Since ancient times, there have been many corrupt officials#
Song scholar Ye Shi said: "Since ancient times, there have been many corrupt officials." In fact, it is not only the Song Dynasty; throughout China's history from the Qin to the Qing, in over two thousand years of autocratic rule, no dynasty has escaped the misfortune of rampant corrupt officials, especially in the later periods of dynasties, where corrupt officials even accelerated the downfall of the dynasty.
Why are corrupt officials never eradicated?#
Why have corrupt officials never been eradicated? Because the excessive reproduction and expansion of the ruling class leads to redundant officials and personnel, resulting in a bloated and rampant bureaucratic system, inefficiency and corruption in the officialdom, and factions occupying positions and enjoying salaries without contributing. Bloat is the beginning of decay; high salary expenditures trigger a fiscal crisis for the government, and the large interest groups of the ruling class exploit the common people excessively and without restraint, leading to an imbalance of wealth, suffering among the populace, which in turn threatens political stability, falling into a vicious cycle of "officials forcing the people to revolt."
Lessons from history#
"Corrupt officials harm the people, and they have slaughtered my entire family; today is the perfect time for revenge," the heroes of Liangshan expressed the reason: "It is because the court is unclear, condoning corrupt officials in power, allowing them to abuse their authority and cruelly harm good citizens, that we are willing to assist Song Jiang and act on behalf of heaven." Confucius said: "Those with a country and a family do not worry about scarcity but about inequality; they do not worry about poverty but about instability." Qing scholar Yu Yue verified that this saying originally meant: "Do not worry about poverty but about inequality; do not worry about scarcity but about instability."
The way to stabilize the people#
The sages believe that those with a country and a family do not worry about wealth being insufficient but about political inequality; they do not worry about land and population being small but about not being able to stabilize the people. So, how can we stabilize the people? Yan Ying said: "In acquiring wealth, it should be equitable, balancing the rich and the poor, and not indulging in desires." Inequality in wealth will inevitably provoke resistance from the people.
The responsibility of the rulers#
To alleviate social contradictions and prompt the ruling class to restrain their behavior, it must be "balancing the have-nots and the haves, equalizing the rich and the poor," especially for the privileged class, seeking profit must be moderate and restrained. In Yan Ying's view, wealth should be "regulated by virtue," neither too much nor too little. Rulers should understand the hardships of the people, "know their poverty and wealth, and not let them suffer from cold and hunger; then the people will be close to them."
The balance between economy and politics#
If the ruler "hoards wealth and does not use it, it is ominous; if he neglects the distribution of wealth and does not allocate it to the people, the common people will inevitably divide it themselves." What Confucius and Yan Ying referred to as "equality" is not "averaging," but rather "equilibrium," which Zhu Xi explained as "each getting their share," meaning "justice." The ruling class should treat the common people with fairness and justice, without excessive exploitation.
The paradox of autocratic rule#
However, throughout history, autocratic rulers often set the slogan of "equality" when establishing their rule, but once they secure the throne, the autocratic centralized rule they implement deviates from the original intention of "equality," excessively exploiting the common people, indulging in extreme desires without restraint, leading to rampant corruption, exacerbating the divide between rich and poor, resulting in a situation where "the rich man's door is filled with wine and meat, while the roads have frozen corpses."
The tragedy of cycles#
How should one grasp a measure in dealing with the common people? Dong Zhongshu believed, "Let the rich be sufficient to show their wealth, but not to be arrogant; let the poor be sufficient to sustain life, but not to be anxious. This is the measure." However, under the dominance of the autocratic imperial ideology, Dong Zhongshu could not see the roots of class opposition and exploitation.
The intensification of social contradictions#
Over thousands of years, in the later periods of each dynasty, there often appeared phenomena that severely deviated from Dong Zhongshu's so-called "measure": on one hand, the rich not only showed their wealth but also became arrogant and overbearing. On the other hand, the poor could not sustain life, leading to numerous worries. The most pitiable aspect is that the poor, in their shame, resort to unscrupulous means to pursue material desires.
Conclusion#
The entire society falls into Machiavellianism, resorting to any means to achieve its goals. "Measure" means an appropriate ratio of the distribution of labor results between the government and the common people engaged in individual economies. This ratio can ensure that the common people maintain their reproduction, rather than exhausting resources and forcing them to take risks.
Excessive exploitation has become an important reason for the periodic outbreak of peasant wars in ancient Chinese society. Although the rulers of autocratic dynasties recognize the importance of this "measure" for their long-term stability, each dynasty inevitably "exploits excessively," especially in the later periods of the dynasty, where the government's excessive exploitation of the common people ultimately leads to a change of regime.
The cycle of power and corruption#
Why do autocratic rulers knowingly act against their own interests? Because the periodic fiscal crises of monarchic autocratic societies are inevitable. Why do autocratic dynasties experience periodic fiscal crises? In the development process of monarchic autocratic dynasties, the overall trend is that the growth of the "non-productive population" exceeds that of the "productive population," with the growth of the ruling class's population being the main part of the non-productive population.
As the dynasty develops, these explicit and implicit expenditures become an increasingly severe economic burden on the state. One can understand the reasons by looking at the Song Dynasty's "graceful seals" and "shadow appointments." The Song Dynasty particularly favored the royal family and trusted disciples, arbitrarily granting official positions, resulting in thousands of people flooding into the bureaucratic ranks each year.
The outcome#
As the ruling class's exploitation of the common people deepens, over time, once faced with natural disasters or foreign enemies, there will only be a change of regime and a shift in policies.