SuaveG – The Gentle Path

Chinese mythology, folktales, and literature

bribery

  • Han Feizi – Chapter 48.8

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    This Han Feizi ‑ Chapter 48.8 condemns private‑righteousness and benevolence overriding statutes. It argues honor and merit must stem solely from state law. Titles, rewards‑punishments and decrees form three pillars for building a well‑ordered “state possessing the Way”.

  • Han Feizi – Chapter 32.12

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    This Han Feizi ‑ Chapter32.12 Legalist excerpt presents multiple tales. It highlights political trustworthiness’ governance value and also covers investigation and surveillance techniques for handling litigation and official corruption.

  • Han Feizi – Chapter 22.34

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    Han Feizi tells Lu Dan bribed attendants to gain favor, then fled, knowing trust from hearsay is fragile.

  • Han Feizi – Chapter 2.2

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    Han Fei advises Qin: use diplomacy to win Chu/Wei, ally with Han, strike Zhao. War is risky; reckless moves isolate Qin and court disaster.

  • The Fall of Heshen: From Favorite to Foe

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    This article narrates the rise and fall of Heshen, the most corrupt official in Qing history. He won Qianlong’s favor, seized supreme power, and amassed wealth exceeding a decade’s national revenue. After Qianlong’s death, Jiaqing Emperor quickly arrested him, seized his fortune, and ordered him to commit suicide, marking a major clean-up of the…

  • “Heaven Knows, Earth Knows”: Integrity and Downfall in the Court [Eastern Han]

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    This article tells Eastern Han’s tragic tale of integrity amid decline. It features Ban Chao’s frontier service, Cai Lun’s paper invention, and Yang Zhen’s famous “Heaven knows, earth knows” stand against bribery. After Empress Deng’s death, corrupt eunuchs and clans seized power, executing upright officials and dooming the dynasty.

  • The Stone Hut and the Horse Keeper [Spring & Autumn]

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    This article narrates King Goujian of Yue’s harrowing years of captivity in the State of Wu. Following his defeat at Lake Tai, Goujian was forced to live in a stone hut near King Helü’s tomb, enduring the humiliating role of a horse keeper. It details his strategy of deception, where he served King Fuchai…

  • Unveiling political corruption with two cases of bribery [Three Kingdoms]

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    In a previous article, we discussed how the author of Romance of the Three Kingdoms was unfair in his evaluation of the Yellow Turban Uprising. Writing from the standpoint of the landlord class, his perspective on the peasant uprising was inevitably biased.

  • Sequel to a Dream

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    After winning the title of jinshi, (Tran. Note: Jinshi was a successful candidate in the highest imperial examination; juren was a successful candidate at the provincial level) Juren Zeng and several others who had passed the examination went for an excursion in the suburbs of the provincial capital.