Let's take the Qing Dynasty as an example to see the performance of this corruption cycle.
When the emperor shunzhi entered the customs, the princes and ministers still retained the simple style of many nomadic people outside the customs, which was in sharp contrast with the greed of the officialdom in the late Qing Dynasty. Some corrupt officials were not punished in the Ming Dynasty, but they were severely punished for corruption after betraying their country for glory and surrendering to the Qing Dynasty. Even the heroes who built the dynasty can't be exempted from punishment. During the tenth year of Shunzhi (1653), the emperor shunzhi personally conducted a wide-ranging assessment of government and government officials, and 969 officials were dismissed, demoted and promoted for violating laws and regulations. Since then, the court has formulated a three-year planning system for officials.
During the reign of Kangxi, the world was prosperous and the national treasury began to fill, but the court continued to remain relatively clean. At that time, the court personnel were only110-1/20 of the Ming Dynasty, and the expenses were only 1/8 of the Ming Dynasty. The size of the imperial court was only 3/65,438+00 of that of the Ming Dynasty, and even a generation of upright officials and an eternal model Yu Chenglong appeared. In the following Yongzheng period, the problem of corruption rose, but Yong Zhengdi took a firm and stern attitude, maintaining a high-pressure situation against corruption from top to bottom, punishing corrupt elements, from the closest relatives down to local petty officials. Therefore, in the early days of the prosperity of Qing Kang, Yong and Gan, corrupt forces did not dare to raise their heads publicly.
During the Qianlong period, corruption came out of the trough and began to rise strongly. Forty years after Qianlong, there was a corrupt public office. "States and counties give what they want, and often divide the difference between bribery and Jane." This kind of stolen goods is not the family property of counties from the beginning, but directly related to the state treasury. The boss is willing to take the bait, knowing it, but not asking, being constrained by it, there is nothing to do. "There is no difference between officialdom and the market, and government affairs have also mutated into commodities.
After entering the Jiaqing and Daoguang periods, official corruption showed a vicious expansion trend. From princes to petty officials, they all neglect their duties and perfunctory administration. "Time is long and it has become a habit." Being an official for thousands of miles is only for food and clothing, and all official duties are embellished. Even the officers and men of the Guards are "in groups of three or five, carrying birds in cages, wandering all day, and even gambling together."
After Xianfeng, the Qing Dynasty accelerated corruption, and the people complained bitterly. The Heaven and Earth Society once said in the notice: "There are many corrupt officials in the world, and corrupt officials in yamen are no different from tigers and wolves." "People's wealth is exhausted! The suffering of the people is extremely embarrassing! " An essay issued by the Taiping Army said: "Manchuria is also full of corrupt officials, making men and women cry." "The official accepts bribes, and the punishment is exempted with money. The rich children are in power and the heroes are desperate." It can be seen that corruption not only amplified other social contradictions, but also contributed to the chaos in the late Qing Dynasty, and was also the chief culprit in the demise of the Qing Dynasty and China.
Such a "periodic law of corruption" existed not only in the Qing Dynasty, but also in other dynasties. Why is there such a cycle? There are three main reasons:
The first reason, in modern language, is that people's "faith" in officialdom is constantly losing.
The so-called belief is embodied in the ancient officials' recognition of Confucian morality, their insistence on personal integrity of benevolence, righteousness, courtesy, wisdom and trust, and their practice of the ruling concept of being honest and clean and the people being the masters of their own affairs. At the beginning of the establishment of the new regime, officials and ministers either personally experienced the downfall of the former dynasty, or suffered greatly from it, or were traitors to the former dynasty. Therefore, they have a deep understanding of the relationship between corruption and human death, and they insist on personal integrity. Coupled with the fact that society had just come out of chaos, everything was in ruins, and their enterprising spirit was relatively sufficient. Therefore, in the early days of the establishment of the dynasty, it was often politically clear and honest.
For example, Zhu Yuanzhang, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, hated corrupt officials and even did things like peeling, cramping and killing people. Why? Because I witnessed my parents being exploited and persecuted by corrupt officials in the Yuan Dynasty, I experienced the tragedy of family destruction and death at an early age. After the parents died, there was no straw mat to wrap the body, or the young Zhu Yuanzhang and his brother dragged their parents' bodies to the wilderness for burial. From then on, Zhu Yuanzhang became a little novice monk, a beggar, and rebelled with a gun. It was really miserable and he had a bitter hatred with corrupt officials. Therefore, when he became emperor, as long as Zhu Yuanzhang received a report of corruption or bending the law, he was likely to associate it with the tragic ending of corruption and bending the law by officials and parents in the Yuan Dynasty. In this way, will corrupt officials in Zhu Yuanzhang's period have a good life?
