A recent press report quoted a contractor by the name of Fang who had to bribe government officials for business opportunities.

In the interview he said: "Whenever I pass a bundle of cash to them, I see them as a useful dog that runs errands for me. Otherwise, I cannot keep myself psychologically balanced. Why should I stash their pockets with my hard-earned money and humiliate myself in the process? That money is my sweat and blood."

That is certainly one way of looking at it.

The officials on the receiving end of his "generosity" probably see themselves as well-deserving of such largess. "I provide you with a valuable service. Western firms pay hefty consulting fees, you know," they might reason.

Or they might be more blunt: "I control the survival of your business. So you've got to pay up!"

For those of us outside this circle of corruption, Briber Fang is resorting to the classic approach of "mental victory," searching for a way to come out on top from the position of a victim.

But don't accuse him of being self-delusional. It is a trait that has been associated with Chinese resilience.

The archetype of Chinese-style "mental victory" is the fictitious Ah Q, from "The True Story of Ah Q," arguably the best literary work of 20th century China. As created by Lu Xun, this ordinary peasant is absolutely at the bottom rung of the social ladder. Landlords beat him up; women reject him.

If he had any sense of objectivity, he would have been drowned in self-pity. But hell, no! He always gives the most positive spin on any hostile circumstances: Beaten by someone rich and powerful? Then Ah Q would mutter: "It was son beating father," as in Chinese hierarchy Father lords over Son.

Rejected by the woman who caught his fancy? Then she is ugly, as demonstrated by her unbound feet.

We tend to view Ah Q as a clown, but there is an Ah Q in all of us - or he wouldn't be the archetypal Chinese. If we face an oppressive force, we call it the "servant" and see ourselves as "master."

There is an adage that I heard when I was a kid: "If you profit from politics, you can last only 30 years; but if you make your living on a farm, you can last 10,000 years."

I don't know whether mandarins or peasants or scholars came up with this. But it was certainly designed to make peasants feel good about themselves. Of course a peasant's "career" lasts forever. Nobody wants to be a peasant because they are exploited by all other social strata, including us urban dwellers who pay them pocket change for backbreaking work.

When Lu Xueyi, a social scientist, came up with a new classification that divided the current Chinese society into 10 categories, those who found themselves in the lower rungs were not pleased: "We are supposed to be the masters of our society."

"But sorry, we determine the ranking by the resources and clout that a social group commands," explained the venerable professor.

Self-value is often crystallized into labels. But labels can be deceiving, and they can be out of date. For example, college graduates are the "proud sons of heaven." But if you know you are one of four million per annum, your pride will be hurt a little. And if you have ever jostled in a job market, you may feel downright miserable.

But the Chinese are not the only sons and daughters of Ah Q. If you've read "Harry Potter," you'd know that the magic wand is simply a tool for mental victory. If you cannot beat up your evil cousin, just wish that he would fall into a snake pit. In reality, the evil cousin probably turns out to be a banker and Harry ends up working as a teller in one of his branches.

Just kidding. But that would be more auspicious than the fate of Ah Q, who wants to join a revolution but ends up losing his head on the execution ground. That's not something they teach at Hogwarts.

Before you call me a cynic, I'll say that there's nothing wrong with a healthy dose of chimera. In this upwardly mobile culture, not everybody can be a winner. Instead of hating yourself over losing, why not take an alternative view of it?

And for Briber Fang, don't abuse our favourite pet by associating it with corrupt officials. Maybe you can see your "gift" as a business expense. That'll make you feel better but less Ah Q-ish.

E-mail: raymondzhou@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily 07/15/2006 page4)