xùn sī wǔ bì: 徇私舞弊 - Engage in Favoritism and Corruption

• Keywords: xunsiwubi, 徇私舞弊, Chinese corruption, Chinese favoritism, engage in malpractice, bend the law for personal gain, abuse of power in Chinese, official corruption, business fraud, malfeasance in office.
• Summary: Learn the powerful Chinese idiom 徇私舞弊 (xùn sī wǔ bì), a formal term describing the serious act of abusing one's power for personal gain and engaging in fraud. This page breaks down its meaning, cultural significance in China's anti-corruption context, and provides practical examples of its use in discussions about politics, business, and law. Understanding `xunsiwubi` is key to grasping conversations about official corruption and malpractice in the Chinese-speaking world.

• Pinyin (with tone marks): xùn sī wǔ bì
• Part of Speech: Chengyu (成语 - idiom); often used as a verb phrase.
• HSK Level: Advanced (HSK 6+)
• Concise Definition: To abuse one's power for personal gain and engage in fraudulent practices.
• In a Nutshell: Imagine a judge, a government official, or a company manager who is supposed to be fair. Instead, they secretly break the rules to help their family or friends, or to line their own pockets. This combination of favoritism and cheating is exactly what 徇私舞弊 describes. It's a very serious and formal accusation, implying a deliberate and illegal betrayal of trust for selfish reasons.

• 徇 (xùn): To follow or act in accordance with. In this context, it means to bend or cater to something.
• 私 (sī): Private, personal, or selfish.
• 舞 (wǔ): Literally “to dance,” but here it carries a negative meaning: to juggle, manipulate, or play tricks with.
• 弊 (bì): Fraud, malpractice, or a harmful loophole.

When you put them together, 徇私 (xùn sī) means “to bend to private interests,” and 舞弊 (wǔ bì) means “to manipulate things to create fraud.” The entire idiom paints a vivid picture of someone “dancing around” the rules to serve their own selfish, corrupt agenda.

• In Chinese culture, there is a strong historical ideal of the selfless and just official (`清官 - qīnguān`). 徇私舞弊 is the direct opposite of this ideal and represents a serious moral and legal failing. The term is heavily featured in China's official anti-corruption campaigns, often appearing in news headlines when high-ranking officials (“tigers”) or lower-level cadres (“flies”) are investigated and prosecuted.
• Comparison to Western Concepts: While you might think of “cronyism,” “nepotism,” or “corruption,” `徇私舞弊` is more specific and encompassing. “Cronyism” is about favoring friends, but 徇私舞弊 explicitly includes the element of active fraud and cheating (`舞弊`) as part of the act. It's less about a general state of a corrupt system and more about the specific illegal actions taken by an individual in power. It's very close to the legal term “malfeasance in office” but is a much more common phrase in public discourse.

• Formality: This is a very formal and serious term. You would not use it to describe a friend cutting in line. It is reserved for official reports, legal proceedings, news media, and serious discussions about integrity and ethics.
• Connotation: Exclusively negative and carries a heavy weight of condemnation. Accusing someone of `徇私舞弊` is a grave charge.
• Common Contexts:
  • Government and Politics: The most common usage. It refers to officials taking bribes, awarding government contracts to relatives, or otherwise abusing their public office.
  • Business: Used to describe executives who falsify financial reports, embezzle company funds, or create shell companies for personal profit.
  • Academia: Can be used to describe a professor leaking an exam to a favored student or a committee engaging in fraudulent admissions practices.

