Difference between revisions of "Guanxi (China)"

'''''Original Text: Prof. Mayfair Yang'''''

'''''Original Text: Prof. Mayfair Yang'''''

The Chinese word “''guanxi''” (关系 pronounced “''guan-shee''”) literally means “relationship” or “connection.”  It also refers to an important aspect of contemporary Chinese culture:  the need to “use” ''guanxi'', or call on personal or social connections to get things done, acquire a scarce commodity, or gain access to an opportunity.  In this sense, ''guanxi'' is a dyadic social exchange relationship, in which one person helps the other, and in return, the other owes a social debt.  Thus, ''guanxi'' in practice is like a gift-exchange between two persons, in which there is affect or good feelings (''renqing''), a mutual obligation to help the other, and reciprocity, or the expectation of repayment at a later date. Gifts, favors, and banquets are the objects of exchange, and the debt may sometimes be repaid after several years.  

The Chinese word “''guanxi''” (关系 pronounced “''guan-shee''”) literally means “relationship” or “connection.”  It also refers to an important aspect of contemporary Chinese culture:  the need to “use” ''guanxi'', or call on personal or social connections to get things done, acquire a scarce commodity, or gain access to an opportunity.  In this sense, ''guanxi'' is a dyadic social exchange relationship, in which one person helps the other, and in return, the other owes a social debt.  Thus, ''guanxi'' in practice is like a gift-exchange between two persons, in which there is affect or good feelings (''renqing''), a mutual obligation to help the other, and reciprocity, or the expectation of repayment at a later date. Gifts, favors, and banquets are the objects of exchange, and the debt may sometimes be repaid after several years.  

In contemporary China, ''guanxi'' are deployed for a myriad of situations and needs: to get a job; to acquire a scarce commodity; to get a child into a good kindergarten or sought-after school; to get into a high-quality hospital; to get official approvals and permits to start up a business; to get a lighter sentence for crime; to avoid penalties for violating the birth control policy; to connect up to electricity, water, and gas for new buildings or residences; and so forth. Thus, ''guanxi'' are often used to skirt around the cumbersome bureaucracy, or to reach a government official, clerk, or person in charge of giving permission or making selections of the recipients of some desirable good or opportunity.   

In contemporary China, ''guanxi'' are deployed for a myriad of situations and needs: to get a job; to acquire a scarce commodity; to get a child into a good kindergarten or sought-after school; to get into a high-quality hospital; to get official approvals and permits to start up a business; to get a lighter sentence for crime; to avoid penalties for violating the birth control policy; to connect up to electricity, water, and gas for new buildings or residences; and so forth. Thus, ''guanxi'' are often used to skirt around the cumbersome bureaucracy, or to reach a government official, clerk, or person in charge of giving permission or making selections of the recipients of some desirable good or opportunity.   

''Guanxi'' practices grow out of the traditional Chinese cultural emphasis on social relationships and the interpersonal ethics of obligation and reciprocity. The Confucian classical texts are filled with discussions of the reciprocal duties and obligations of different social roles and relationships, and the ethics and etiquettes of gift-relations and host-guest relations at rituals and banquets.  However, Taiwanese culture stems from the same traditional culture, but ''guanxi'' practices there are not as pervasive as in Mainland China. Prior to Taiwanese people re-establishing contacts with Mainland China in the 1990’s, the term ''guanxixue'' was not used in Taiwan. In my own work<ref>Yang, Mayfair. Gifts, Favors, and Banquets: The Art of Social Relationships in China.  Ithaca:  Cornell University Press, 1994.</ref>, I have suggested that ''guanxi'' in China was produced out of the political-economic structures of Maoist state socialist society, where the state took charge of all social organizations and human activities, and goods, jobs, housing, and life opportunities  were all allocated by the state. ''Guanxi'' culture was thus born out of the need to get permission from so many gatekeepers, whether state officials or clerks, controlling all social paths and opportunities. It proliferated due to its assuming the burden of replacing the missing market mechanism in the Maoist state socialist order. It is not surprising that the societies of the former Soviet Bloc also came to rely on ''[[blat]]'', a Russian term which refers to an informal exchange quite similar to ''guanxi''.