Regrettably, this hatred will disappear with the passing of the older generation, and enterprises will be exhausted in comfort. Zhu Yuanzhang's memory of the painful experience is useless to later emperors such as Jiajing and Wanli. Dourgen, the actual master and regent of the Central Plains in Dingding in the Qing Dynasty, once pointed out: "The reason why the Ming Dynasty was overthrown was that officials of the internal and external imperial courts paid bribes in public, and their merits and demerits were unknown. Where the official is used, the rich can enter even if they are not filial, and the poor can't use it even if they are virtuous. Therefore, all saints and sages hate Tibet, and those who are not virtuous are lucky enough to enter ... The country of chaos and evil begins here, and the crime is greater than this. " Zai Feng, the last regent of the Qing Dynasty, had no such understanding. Even Cao Zhenyong, who experienced three dynasties in the middle of the Qing Dynasty, only knew how to kowtow and talk less.
The second reason is the inferiority between emperors.
Why only say the emperor, not the minister? Because under the autocratic monarchy, the emperor holds the highest power and is at the top of the power pyramid. All the clues of power and different bureaucratic systems will eventually come down to the emperor. With the change of dynasties, the degree of absolute monarchy is getting higher and higher. In the Qing Dynasty, the military minister equivalent to the prime minister could only kneel down to record the emperor's will, and the emperor realized absolute dictatorship. Therefore, the personal quality of the emperor is related to the overall political quality, and it is also an important factor of political clarity.
At the same time, the emperor is the biggest victim of corruption and bribery In the final analysis, the public funds embezzled by officials are all in the pockets of the emperor. When they run amok, it is the imperial edict and laws that are embezzled. If they don't act, they will ignore the emperor's inculcation, and it is obvious that the big head pays the bill. What is even more exasperating is that the emperor has to bear the consequences of corrupt officials: the state treasury has been hollowed out, the people's hearts have been lost, the government affairs have been corrupted, and finally the emperor's country is in danger. Therefore, the emperor has the motivation and requirements to fight corruption more than anyone else.
In fact, the greater the power, the more difficult it is for the emperor. A highly autocratic monarch put forward extremely high requirements for the emperor's ability. First of all, the emperor should have lofty professional ethics. Because he is busy every day, he has to read a mountain of memorials and documents every day. Since Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, eunuchs have been carrying bamboo slips for him to read every day. In Yong Zhengdi, although bamboo slips have been replaced by paper, he still has to burn the midnight oil to read documents every day, and he can only sleep for a few hours in the early hours of the morning. It is a boring job to face Wenshan and the case every day. People without strong willpower and professional ethics can't accept this lifelong career. For example, Emperor Zheng De of the Ming Dynasty had a lifelong conflict with ministers because he had to go to work and attend meetings on time, while Emperor Wanli simply refused to perform the duties of the emperor and hid in the deep palace for decades. Secondly, the emperor must have a strong body and strong ability. As we constantly concentrate on ourselves, we have to take on more and more workload.
The emperor's work is lifelong and can't stop for a day. He wants to find out the truth, prioritize and make the right decision in complex crises, problems, complaints, complaints and trivial matters. This job is really beyond the reach of ordinary people.
Generally speaking, the founding emperor can always complete the task well. Liu Bang in the Western Han Dynasty, Liu Xiu in the Eastern Han Dynasty, Li Yuan and Li Shimin in the Tang Dynasty, Zhao Kuangyin in the Northern Song Dynasty, Nurhachi and Huang Taiji in the Qing Dynasty were all killed in social unrest. They have rich work experience and cherish the mountains and rivers they have laid, so they will not complain at work, let alone escape. However, even a workaholic who hates corruption like Zhu Yuanzhang cannot eradicate corruption. Then how can we expect those descendants who were born in warm and rich villages and grew up in the hands of palace women to do better and do better? Therefore, the emperor's ability can only be worse from generation to generation, the intensity of anti-corruption is worse from generation to generation, and the corrupt environment will become more and more relaxed.
The third reason is that the bureaucracy as the main body of corruption is getting stronger and stronger.
No matter what kind of beliefs, policies and guidelines, all need bureaucratic system to implement and implement. A strong and stable bureaucratic system is a major feature in the history of China. Generally speaking, at the beginning of the dynasty, the scale of government agencies was still relatively small, and the number of officials was not much. In addition, the belief is still there and the emperor is prominent, so the corruption of the bureaucratic system is not prominent. However, after several generations, the bureaucratic system is flourishing and intertwined, and it is easy to deviate from its proper purpose and develop independent logic. That is a set of conservative and moderate logic, with self-interest as the purpose. In this way, the interests of the bureaucratic departments exceed the interests of the emperor and the people, and also exceed the interests of the entire political system. The most terrible thing is that with the expansion of institutions and personnel, the logic of bureaucratic independence will continue to strengthen and the whole system will become stronger and stronger.
