A corrupt official who had affairs with 107 women and was jailed for bribery had his sentence reduced after writing four books about traditional Chinese culture.

Zhang Erjiang, a former official from Hubei Province, has been named as among 2,186 "active reforming inmates" in Qinduankou prison, the Chutian Metropolis Daily reported yesterday.

His sentence was reduced by one-and-a-half years for "special contribution to society" after he penned four books on classic literature, including the Book of Poetry, Sun Tzu's Art of War and the Book of History.

This is the second time Zhang has had his 15-year sentence reduced. Prison authorities reduced his sentence in 2005 for "special contribution". He was also praised for good behavior in 2006.

The latest reduction was granted to Zhang in 2007 but it was not announced until this week during a regular four-year update on prisoners.

It means that his sentence has been reduced to 12 and a half years and that he will be eligible for release in 2014.

During his trial for bribery, Zhang confessed that he had 77 lovers from 1988 to 1997 when he was mayor of Danjiangkou, Hubei Province.

From 1998 until he went on trial, he had an additional 30 lovers as mayor of Tianmen, Hubei.

It emerged in court that some of the bribe money was used to support his lovers.

The Research Society of Sun Tzu of Chinese Academy of Military Science reportedly said that Zhang's book was a "valuable contribution" to the accurate understanding of Sun Tzu, an ancient master of military strategy in China.

But blogger "Man of Depth" wrote in an ironic online post: "If he can deal with 108 women, 107 lovers plus his wife, he surely should be an expert of Sun Tzu, as both are about strategy and tactics."

Journalist Zeng Ying yesterday wrote in the Beijing News: "Although we wish the laws could work and Zhang had sincerely reformed himself, one cannot help thinking that he received the reduction because of his privileged position".

According to the Criminal Law, a prisoner's sentence may be reduced under six conditions, including that he or she "makes a great contribution to the country or the society."

However there is no standard definition of "great contribution".

Zhang is one of many officials who have gained notoriety for their numerous lovers.

Jin Weizhi, a well-known figure in 2003 who had 13 lovers when he was general manager of the State-owned Nanjing Dairy Products Company in Jiangsu Province, was once quoted as saying that he thought it's common among officials to have lovers as "how many women you might have depends on how powerful you are," although many people do not agree with him.

Yang Hongshan, director of public administration school of Tsinghua University in Beijing, said the practice reveals problems with the country's supervision system.

"Once a practice becomes popular, we cannot explain it away by blaming an individual's morality and values. It is because there is no supervision from outside of the system," he said.

He added that the public and media did not have much say in evaluating the behavior of officials, and so with little self-control and supervision, the seemingly controversial practice became common.

(China Daily June 11, 2009)