Based on an examination of the Gansu fraud scandal that was unveiled in 1781, this dissertation seeks to provide a re-evaluation of the concept of corruption in the context of the late eighteenth century Qing dynasty. It is argued that corruption was not a fixed category, but was a fluid and changing arena where the Qing central government and provincial officials negotiated its content and parameters. In addition to this, the ambiguity of the concept of corruption during this period was further enhanced by the fact that there was no clear distinction between public ( gong ) and private ( si ).
An important aspect of corruption in the period in question is that it was a reflection of the specific type of state-making in the border province of Gansu. The examination of Qing territorial administration of Gansu has illustrated that it was ironically the Qing state's latitudinarian policies towards Gansu's administration that facilitated stronger ties among Gansu officials. Following the conquest of Xinjiang, the Qing state opted to increase the power of the Shaanxi and Gansu governor general. The disclosure of the Gansu scandal and the ensuing imperial response represented an extension of these flexible policies in Gansu. It was a reaffirmation of the central government's power in the province. Moreover, the Qianlong emperor used the case to communicate his granary policy to the bureaucracy.
The commercialization of Gansu represented the other facet of the Gansu corruption case. Rapid commercialization stimulated by the conquest of Xinjiang, as well as state policies that encouraged merchant involvement in the local economy generated new opportunities for local officials. In the second half of the eighteenth century, the boundary between merchants and officials became gradually blurred. An increasing number of officials in the northwest cemented their ties by means of their involvement in local and interregional trade. Overall, the evidence suggests that there is no singular vantage point from which to comprehend and interpret the Gansu corruption case. It is rather argued that it is more suitable to view the events of 1781 in the light of numerous converging factors which are expounded in each chapter, and which constitute the whole of the story.
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