Qing Yao

Chapter 139 The Rules of Gift Giving

Zhao An had previously consulted Lao Ding about how to give gifts to superiors. Lao Ding did give some advice, but it was rather vague.

For example, last year he sent 11,000 taels to the Governor-General's Office, but this 11,000 taels was not sent all at once, but in several installments.

As a result, Zhao An thought that he had to send so much at once, and this misunderstanding could easily lead to problems.

Didn't the old master take it under the pretext of bribery?

"The imperial court only permitted officials to give gifts to their superiors on three major festivals, two birthdays, and for weddings and funerals, as well as as gifts of ice and charcoal. The 'three festivals' refer to the Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival, and Lunar New Year; the 'two birthdays' refer to the birthdays of the official and his wife. As for weddings and funerals, you should understand—it's a happy occasion in the superior's family, whether it's the birth of a child or a marriage. And funerals are..."

Teacher Lou is a man of high moral character who does not accept gifts, but having served as an official for several years, he is still familiar with the rules of officialdom.

“Jiangsu is a large and wealthy province, so the amount of gifts we give during festivals far exceeds that of other provinces. For example, the gift for the Governor-General is at least 1200 taels, plus 100 taels each for the door gift and tea gift, which is at least 1400 taels. For the Provincial Governor, it is 1000 taels, plus 50 taels each for the door gift and tea gift.”

Take the governor as an example. The five legal gifts he could receive during the "three festivals and two birthdays" a year amounted to seven thousand taels. The gifts for ice and charcoal also started at eight hundred taels. If there were many weddings and funerals in the governor's mansion, the amount would start at ten thousand taels.

This only refers to the tributes of one official. If we spread it across the entire Liangjiang officialdom, how much would they have to collect over a four-year term?

After deducting expenses, there were several million taels of income.

Of course, if it were Yunnan, Guizhou, Shaanxi, or Gansu, the price would be halved again.

After all, regional economies differ.

Here's the key point: According to Teacher Lou, aside from the three major festivals, two birthdays, weddings, funerals, and other special occasions, any gift from a subordinate to their superior, even a single penny, is considered bribery!

That's right, Zhao An committed the crime of bribery!

Because he gave the gift at the wrong time.

If you end up with a boss who's deliberately trying to make trouble for you, who else would take the fall?
Moreover, even legal gift-giving cannot be done indiscriminately; there are rules to follow.

To help Zhao An understand the intricacies of the situation and prevent him from making the same mistake again, Professor Lou gave a vivid example from the Jiangsu officialdom over the past two years.

"Three years ago, when Magistrate Ye of Jinshan County in Songjiang Prefecture took office, it happened to be the Mid-Autumn Festival. So he asked his clerk to prepare 1100 taels of silver and send it to the residence of Min Eyuan, the then Governor of Jiangsu."

As a result, Governor Min not only confiscated the money but also sent someone to Jinshan to reprimand Magistrate Ye on the spot. From then on, Magistrate Ye was repeatedly harassed by the prefectural government, and was dismissed before his three-year term was up. Not only did he fail to repay the high-interest debts he owed before taking office, but he also incurred substantial famine, ultimately dying of anger not long after his dismissal.

"Why?"

Zhao An thought there was no problem. Wasn't the governor's holiday gift supposed to be 1000 taels plus a door-package tea gift of 50 taels each?

They didn't give too much or too little.

"It's strange to be overly polite."

Teacher Lou gave a slight hum and said that when subordinates give gifts to their superiors, there is a distinction between direct superiors and indirect superiors.

The county magistrate and the prefect, and the prefect and the provincial administration commissioner, are direct superiors; the county magistrate and the provincial judicial commissioner, the provincial administration commissioner, and the governor are indirect superiors.

"If a county magistrate gives gifts to his indirect superiors without reason, he will incur the wrath of the masses and be unacceptable to his colleagues."

As they were talking, the carriage jolted, probably running over some bricks or something.

Zhao An didn't quite understand this concept: What business is it of yours if I give it to you? Is it illegal to have too much money to burn?
Seeing this, Teacher Lou shook his head and said, "The reason is very simple. For example, if you, the magistrate of Jinshan County, give a gift, should the magistrates of Fengxian and Nanhui, who are of the same rank, also give gifts? If you give gifts this year, what will happen next year? Gifts that shouldn't be given are being given indiscriminately because of your indiscriminate giving in Jinshan County, which forces everyone to open their own pockets. If you don't incur public wrath, who will?"

