Corruption is not just misusing a position of trust for dishonest gain or money.
As defined by Oxford Dictionary, corruption includes “changing something from its original use or meaning to one that is regarded as erroneous or debased”.
I thought about the second type of corruption when I saw a bottle of wine in a window in Beijing recently.
The name of the winery on the label is “Medcq Manor Winery Co., Ltd. Yantai”, Yantai being in Shandong Province.
Medcq, I think, is a corruption of “Medoc” on the Left Bank of Bordeaux.
Then, there is “M 2008” on the label.
I asked the shopkeeper if the vintage was 2008.
The shopkeeper replied “No” but also could not tell what M 2008 meant.
Finally, there is the chateau depicted on the label.
I cannot say if such a building actually exists at Medcq Manor Winery Co., Ltd. Yantai, but it looks like Second Growth Chateau Pichon Baron in Pauillac in the Medoc.
Things depicted on the label left more questions unanswered than what the label was trying to communicate.
Corruption includes taking something and changing it from its original meaning while suggesting that it is the original thing. When it isn’t.