust.

Cui Liang (崔諒) — Literary Timeline

For detailed historical records, archives, and official chronicles, explore Cui Liang on Wikipedia.

Key Relationships

Family

• No information

Friends

• Yang Ling (杨陵, Dương Lăng) — Grand Administrator of Nan’an who collaborated with Cui Liang in a failed attempt to ambush Shu Han forces during the First Northern Expedition in 228 AD.
• Xiahou Mao (夏侯楙, Hạ Hầu Mậu) — Grand Commander of the Western Armies stationed at Chang’an, serving as the superior officer to whom Cui Liang was nominally accountable during the defense of the western frontier.
• Ma Zun (马遵, Mã Tuân) — Grand Administrator of Tianshui Commandery, a fellow Wei official and regional administrator during the Shu Han invasion of 228 AD.

Enemies

• Zhuge Liang (诸葛亮, Gia Cát Lượng) — Prime Minister of Shu Han who orchestrated the strategic deception that lured Cui Liang out of Anding and ultimately outmaneuvered his counter-plot at Nan’an in 228 AD.
• Zhang Bao (张苞, Trương Bào) — Shu Han general who ambushed Cui Liang’s relief force, later intercepting and killing him during his retreat in 228 AD.
• Guan Xing (关兴, Quan Hưng) — Shu Han general who assisted in the encirclement and capture of Cui Liang’s forces in a narrow valley during the 228 AD campaign.

Other

• Cao Rui (曹叡, Tào Duệ) — The Emperor of Cao Wei during whose reign Cui Liang served as an imperial administrator and Grand Administrator of Anding.