卖官鬻爵

Mandarin

Etymology

卖官 (to sell an official title for a bribe) + 鬻 (to sell) + 爵 (a noble rank)

Idiom

卖官鬻爵 (simplified, Pinyin màiguān yù jué, traditional 賣官鬻爵)

1. (archaic) to take bribes in exchange for granting an official or noble title

References

• "卖官鬻爵" (in Mandarin), Guoyu Cidian On-line Mandarin Dictionary (國語辭典). URL accessed on 2009-05-14.