''Guanxi'' practices grow out of the traditional Chinese cultural emphasis on social relationships and the interpersonal ethics of obligation and reciprocity. The Confucian classical texts are filled with discussions of the reciprocal duties and obligations of different social roles and relationships, and the ethics and etiquettes of gift-relations and host-guest relations at rituals and banquets.  However, Taiwanese culture stems from the same traditional culture, but ''guanxi'' practices there are not as pervasive as in Mainland China. Prior to Taiwanese people re-establishing contacts with Mainland China in the 1990’s, the term ''guanxixue'' was not used in Taiwan. In my own work<ref>Yang, Mayfair. Gifts, Favors, and Banquets: The Art of Social Relationships in China.  Ithaca:  Cornell University Press, 1994.</ref>, I have suggested that ''guanxi'' in China was produced out of the political-economic structures of Maoist state socialist society, where the state took charge of all social organizations and human activities, and goods, jobs, housing, and life opportunities  were all allocated by the state. ''Guanxi'' culture was thus born out of the need to get permission from so many gatekeepers, whether state officials or clerks, controlling all social paths and opportunities. It proliferated due to its assuming the burden of replacing the missing market mechanism in the Maoist state socialist order. It is not surprising that the societies of the former Soviet Bloc also came to rely on ''[[blat]]'', a Russian term which refers to an informal exchange quite similar to ''guanxi''.

==''Guanxi'', Bribery and Corruption==

==''Guanxi'', Bribery and Corruption==

Although there is a fine line between ''guanxi'' and bribery or corruption, most Chinese do distinguish ''guanxi'' from bribery. The native distinction is mainly in terms of whether the emphasis is on the personal relationship or on the exchanged favor or gift. If the relationship has been going on for a respectable length of time and the two people are on good terms, then it seems natural that one friend would want to help the other. However, if there is little or no prior relationship between the requestor and the granter of the favor, and cold hard cash or some costly material good is proffered in exchange for granting the favor, then it would be dubbed an act of bribery. If the gift recipient is currently holding office as an official, the monetary value of the gift is high, and the favor is granted in his or her capacity as a serving official, then this would be a case of official corruption.

Although there is a fine line between ''guanxi'' and bribery or corruption, most Chinese do distinguish ''guanxi'' from bribery. The native distinction is mainly in terms of whether the emphasis is on the personal relationship or on the exchanged favor or gift. If the relationship has been going on for a respectable length of time and the two people are on good terms, then it seems natural that one friend would want to help the other. However, if there is little or no prior relationship between the requestor and the granter of the favor, and cold hard cash or some costly material good is proffered in exchange for granting the favor, then it would be dubbed an act of bribery. If the gift recipient is currently holding office as an official, the monetary value of the gift is high, and the favor is granted in his or her capacity as a serving official, then this would be a case of official corruption.

There have been debates about whether the introduction of a market economy and a legal system in the post-Mao era, have resulted in a decline in the use of ''guanxi'' in China<ref>Gold, Thomas, Douglas Guthrie, and David Wank. Social Connections in China: Institutions, Culture, and the Changing Nature of Guanxi.  Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002.</ref><ref>Yang, Mayfair. “The Resilience of Guanxi and its New Deployments: A Critique of Some New Guanxi Scholarship” in China Quarterly, 2002, no. 170, pp. 459-476.</ref>. Most scholars agree that there are no signs that ''guanxi'' has declined overall, and ironically, its practice may have actually increased in certain domains. Although ''guanxi'' is no longer needed to purchase most goods that are now readily available in the stores bulging with consumer products, a vast arena of new needs and desires has opened up that still create a dependence on one’s ''guanxi'' network. Yanjie Bian and others have collected quantitative data in eight Chinese cities to show that in finding employment, the dependence on ''guanxi'' has actually increased steadily in the post-Mao era. Before 1979, when over 77% of jobs were allocated by the state, to after 2002, when 63% of jobs were obtained through market forces, Bian’s survey found that during this transition from a command to a full market economy, the reliance on ''guanxi'' networks to find jobs actually increased from 24% in 1979, to 45% in 2002 and thereafter<ref>Bian, Yanjie, et.al.  边燕杰等著 .《社会学网络与地位获得》。Social Networks and Status Attainment.  北京：社会科学文献出版社  Beijing:  Social Sciences Records Publishing Company, 2012. </ref>.  Evidently, the new market economy must still adapt itself to the existing political economic structures and culture of China.

