A Comparative Perspective: Guanxi
Guanxi is not an unchanging practice inherent in Chinese culture, but is a deeply historical and constantly evolving cultural phenomenon that has adapted to the shifting political and economic patterns of modern China (Osburg, 2013, p. 24). This section will explore the historicity of guanxi, its related cultural forms—renqing, kinship, and reciprocity—and will chart the dynamism of the affective and instrumental components of guanxi through a comparison of Gifts, Favors, and Banquets and Anxious Wealth.
A significant historical continuity evident in guanxi is its concern for renqing (human feelings). Renqing is concerned with both the bond and ethics surrounding interpersonal relations between father-son, …show more content…
Yang notes that “guanxi exchange can only be carried out between two parties who have established...a basis of familiarity” (Yang, 1994, p. 111). Osburg illustrates the cultivation of familiarity as businessmen frame their instrumental relationships as “helping a friend” and justify their actions through suggesting “we’re [part of] one family” (Osburg, 2013, p. 27). This language is also evident in the underworld brotherhoods studied by Osburg, where members are referred to as “brothers” and the leaders of the organizations are aptly called “godfathers” (p. 77) These contemporary language choices create “fictive kin” networks that extend renqing and kinship principles of obligation, mutual aide, and affect to guanxixue (Yang, 1994, p. 114). While Yang identifies the familiarity component in guanxi networks among everyday people in acquiring provisions, as discussed in the book review, Osburg instead focuses on the Chengdu elite and their generous bosses or …show more content…
For myself as a student of anthropology, this comparative exercise of guanxi has been revelatory as researching guanxi has required a holistic analysis of the both the ancient and the contemporary. This paper has been a rewarding exercise and review of the economic, political, kinship, and religious facets of Chinese life through the stark and promising conditions of Chinese history and the influence of these on the evolution of
Guanxi is not an unchanging practice inherent in Chinese culture, but is a deeply historical and constantly evolving cultural phenomenon that has adapted to the shifting political and economic patterns of modern China (Osburg, 2013, p. 24). This section will explore the historicity of guanxi, its related cultural forms—renqing, kinship, and reciprocity—and will chart the dynamism of the affective and instrumental components of guanxi through a comparison of Gifts, Favors, and Banquets and Anxious Wealth.
A significant historical continuity evident in guanxi is its concern for renqing (human feelings). Renqing is concerned with both the bond and ethics surrounding interpersonal relations between father-son, …show more content…
Yang notes that “guanxi exchange can only be carried out between two parties who have established...a basis of familiarity” (Yang, 1994, p. 111). Osburg illustrates the cultivation of familiarity as businessmen frame their instrumental relationships as “helping a friend” and justify their actions through suggesting “we’re [part of] one family” (Osburg, 2013, p. 27). This language is also evident in the underworld brotherhoods studied by Osburg, where members are referred to as “brothers” and the leaders of the organizations are aptly called “godfathers” (p. 77) These contemporary language choices create “fictive kin” networks that extend renqing and kinship principles of obligation, mutual aide, and affect to guanxixue (Yang, 1994, p. 114). While Yang identifies the familiarity component in guanxi networks among everyday people in acquiring provisions, as discussed in the book review, Osburg instead focuses on the Chengdu elite and their generous bosses or …show more content…
For myself as a student of anthropology, this comparative exercise of guanxi has been revelatory as researching guanxi has required a holistic analysis of the both the ancient and the contemporary. This paper has been a rewarding exercise and review of the economic, political, kinship, and religious facets of Chinese life through the stark and promising conditions of Chinese history and the influence of these on the evolution of