Ch'in Kuei (1090-1155) was a leading Chinese government official during the early years of the Southern Sung dynasty (1127-1279) and was the foremost advocate of a peace policy toward the jürchen, the Tungusic people who had established the Chin dynasty in North China.

Ch'in Kuei was a native of Chiang-ning in Kiangsu Province. In 1115 he passed the highest civil service examination and obtained the chin-shih degree. After an assignment as an instructor in Shantung, he received the distinction "eloquent and virtuous scholar." His marriage to the granddaughter of a former chief minister, Wang Kuei (1019-1085), may have aided his career. During the closing years of the Northern Sung dynasty (960-1127), Ch'in held a number of government positions, and when the capital fell he was a censor. In 1127 he was taken north as a captive by the Chin because of his opposition to their establishment of the...