Examing his legacy

[Photo provided to China Daily]

In his journal Hart writes: "My life has been singularly successful: not yet twenty-nine, and at the head of a service which collects three millions of revenue, in－of all countries in the world!－the exclusive land of China ..."

Hart knew that such a lofty position could be easily abused for taking bribes, so he made a set of rules to keep himself and the organization away from corruption.

"I must set a good example, in conduct, to all my subordinates," Harts writes.

He hired a professional accountant from the treasury in London to draft rules to prevent embezzlement.

Wang Zhenyao, a professor at Beijing Normal University who attended the book talk, says: "A lot of Chinese people criticize Hart, and a lot of people have forgotten him, even the British I talked to when I visited London.