The Effectiveness of Anti-Corruption: A Comparative Study between the Ming Dynasty’s Touring Censorial Inspectors and the Current Central Leading Group for Inspection Work

Since the 18th CPC National Congress, China has cracked down hard on corruption. Among all the efforts, the Central Leading Group for Inspection Work has made the most contribution. As some people consider the Ming Dynasty’s Touring Censorial Inspectors as “China’s Ancient Central Leading Group for Inspection Work”, it is not difficult to find out certain similarity existing between these two kinds of anti-corruption mechanisms that have both made certain accomplishments. If boiled down to their nature, both the Central Leading Group for Inspection Work and the Touring Censorial Inspector System reflect the authorization-agency mechanism, which is plagued with asymmetric information and other problems. By comparing the Ming Dynasty’s Touring Censorial Inspectors, i.e. a typical example of the ancient inspection system, and the Central Leading Group for Inspection Work—the main anti-corruption body since the 18th CPC National Congress, lessons from the ancient practices can be drawn for today’s reference, which are both conducive to providing theoretical basis for advancing China’s current anti-corruption tasks and promoting the anti-corruption effectiveness and offer suggestions to enhance anti-corruption progress in China.