When Emperor Jiajing ascended the throne, the Cabinet recorded that Yang Tinghe abolished the supernumerary of 148700 in the form of an imperial edict when the new emperor ascended the throne. Only one ration can save the court 1532000 stone every year. It should be said that this is a good thing that benefits the country and the people, but it has met with fierce opposition from the bureaucratic system. From then on, Yang Tinghe was escorted to and from work by hundreds of imperial guards specially sent by Emperor Jiajing, otherwise his life was dying. Because layoffs not only directly harm the immediate interests of the dismissed officials, but also harm the interests of related circles and departments. How many people's livelihood and development, and how many departments' faces and powers are pinned on it? How can they stop there and get rid of Yang Tinghe as the number one enemy soon? As a result, people kept sending Yang Tinghe's black materials to the desk of Emperor Jiajing, even sending arrows to the Yang family, or the only way to ambush in Yang Tinghe. In the end, Yang Tinghe was defeated by powerful bureaucrats. This incident warned future generations that it is extremely dangerous to "slim down" the bureaucracy.
Being in the bureaucratic system, the purpose of officials is not for the country and the people, but purely for personal interests. The pyramid-shaped structure determines that if officials want to get more benefits, they must climb up and pursue promotion. As a result, by the middle of the dynasty, the bureaucratic system was all about seeking jobs and promoting to a higher position and making a fortune.
In the early years of Jiaqing, Hong Jiang, who was dismissed as pedantic by officialdom, was divided into four types: dull, weak, gaining power and muddling along. He said with emotion, "Today's talents are exhausted. Take the edge of the mold as a matter of understanding, weakness as a good policy, a firm foothold as a plan to advance, and an official plan. People who take this road are all in their place, and the clothes and bowls are the same, which is difficult to solve. " Such an official atmosphere makes officials at all levels regard official business as nothing, throw off their arms to take bribes, do things indiscriminately and do nothing. For example, in the middle and late Qing Dynasty, the army was extremely corrupt. The corrupt methods of military officers are far less extensive than those of civil servants who directly manage the people and are in charge of finance and justice, but they still create a variety of search methods, such as eating empty salaries, paying soldiers, getting rewards for their work, and participating in smuggling and selling opium. Officers, big and small, "do not take military affairs as their profession", "shameless and selfish, enrich themselves", and the relationship between officers and men in the army is tense, factional and undisciplined. This is an army that the Qing Dynasty could not rectify, let alone abolish it. Because military bureaucrats have become so powerful that they bully their superiors and deceive their subordinates and resist supervision.
During the Qianlong period, a major disaster relief case broke out in Gansu, which led to collective corruption in Gansu officialdom. Only Wang Danwang, the political envoy, embezzled more than 3 million yuan. Act according to law, and officials at or above the provincial level in Gansu will be empty. This is obviously difficult to operate in practice. Gan Long had to be lenient, but he didn't win all Gansu officials. Even so, 56 Gansu officials were killed, 46 survived, and countless officials were dismissed, demoted and fined. Here, the collective corruption of the bureaucratic system has also produced a powerful force, which makes law enforcers afraid to act according to law. Wang Danwang was an official who donated money. Emperor Qianlong realized that "donating money to officials is not good governance". His grandson Daoguang also lamented: "I am always uneasy about donating classes. They will seek the roots and seek profits, and their hearts can be learned. " "They never study, they will seek for profits and be honest." But grandchildren just can't abolish the donation of officials. It was not until Eight-Nation Alliance occupied Beijing that Emperor Guangxu finally made up his mind. The imperial edict above explicitly prohibited the whole country from donating money to buy officials. However, due to the relationship between the local government and the central government, the government's fiscal revenue, personal network, etc., until the demise of the Qing Dynasty, the donation behavior always existed.
Many systems established in the early days of a dynasty seem impossible in the middle and late stages. For example, the emperor shunzhi's three-year plan for officials became a mere formality after Qianlong, and completely turned into a form of mutual compliment. The emperor shunzhi's feat of exempting 969 officials from wearing hats at one time became a legend in the later period. For another example, in 1659, the emperor shunzhi ordered: "In the future, corrupt officials will be exempted from their citizenship if they take bribes for more than 12 times, and forty boards will be responsible for emigrating to the north", and "if officials take bribes for more than one or two times, they will emigrate". /p-11463 49882708.html officials embezzle 12 ounces, and property will be confiscated, and officials embezzle 12 ounces, and they will be exiled. According to this standard, hundreds of ounces of "farewell" will be given to each other in the middle and late Qing Dynasty. Every summer and winter, local officials will present thousands of ounces of "ice worship" and "charcoal worship" to the central ministries and commissions, and everyone will get it.
The above example may be a bit extreme, but in order to prevent corruption, Shunzhi once stipulated that "no visitors, no books, no gamblers and no banquets" after the suggestion was sent. This should be said to be a law that can be done, but if future generations do not have interpersonal communication and do everything by themselves, it is estimated that they can do it in a few days. This is the role of the periodic law of dynasty corruption.