Putting money that doesn't belong to them
into their own pockets(中飽私囊)
During the Qing dynasty in China, there was
a mid-level official named Li Haiguan. After retiring, he spent 30 years
writing a novel that meticulously depicted various aspects of 18^(th)-century
Chinese society.
The following is a short passage from the
book:
From the Han dynasty onwards, China
implemented a system whereby the emperor would require local officials to
recommend talented individuals. After assessing and confirming these
individuals, the emperor would appoint them to positions in the central
government. This system continued into the Qing dynasty.
Tan Xiaoyi, a man of excellent character
and integrity, was recommended for a position in the central government. Upon
receiving the notification, he immediately set off for the capital to report
for duty.
As the Qing dynasty's central government
was enormous, with highly specialised departments and their own regulations, Tan
Xiaoyi hired a man named Zhang Sheng to assist him on his journey from his
hometown to the capital. Zhang Sheng was a professional liaison who would help
Tan Xiaoyi to register smoothly and handle all the miscellaneous tasks involved
in the process.
On the day they arrived in the capital, Tan
Xiaoyi set off at 5am with his luggage. They arrived at the city gates around
noon. At that time, anyone entering the capital had to pass through a
checkpoint. The original purpose of this checkpoint was to ensure the security
of the capital, so strict checks and controls were necessary for all people and
goods entering or leaving the city. However, due to the poor political climate
and rampant corruption in various departments, the low-ranking officials in
charge demanded a fee of 20 silver coins when Tan Xiaoyi and Zhang Sheng passed
through the checkpoint — almost a month's salary for an average person at the
time.
Zhang Sheng told Tan Xiaoyi that this fee
was not customs duty, which would be paid separately. If he wanted to take up
his post smoothly, he would have to cover this cost.
There would be many other unreasonable and
illegal fees to pay after entering the capital, but he would still have to pay
them.
Tan Xiaoyi then gave Zhang Sheng sixteen
silver coins and told him to use them to negotiate passage through customs.
After negotiating with the low-ranking
officials managing the checkpoints for about ten minutes, Zhang Sheng returned
to Tan Xiaoyi and told him that they had agreed to let them pass for 16 silver
coins.
Tan Xiaoyi was very happy. He thought he
was clever for saving himself 4 silver coins. However, he didn't know that
Zhang Sheng had only used 14 silver coins to negotiate with the officials, and
had secretly put two coins into his pocket during this process. After Tan
Xiaoyi and Zhang Sheng had entered the capital, Tan Xiaoyi sighed and said to
Zhang Sheng, 'Everyone likes money and wants more. It's human nature. If I were
to pay taxes and the government used my money to fund construction projects, I
would be very happy. It makes me very angry that these low-ranking officials
are using their positions to extort money from us; they're putting money that
doesn't belong to them into their own pockets.'
This idiom translates directly as 'putting
money that doesn't belong to them into their own pockets'.
It is used to describe someone who
illicitly seizes money that doesn't belong to them.
Dear friend, what are your feelings or
thoughts after hearing this story?
Is the political climate in your country
clean? Have you ever encountered this kind of disguised extortion?
I hope this story gives you some new
insights.
中飽私囊(Putting money that doesn't belong to
them into their own pockets)
中國的清王朝有一個中級官員，他的名字叫做李海觀，他在退休後花了30年的時間寫了一本小說，這本小說中很細緻地描寫了十八世紀中國社會上的各種樣貌。
這本書中有一小段如下。
中國從漢王朝開始實施了一項制度，漢王朝的國王會要求由各個地方的官員推薦推薦當地的一些有才能的人給他，國王針對這些人進行考核確認之後會讓這些有才能的人進入中央政府工作，這項制度延續到清王朝。
有一個人叫做譚孝移，他的品德很好而且很正直，他被推薦進入中央政府工作，他在收到通知後，他立刻啟程前往首都報到。
由於清王朝的中央政府非常龐大，中央政府內的各個部門的業務分類非常的細，還有每個部門之中都有不同的規定，所以譚孝移離開故鄉前往首都的路上，他雇用了一個名字叫做(張升)的男人，張升的職業是一個專業的代辦人員，他會協助譚孝移順利報到，並且協助譚孝移處理在這段流程中的所有雜事。
進入首都的當天，譚孝移帶著行李在清晨五點就出發，他們大概在接近中午時迪達首都的成門口，當時的人們進入首都時，會經過一個關卡，設置這個關卡的原本用意是要確保首都中的安全，所以必須嚴格地檢查與管制所以進出首都的人與物品，但是因為當時的政治風氣很差，而且各個部門中的貪汙情況很嚴重，所以譚孝移帶著行李與張升經過這關卡時，管理這個關卡的幾個低階官員直接要求它們繳交20個銀幣的費用，這筆費用幾乎是當時的百姓一個月的薪水了。
張升對譚孝移說，這筆費用不是關稅，關稅還要另外支付，如果你要順利就職，那麼你就必須要負擔這筆費用。
除了這筆費用之外，進入首都之後還會有許多這種你覺得不合理且不合法但你一定要支付的費用。
譚孝移便給了張升16個銀幣，譚孝移對張升說，你拿這16個銀幣去跟他們交涉，看可不可以就用16個銀幣個價格取得通關的資格。
張升經過與那幾個管理關卡的低階官員交涉大些十幾分鐘後，他回到譚孝移的身邊，他對譚孝移說，經過我與他們溝通之後，他們答應了，他們願意用16個銀幣讓我們通關。
譚孝移很開心，他覺得自已很聰明，他幫自己省下了4個銀幣，但他不知道張升在跟幾個管理關卡的低階官員，只拿出了14個銀幣去交涉，在這個過程中，張升把2個銀幣已經偷偷地放入了自己的口袋。
在譚孝移與張升進入首都後，譚孝移嘆了一口氣並對張升說。
每個人都喜歡錢也想要有更多的錢，這是無法改變的人性。
若是要我繳稅，政府用我的稅金進行更多的建設，我會非常地樂意。
這些低階官員藉著職位來勒索我們的行為讓我覺得很生氣，他們把不屬於自己的錢放在到自已的錢囊中。
這句成語直接翻譯的意思是把不屬於自己的錢放在到自已的錢囊中。
這句成語被用來形容一個人以不正當的手段侵占那些不屬於自己的金錢。
親愛的朋友，你聽完這個故事有怎樣的感受或有怎樣的想法呢。
你的國家中的政治風氣清廉嗎?你是否遇過這種變相的勒索的情況呢?
我希望這故事能讓你產生一些新的收穫。
出處為歧路燈-第7回
https://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E6%AD%A7%E8%B7%AF%E7%87%88/007