Judicial Bribery in Eighteenth-Century China

• In Event: Corruption in the Qing Dynasty: Practice, Prosecution, and Perceptions

Abstract

Although the image of the corrupt magistrate pervades both fiction and scholarly work, the phenomenon of “judicial bribery” (shouzang wangfa), referring to official acceptance of bribes in exchange for influencing the outcome of a legal proceeding, has not been fully examined in the scholarly literature. Judicial bribery was a significant form of local corruption, which drew on the magistrate's governing authority and his ability to bring the force of criminal justice system to bear. This paper explores the practice and prosecution of judicial bribery, as seen in case records concerning the impeachment and conviction of a Yongzheng-era county magistrate. Drawing primarily on archival materials from the First Historical Archives in Beijing, the paper analyzes some of the ways that local officials took advantage of the rigors of the judicial process – such as the threat of torture, corporal punishment, and execution – to solicit bribes, and how accused suspects balanced their fear of prosecution with their desire to bargain down the cost of the bribe. The progress and resolution of this case not only sheds light on a form of corruption that was commonly practiced the local level, but also on the effectiveness of the legal and institutional mechanisms that the Qing put into place to limit the practice.

Author

• Alexis Siemon, Princeton University