崔寔

Cui Shi was an important author of the Eastern Han period, though details of his life are now difficult to establish, and publicly available information is limited. Two of his works are included here: the Siyue Ling and the Zheng Lun. Judging by their subject matter, the Siyue Ling records farming and household livelihood month by month, covering cultivation, sericulture and weaving, food, medicine, and buying and selling as part of daily arrangements. It combines seasonal knowledge with practical guidance, and later generations have often regarded it as important material for studying rural life and the agricultural economy of the Han dynasty. The Zheng Lun, by contrast, discusses contemporary politics, focusing on social governance and real abuses, in a pragmatic and direct style. One work emphasizes practical life, the other political criticism, and together they reflect Cui Shi's realistic, utility-oriented approach to writing, which also gives him a place in the social sciences and medicine-related categories.