Public lives, secret lives

Zhou Meisen's latest novel In the Name of People probes into what corrupts a politician's soul.

Zhou says there are various reasons for the corruption of an official, weakness of character, lures in an official career, traps set by other people, etc. "But actually, the ultimate reason is the unchecked development of human greed, with the power being not supervised effectively," he says.

As one of China's most celebrated political novelists, Zhou was close to power at one point in his life.

To gain some insight into official life for his writing, Zhou took a temporary post as a deputy secretary general in the city government of Xuzhou, Jiangsu province, in 1994. Although the job only lasted one year, he found that he enjoyed all kinds of privileges.

As a government official, he thought he would be a civil servant and should serve the citizens. But he found that he was treated like a master: Every task, from as trivial as opening doors to the completion of important assignments, would be done for him by his subordinates.

"I was just a common man before I took this job, and I had no idea of what privilege was like until I became a deputy secretary general in the city government."

At the moment, Zhou realized power was a magic wand.

"In the government, powerful officials can get whatever they want, and sometimes get it done in a minute, just by making a phone call."

Unrestrained power is like an aphrodisiac that could make a man easily addicted, and arouse his desire for more power.