Difference between revisions of "Guanxi (China)"

[[File:Guanxi Logo.gif|400px|thumb|left|]]

[[File:Guanxi Logo.gif|400px|thumb|left|]]

When a person is socially adept in the deployment of ''guanxi'', he or she is said to be skilled in ''guanxixue'' (关系学 pronounced ''guan-shee-shué''), which means “the study of” or “the art of cultivating ''guanxi''.” While relying on social connections is true of every society, most scholars would agree that this practice is more prevalent and more discursively elaborated in contemporary China than many other places in the world. Certainly, “the art of ''guanxi''” is more important in China than “connections” in modern Western societies, where individualism and self-reliance are emphasized. For these reasons, “''guanxi'' studies” have become a cottage industry in China Studies, generating many academic papers in the fields of anthropology, sociology, business management, political science, and history. While the study of informal relations tends to be peripheral in many other academic contexts, in English-language China Studies, ''guanxi'' is a recognizable theme, since non-Chinese scholars have seen ''guanxi'' as a prominent feature of contemporary Chinese culture.

When a person is socially adept in the deployment of ''guanxi'', he or she is said to be skilled in ''guanxixue'' (关系学 pronounced ''guan-shee-shué''), which means “the study of” or “the art of cultivating ''guanxi''.” While relying on social connections is true of every society, most scholars would agree that this practice is more prevalent and more discursively elaborated in contemporary China than many other places in the world. Certainly, “the art of ''guanxi''” is more important in China than “connections” in modern Western societies, where individualism and self-reliance are emphasized. For these reasons, “''guanxi'' studies” have become a cottage industry in China Studies, generating many academic papers in the fields of anthropology, sociology, business management, political science, and history. While the study of informal relations tends to be peripheral in many other academic contexts, in English-language China Studies, ''guanxi'' is a recognizable theme, since non-Chinese scholars have seen ''guanxi'' as a prominent feature of contemporary Chinese culture.

[[File:Guanxi.jpg|400px|thumb|right|]]

[[File:Guanxi.jpg|400px|thumb|right|]]

''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==

[[File:Guanxi Puzzle.jpg|400px|thumb|left|]]

[[File:Guanxi Puzzle.jpg|400px|thumb|left|]]

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.

[[File:Guanxi Tea Cartoon.jpg|400px|thumb|right|]]

[[File:Guanxi Tea Cartoon.jpg|400px|thumb|right|]]

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.

Yet economic prosperity and the increasing globalization of the Chinese economy have indeed brought changes to ''guanxi'' culture. The post-Mao increase in instrumentalized ''guanxi'' that blurs boundaries between ''guanxi'' and bribery has already been mentioned. The second change has been in the nature of the gifts given in return for expected favors. Whereas in the 1980s, it was enough to give cigarettes, alcohol, and banquets to officials, now there is gift inflation and the “sexualization of ''guanxi''.” Male entrepreneurs trying to cultivate guanxi with officials will sometimes invite them to enjoy the women working in massage parlors, karaoke nightclubs, and brothels. Thus, a variety of women’s sexual services have become the new “gifts” of ''guanxixue''. Tiantian Zheng<ref>Zheng, Tiantian. Red Lights: The Lives of Sex Workers in Postsocialist China.  Minneapolis:  University of Minnesota Press, 2009. </ref> and John Osburg<ref>Osburg, John. Anxious Wealth: Money and Morality Among China’s New Rich.  Stanford:  Stanford University Press, 2013.</ref> have written about the cementing of masculine bonds between entrepreneurs and officials as they get together to talk business and enjoy women at these establishments. The third change can be found in the increasing transnational dimension of ''guanxi''. Not only Chinese capital and businesses expand across the globe, but also Chinese educational and cultural networks extend overseas, thus enabling Chinese both inside and outside China to gain new opportunities abroad through transnational ''guanxi'' networks, which now may even include non-Chinese. Finally, with new social media technologies, personal guanxi networks have found a new medium to activate its members and expand their geographical and social reach. The technical properties of We-Chat (''weixin''), which uses mobile phones to send simultaneous messages to one’s personal contacts, is uniquely favorable to the personal network form of ''guanxi''. Scholars have just started to study the confluence of ''guanxi'' and We-Chat networks, and how these have been increasingly significant for the local mobilization of public protests and street demonstrations in China.

Yet economic prosperity and the increasing globalization of the Chinese economy have indeed brought changes to ''guanxi'' culture. The post-Mao increase in instrumentalized ''guanxi'' that blurs boundaries between ''guanxi'' and bribery has already been mentioned. The second change has been in the nature of the gifts given in return for expected favors. Whereas in the 1980s, it was enough to give cigarettes, alcohol, and banquets to officials, now there is gift inflation and the “sexualization of ''guanxi''.” Male entrepreneurs trying to cultivate guanxi with officials will sometimes invite them to enjoy the women working in massage parlors, karaoke nightclubs, and brothels. Thus, a variety of women’s sexual services have become the new “gifts” of ''guanxixue''. Tiantian Zheng<ref>Zheng, Tiantian. Red Lights: The Lives of Sex Workers in Postsocialist China.  Minneapolis:  University of Minnesota Press, 2009. </ref> and John Osburg<ref>Osburg, John. Anxious Wealth: Money and Morality Among China’s New Rich.  Stanford:  Stanford University Press, 2013.</ref> have written about the cementing of masculine bonds between entrepreneurs and officials as they get together to talk business and enjoy women at these establishments. The third change can be found in the increasing transnational dimension of ''guanxi''. Not only Chinese capital and businesses expand across the globe, but also Chinese educational and cultural networks extend overseas, thus enabling Chinese both inside and outside China to gain new opportunities abroad through transnational ''guanxi'' networks, which now may even include non-Chinese. Finally, with new social media technologies, personal guanxi networks have found a new medium to activate its members and expand their geographical and social reach. The technical properties of We-Chat (''weixin''), which uses mobile phones to send simultaneous messages to one’s personal contacts, is uniquely favorable to the personal network form of ''guanxi''. Scholars have just started to study the confluence of ''guanxi'' and We-Chat networks, and how these have been increasingly significant for the local mobilization of public protests and street demonstrations in China.