Judge Cui (Cui Jue)

Judge Cui, whose given name was Cui Jue, is traditionally said to have been a native of Qizhou during the transitional period between the Sui and Tang dynasties. Renowned in life for his integrity and impartiality in office, he became a netherworld judge after death and assumed authority over the Book of Life and Death. A popular legend recounts that, while still alive, he resolved a case involving two tigers in a single day—an episode that led folk tradition to venerate him as a divine arbiter of justice in the underworld. In *Journey to the West*, the celestial official Wei Zheng entrusted Judge Cui with safeguarding Emperor Taizong of Tang; moved by compassion, Cui Jue secretly altered the emperor’s entry in the Book of Life and Death, adding twenty years to his lifespan—a deed that cemented the judge’s fame throughout Chinese literary and religious culture. In city god temples nationwide, Judge Cui stands beside the City God, recording merits and misdeeds, summoning souls at their appointed time, and upholding fairness and righteousness in the netherworld.