Buying Office
Yesterday’s post included a specific verb that might be confusing to you:
馮紫英因說他有一個幼時從學的先生，姓張，名友士，學問最淵博，更兼醫理極精，且能斷人的生死。今年是上京給他兒子捐官，現在他家住著呢。
Feng Ziying then mentioned an old teacher of his named Zhang Youshi. Mr. Zhang is profoundly well read and has exceptional skills in medical theory, to the point where he could tell if a person will live or die. He came to the capital this year to purchase an official post for his son, and is currently staying at Feng Ziying’s house.
The specific verb here is 捐官, which means to pay money to become a government official. And it’s kind of confusing at first.
