Corruption in Eighteenth-Century China

Abstract

Nancy Park locates the place of corruption in eighteenth-century Qing China by discussing its legal definition as well as its treatment in official and popular writings. By viewing corruption from these three perspectives-the perception shaped by formal, written law; by official handbooks and other related materials; and by popular consciousness as reflected in nonelite discourse-she finds that its definition varied considerably depending on "time, place, context, and speaker." Furthermore, in a society where gift giving constituted a widespread practice and possessed significant social ramifications, notions of corruption and bribery were necessarily "fluid." This fluidity, which was further conditioned by changing political "standards of custom, ethics, and pragmatism," meant that corruption was an integral part of the eighteenth-century Chinese state and society.