• Example 1:
  • 那位官员因徇私舞弊而接受调查。
  • Pinyin: Nà wèi guānyuán yīn xùn sī wǔ bì ér jiēshòu diàochá.
  • English: That official is under investigation for engaging in favoritism and corruption.
  • Analysis: A very common and standard usage you would see in a news report. It directly links the action (`徇私舞弊`) to its consequence (investigation).
• Example 2:
  • 公司严禁任何形式的徇私舞弊行为。
  • Pinyin: Gōngsī yánjìn rènhé xíngshì de xùn sī wǔ bì xíngwéi.
  • English: The company strictly prohibits any form of malpractice for selfish ends.
  • Analysis: This shows its use in a formal, corporate context, like in a company's code of conduct. `行为 (xíngwéi)` means “behavior” or “act.”
• Example 3:
  • 他被指控在招标过程中徇私舞弊，将合同给了自己的亲戚。
  • Pinyin: Tā bèi zhǐkòng zài zhāobiāo guòchéng zhōng xùn sī wǔ bì, jiāng hétong gěile zìjǐ de qīnqi.
  • English: He was accused of practicing favoritism and fraud during the bidding process, giving the contract to his own relative.
  • Analysis: This example provides a specific context (bidding process) and shows a concrete outcome of the corruption.
• Example 4:
  • 历史上的许多王朝都因为官员徇私舞弊而最终走向衰亡。
  • Pinyin: Lìshǐ shàng de xǔduō wángcháo dōu yīnwèi guānyuán xùn sī wǔ bì ér zuìzhōng zǒuxiàng shuāiwáng.
  • English: Many dynasties in history ultimately declined and fell because of officials engaging in corruption for personal gain.
  • Analysis: This places the term in a broader, historical context, linking it to major societal consequences.
• Example 5:
  • 建立一个透明的监督机制是防止徇私舞弊的关键。
  • Pinyin: Jiànlì yīgè tòumíng de jiāndū jīzhì shì fángzhǐ xùn sī wǔ bì de guānjiàn.
  • English: Establishing a transparent supervision mechanism is key to preventing favoritism and malpractice.
  • Analysis: Here, the term is used abstractly as a problem that needs to be prevented by a system (`机制 - jīzhì`).
• Example 6:
  • 法官必须公正无私，绝不能徇私舞弊。
  • Pinyin: Fǎguān bìxū gōngzhèng wúsī, jué bùnéng xùn sī wǔ bì.
  • English: A judge must be fair and impartial, and can absolutely not bend the law for personal gain.
  • Analysis: This example contrasts `徇私舞弊` with its opposite ideal: `公正无私 (gōngzhèng wúsī)`, meaning impartial and selfless.
• Example 7:
  • 如果你在工作中发现徇私舞弊的证据，你应该立即上报。
  • Pinyin: Rúguǒ nǐ zài gōngzuò zhōng fāxiàn xùn sī wǔ bì de zhèngjù, nǐ yīnggāi lìjí shàngbào.
  • English: If you discover evidence of corruption and fraud at work, you should report it immediately.
  • Analysis: A practical sentence demonstrating the term's use in a professional ethics scenario. `证据 (zhèngjù)` means evidence.
• Example 8:
  • 这次考试的监考非常严格，杜绝了任何徇私舞弊的可能性。
  • Pinyin: Zhè cì kǎoshì de jiānkǎo fēicháng yángé, dùjuéle rènhé xùn sī wǔ bì de kěnéngxìng.
  • English: The proctoring for this exam was very strict, eliminating any possibility of cheating or favoritism.
  • Analysis: While simple cheating is `作弊 (zuòbì)`, `徇私舞弊` can be used in an exam context if it implies a proctor helping a specific student (the `徇私` part).
• Example 9:
  • 整个项目充满了徇私舞弊，导致了巨大的经济损失。
  • Pinyin: Zhěnggè xiàngmù chōngmǎnle xùn sī wǔ bì, dǎozhìle jùdà de jīngjì sǔnshī.
  • English: The entire project was filled with corruption and malpractice, leading to huge economic losses.
  • Analysis: Shows the idiom used to characterize a situation or project, not just a single person's action.
• Example 10:
  • 他利用职权徇私舞弊，为自己和家人谋取了不正当利益。
  • Pinyin: Tā lìyòng zhíquán xùn sī wǔ bì, wèi zìjǐ hé jiārén móuqǔle bùzhèng-dāng lìyì.
  • English: He used his official power to engage in favoritism and fraud, seeking improper benefits for himself and his family.
  • Analysis: A comprehensive sentence often found in legal verdicts, linking the abuse of power (`利用职权`) with the action (`徇私舞弊`) and the goal (`谋取不正当利益`).

• Don't use it for minor issues: This term is for serious breaches of trust, usually involving illegality and an abuse of power. Using it to describe your friend getting a slightly bigger piece of cake would be dramatic and incorrect. For smaller, everyday favoritism, a term like `偏心 (piānxīn - to be partial)` is more appropriate.
• False Friend: Not just “cheating”: The standard word for cheating on a test is `作弊 (zuòbì)`. 徇私舞弊 is much more complex. It must involve the `徇私` element—acting for personal or selfish gain—and is almost always done by someone in a position of authority. A student cheating for themselves is `作弊`; a teacher giving that student the answers beforehand is `徇私舞弊`.
• Difference from `走后门`: `走后门 (zǒu hòumén)`, or “using the back door,” refers to using connections to get around rules. While it's a form of favoritism, it can sometimes be seen as a morally gray way of navigating bureaucracy. 徇私舞弊 is never gray; it is black-and-white illegal and unethical fraud.

• 腐败 (fǔbài) - Corruption. This is the general, overarching concept. `徇私舞弊` is a specific *type* of corrupt action.
• 贪污 (tānwū) - Embezzlement; graft. A more specific crime, focusing on the theft of funds by someone in a position of trust.
• 受贿 (shòuhuì) - To accept bribes. This is often one of the actions involved in `徇私舞弊`.
• 滥用职权 (lànyòng zhíquán) - Abuse of power. A very similar, formal legal term that is a near-synonym and often used alongside `徇私舞弊`.
• 以权谋私 (yǐ quán móu sī) - To use power to seek personal gain. Another very close synonym that emphasizes the motive.
• 官商勾结 (guān shāng gōujié) - Collusion between officials and business people. This describes a common scenario where `徇私舞弊` takes place.
• 走后门 (zǒu hòumén) - “Go through the back door.” The more informal, everyday concept of using personal connections to bypass rules, which is a less severe form of the `徇私` principle.
• 清廉 (qīnglián) - Uncorrupted, honest (in government). This is a direct antonym, describing an official who is free of corruption.