By Russell Leigh Moses

One of the most interesting corruption stories in China in recent weeks is that of Zu Daolin.

A low-level official in the Land Bureau of Binhai county in eastern China's Jiangsu province, Zu is not the sort one would expect to register on the country's corruption Richter scale, especially at a time when former high-level aides and fur-wearing tycoons are being dragged into the spotlight for alleged misdeeds. Even the bribes he allegedly took – roughly 80,000 yuan and $10,000 in cash, plus 5,000 yuan in gift cards – are relatively unremarkable.

What makes Zu special is the account of his crimes that he gave to prosecutors and that was widely published after he was found guilty and sentenced to six years in prison.

Russell Leigh Moses is the Dean of Academics and Faculty at The Beijing Center for Chinese Studies. He is writing a book on the changing role of power in the Chinese political system.