Beneficial from the point of view of personal advancement the purchase system unleashed a host of administrative and other evils,and therefore can be studied also as a form of corruption.
During the late Ch’ing period many of the normal features of the bureaucracy examinations,triennial merit assessments,punishments,introductions and recommendations,laws of avoidance,etc. were thrown into disregard as a resultof the purchase system. A few examples of thte consequences of the sale of office will suffice.