There have been debates about whether the introduction of a market economy and a legal system in the post-Mao era, have resulted in a decline in the use of ''guanxi'' in China<ref>Gold, Thomas, Douglas Guthrie, and David Wank. Social Connections in China: Institutions, Culture, and the Changing Nature of Guanxi.  Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002.</ref><ref>Yang, Mayfair. “The Resilience of Guanxi and its New Deployments: A Critique of Some New Guanxi Scholarship” in China Quarterly, 2002, no. 170, pp. 459-476.</ref>. Most scholars agree that there are no signs that ''guanxi'' has declined overall, and ironically, its practice may have actually increased in certain domains. Although ''guanxi'' is no longer needed to purchase most goods that are now readily available in the stores bulging with consumer products, a vast arena of new needs and desires has opened up that still create a dependence on one’s ''guanxi'' network. Yanjie Bian and others have collected quantitative data in eight Chinese cities to show that in finding employment, the dependence on ''guanxi'' has actually increased steadily in the post-Mao era. Before 1979, when over 77% of jobs were allocated by the state, to after 2002, when 63% of jobs were obtained through market forces, Bian’s survey found that during this transition from a command to a full market economy, the reliance on ''guanxi'' networks to find jobs actually increased from 24% in 1979, to 45% in 2002 and thereafter<ref>Bian, Yanjie, et.al.  边燕杰等著 .《社会学网络与地位获得》。Social Networks and Status Attainment.  北京：社会科学文献出版社  Beijing:  Social Sciences Records Publishing Company, 2012. </ref>.  Evidently, the new market economy must still adapt itself to the existing political economic structures and culture of China.

In the Maoist era, the most skillful ''guanxi'' practitioners were often the “supply agents” (''caigouyuan'') who worked for state or collective factories, and needed ''guanxi'' to acquire raw materials. While this occupation has declined with the development of private enterprises, today’s private entrepreneurs still need ''guanxi'' for success in business. They need ''guanxi'' with key officials to get business permits, purchase real estate or rent space, waive labor or environmental regulations, get connected to the electricity grid and water sources, arrange transport routes, get passports and exit permits to go abroad, etc. So long as the state in China continues to wield such influence and control in the economy and all domains of life, and state-owned enterprises continue to represent a significant portion of the Chinese economy, there will be a need for gift-giving and ''guanxi'' to soften up those officials and clerks so that they may grant favors and opportunities.   

In the Maoist era, the most skillful ''guanxi'' practitioners were often the “supply agents” (''caigouyuan'') who worked for state or collective factories, and needed ''guanxi'' to acquire raw materials. While this occupation has declined with the development of private enterprises, today’s private entrepreneurs still need ''guanxi'' for success in business. They need ''guanxi'' with key officials to get business permits, purchase real estate or rent space, waive labor or environmental regulations, get connected to the electricity grid and water sources, arrange transport routes, get passports and exit permits to go abroad, etc. So long as the state in China continues to wield such influence and control in the economy and all domains of life, and state-owned enterprises continue to represent a significant portion of the Chinese economy, there will be a need for gift-giving and ''guanxi'' to soften up those officials and clerks so that they may grant favors and opportunities.