Zhao An understood, but then immediately realized something was amiss: "I have an excellent relationship with Magistrate Ding of Ganquan County in Yangzhou. Why does he send money to the Governor-General, the Provincial Governor, the Provincial Surveillance Commissioner, and even the Education Commissioner's Office every year?"

According to Teacher Lou, these officials were indirect superiors to Lao Ding, so there was no need for them to give gifts. But Lao Ding made it very clear that he gave as much as 40,000 taels of silver as tribute to several high-ranking officials in the province every year.

Isn't this exactly what Teacher Lou meant by incurring public wrath?

As a result, Teacher Lou taught him another point of knowledge, which is that the county that is the most outstanding is different from other counties in other prefectures.

What does it mean to be a model county?
To put it simply, it's the richest county in a certain prefecture.

As the richest county, it is by the rules that it should send more gifts than other counties. Otherwise, why would you be appointed as the magistrate of the most prosperous county?
On the north side of the river, Ganquan was the scapegoat, while on the south side, Wuxi County of Changzhou Prefecture was the scapegoat.

Every year, it earns tens of thousands more taels than other counties.

In summary, the social interactions and obligations within the Qing Dynasty's officialdom were extremely complex, with countless categories, each governed by specific rules and intricacies. Officials of any rank were forbidden from violating the unspoken rules established by their predecessors; once they crossed the line, they would be dismissed at best, and at worst, imprisoned.

Specifically regarding Zhao An, he had a direct superior-subordinate relationship with the old master Hu Gaowang, so he could give gifts. However, the fee standard for the academy was 600 taels for festival gifts and 20 taels each for door-to-door tea gifts.

Even if all the legal gift-giving items permitted by the imperial court were added together, Zhao An could only give Hu Gaowang a maximum of seven thousand taels a year.

As a result, you not only gave me seven thousand taels, but also another ten thousand taels. If we don't make an example of you, who will we make an example of?

However, Prince Jia was involved in this matter, and apart from Hu Gaowang, who was directly involved, no one else knew about it.

Now, professors from Jiangyin County and Changzhou Prefectural School want to invite Zhao An to dinner. According to custom, they will definitely offer something in return after the meal.

The two men weren't in a direct superior-subordinate relationship with Zhao An, so how much did they receive?
The inspectors of education were imperial envoys, so officials in various prefectures, states, and counties either didn't send gifts, or if they did, they had to send gifts according to the rank of education commissioner.

Not much, 800 taels plus 30 taels each for the door-packaged tea ceremony.

Sure enough, after they had eaten and drunk their fill, someone slipped Zhao An two large red envelopes.

The amount was indeed 860 taels, just as Teacher Lou had said.

On the way back, Zhao An kept squeezing the two large red envelopes, his eyes looking strange.

Teacher Lou, who was watching, couldn't help but be curious.

"There are more than 70 counties in Jiangsu. If I were to go and supervise education in each of them, wouldn't I be able to collect 50,000 to 60,000 taels of silver after making a round?"

Zhao An's little scheme was in full swing.

"Go and see for yourself."

Teacher Lou was too lazy to bother with Zhao An, whose head was full of money, because it was unrealistic. It would probably take more than a year to travel to more than seventy counties!

Zhao An thought about it and agreed. He couldn't help but regret not having a Santana to drive around in. Otherwise, he could just drive it around and make tens of thousands of taels of silver without doing anything. It would be quick and easy, and he would be very happy.

Since the supervisory commissioners were officials temporarily appointed by the imperial court, they did not have their own offices. Wherever they carried their plaques, that became their office, much like a circuit court.

Since the Ministry of Personnel staff hadn't arrived yet, Zhao An had no choice but to go with Teacher Lou to stay at the guesthouse of the Education Bureau.

After waiting for two days without anyone from the Ministry of Personnel arriving, they did manage to get the bigwig from the Liangjiang region.

The acting Governor-General of Liangjiang and Governor of Jiangsu, Fu Song, came to Jiangyin County to inspect the work.

(End of this chapter)