Based on Hikaru Tanizaki’s work, this section outlines the conduct expected of Chinese officials after attaining office, revealing a system defined by emptiness, servility, intimidation, and bribery.

2016-04-14
〈Author Profile〉
Hikaru Tanizaki. Writer. After graduating, she worked for five years in trade sales at a Sino-Japanese joint venture trading company affiliated with Daiei Co., Ltd.
After leaving the company, her book China Tenamonya Trading Company was published by Bungeishunju and was later adapted into a film by Shochiku.
Her major works include The Price of the Japanese: Elite Engineers Bought by China (Shogakukan), Tenamonya Study Abroad at Peking University, Moving China: A Woman Traveling a Thousand Miles Alone (Bungeishunju), Male-Brain China, Female-Brain Japan: Why Do They Deceive? (Shueisha International), Tenamonya Chinese Business (Kodansha), among many others.
Since 2001, after studying at the Faculty of Economics at Peking University, she has lived in Beijing and is now in her fifteenth year there.
The following continues from the previous chapter.
So, what does one do after finally becoming an official?
Emptiness — Appear to have no backbone and no substance. Handle everything swiftly, but adapt flexibly to personal advantage and always leave an escape route.
Deference — Behave obsequiously toward superiors. It is acceptable to flatter them directly or to fawn over their families and friends.
Arrogance — Act overbearing and domineering toward subordinates. Even among them, treat politely those who are useful to you.
Cruelty — For the sake of objectives, do not care whether others live or die, whether children are sold, or whether bodies are traded. However, wrap this in the veneer of righteousness and morality.
Deafness — See nothing, say nothing, hear nothing. No matter what is said to you, pay it no heed.
Manipulation — Accept bribes. The tremendous effort required to become an official, the constant caution afterward, and the stress involved — all eleven characters up to this point exist solely for this purpose.
This is precisely the Chinese official.