Guān qīng, yámen shòu.

官清衙門瘦。

Lit [When] officials are “clean,” [i.e., honest and upright], [their subordinates in the] magistrate's office [will be] thin, [i.e., won't be rich].

Note [Also said guān qīng, sīlǐ shòu; “... the runners are thin”; note: yámén refers to the local magistrate's office in imperial China, usually in the county seat; see also dāngchāi de above and yámen de qián and yǒu guān, bù chóu zàolì below.]

Topics HONESTY MAGISTRATES OFFICIALS yámen