| Guānxi | |
|---|---|
| Traditional Chinese: | 關係 |
| Simplified Chinese: | 关系 |
Guānxi describes the basic dynamic in personalized networks of influence, and is a central concept in Chinese society. China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National In Western media, the pīnyīn romanization of this Chinese word is becoming more widely used instead of the two common translations—"connections" and "relationships"—as neither of those terms sufficiently reflect the wide cultural implications that guānxi describes. Pinyin, more formally Hanyu pinyin, is the most common Standard Mandarin Romanization system in use
Closely related concepts include that of gǎnqíng, a measure which reflects the depth of feeling within an interpersonal relationship, rénqíng, the moral obligation to maintain the relationship, and liǎn, the idea of "face", meaning social status, propriety, prestige, or more realistically a combination of all three. Gǎnqíng ( is an important concept in social relations in Chinese culture which is loosely translated as "feeling" and is related to the concept of Face refers to two separate but related concepts in Chinese social relations. Face refers to two separate but related concepts in Chinese social relations.
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Description
At its most basic, guānxi describes a personal connection between two people in which one is able to prevail upon another to perform a favor or service, or be prevailed upon. The two people need not to be of equal social status. Guānxi can also be used to describe a network of contacts, which an individual can call upon when something needs to be done, and through which he or she can exert influence on behalf of another. In addition, guānxi can describe a state of general understanding between two people: "he/she is aware of my wants/needs and will take them into account when deciding her/his course of future actions which concern or could concern me without any specific discussion or request".
The term is not generally used to describe relationships within a family, although guānxi obligations can sometimes be described in terms of an extended family. The term is also not generally used to describe relationships that fall within other well-defined societal norms (e. g. boss-worker, teacher-student, friendship). The relationships formed by guānxi are personal and not transferable.
When a guānxi network violates bureaucratic norms, it can lead to corruption, and guānxi can also form the basis of patron-client relations. Bureaucracy is the structure and set of regulations in place to control activity usually in large organizations and government Patronage is the support encouragement privilege and often financial aid given by a person or an organization
Usage examples
Someone is described as having good guānxi if their particular network of influence could assist in the resolution of the problem currently being spoken about.
The most common response to indicate acceptance of an apology in Standard Mandarin is méi(yǒu) guānxi (沒(有)關係/没(有)关系) which literally translated means "doesn't have guānxi [implications]". Standard Mandarin, also known as Standard Spoken Chinese, is the official modern Chinese spoken language used in mainland China and Taiwan
Guānxi is most often used in the press when guānxi obligations take precedence over civic duties, leading to nepotism and cronyism [1] [2]. Nepotism is the showing of favoritism toward relatives and friends based upon that relationship rather than on an objective evaluation of ability Meritocracy or suitability For the record label see Crony Records Cronyism is partiality to long-standing friends especially by appointing them to positions of authority
Similar concepts in other cultures
Sociologists have linked guanxi with the concept of social capital (it has been described as a Gemeinschaft value structure), and it has been exhaustively described in studies of Chinese economic and political behavior, including those listed below. Social capital is a concept in business economics, Organizational behaviour, Political science, Public health, Sociology and natural Gemeinschaft ( gəˈma͡ɪnʃaft and Gesellschaft are sociological categories introduced by the German sociologist Ferdinand Tönnies for two
In Middle Eastern culture, wasta is a similar concept.
See also
- Social network
- Chinese social relations
- Blat, the Russian equivalent
- Old boy network
- Good ol' boy network
External links
- Questioning Guanxi: Definition, Classification and Implications by Ying Fan International Business Review, 11:5, 543-561, 2002. A social network is a Social structure made of nodes (which are generally individuals or organizations that are tied by one or more specific types of interdependency such as Chinese social relations are Social relations typified by a reciprocal Social network. Blat (блат blat) is a term which appeared in the Soviet Union to denote the use of informal agreements prestation exchangements of services connections An old boy network, or society, can refer to social and business connections among former pupils of top male-only Private schools This can apply to Good ol' boy describes a system of social networking and perceptions alleged to exist prevalently among certain communities and social strata in the United States.
- Definition, meaning and application of guanxi in Chinese business life, scientific study on Guanxi in relation to business.
- China's modern power house, BBC article discussing the role of Guanxi in the modern governance of China.
- What is guanxi? Wiki discussion about definitions of guanxi, developed by the publishers of Guanxi: The China Letter.
- Guanxi, The art of relationships, by Robert Buderi, Gregory T. Huang, ISBN 0-7432-7322-2.
- China Characteristics - Regarding Guanxi
References
- ^ Cohen, Jerome (December 11, 2007), “A just legal system”, International Herald Tribune, <http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/12/11/opinion/edcohen.php>
- ^ Ansfield, Jonathan (December 17, 2007), “Where Guanxi Rules”, Newsweek, <http://www.newsweek.com/id/74369>
Dictionary
guanxi
-noun
- (In the context of Chinese society) connections; relationships; one's social or business network
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