Corruption in Chinese Culture: A Bureaucratic Legacy

Corruption Report

Title: Corruption in Chinese Culture: A Bureaucratic Legacy

By: Dario Ortega

            The possibility that corruption is perceived different in China than in western liberal democracies is worth studying. Could it be that corruption is different in other cultures? Could it be that the history of a certain society shapes that perception? Or is it that all people across various cultures, histories and regions perceive corruption in the same sense; studying Chinese history it would seem the latter is not so.

            China is one of the earliest bureaucratic nation-states on earth. Since the unification under the Qin dynasty, China was ruled by a centralized authority, the emperor, and directly under him were his elite scholarly officials and notables. These elites were granted legislative, administrative and judicial powers in order to successfully administer China as the emperor ruled. It was such a high honor to be chosen by the emperor to rule in China that people praised and revered bureaucrats. With this prestige and recognition from society, bureaucrats were more successful than merchants in accumulating wealth than merchants. It was here that the line between business and governing began to disappear. As bureaucrats became more and more powerful, and with that power more and more prestigious; the opportunities to make economic gains were prevalent.

            With these new economic opportunities came the use of bureaucratic office power to ensure wealth production. As bureaucrats were subject to the emperor’s will, their hope to remain in office depended on the satisfaction of one man. If the emperor deemed a bureaucrat a failure, he would be stripped of his title and office. Although this happens often in western bureaucratic systems, in China this ‘firing’ would have meant more than just cleaning out a desk. The Chinese bureaucrat would have been seen as the ‘one who failed the emperor’ and would have perceived such a fail as dishonorable. Society would have seen it the same way as well. So with this fear of losing everything, the incentive to gain as much wealth as possible was born. Since dishonor and a ‘fall from grace’ was a constant threat, every avenue that could be used to prepare for such an event was taken advantage of, including using the bureaucratic position to gain wealth.

            Considering the history of bureaucratic authority and prestige, is it unusual to think that remnants of these memories would not continue to hold true in a society that prides itself in its long and unique history. In contemporary China, there still is a centralized authority and there still is a bureaucracy which is respected. Culture and history are two things that the Chinese people continue to hold dear, and this respect to those values which make them particular remains a keystone of their identity. Since this culture and history connect an honorable public life as a means to ensure financial security, it should not be shock to other societies that the line between business and politics in China can be crossed over from time to time by those in ‘prestigious’ positions.

Sources:           

Ting, Gong. The Politics of Corruption in Contemporary China: An Analysis of Policy Outcomes. Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers, 1994.