The culture of Guanxi in a North China village

China Journal

Volumn , Issue 35, 1996, Pages 1-24

  Yan, Yunxiang ^a  

^a NONE

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EID: 6244267602     PISSN: 13249347     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.2307/2950274     Document Type: Article

References (59)

1. A noticeable exception is Andrew Kipnis' work in rural Shandong: 'Producing Guanxi: Relationships, Subjects, and Subcultures in a Chinese Village', PhD dissertation, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 1991.
2. The paper is based on fieldwork that I carried out in 1991 in Xiajia village, a farming community with a population of 1,500, supported by the National Science Foundation. A brief history of Xiajia village is offered in Yan, The Flow of Gifts, ch.2. For information about the village during the post-reform era, see also Yunxiang Yan, 'The Impact of Rural Reform on Economic and Social Stratification in a Chinese Village', The Australian Journal of Chinese Affairs, no.27 (January 1992), pp. 1-23.
3. The paper is based on fieldwork that I carried out in 1991 in Xiajia village, a farming community with a population of 1,500, supported by the National Science Foundation. A brief history of Xiajia village is offered in Yan, The Flow of Gifts, ch.2. For information about the village during the post-reform era, see also Yunxiang Yan, 'The Impact of Rural Reform on Economic and Social Stratification in a Chinese Village', The Australian Journal of Chinese Affairs, no.27 (January 1992), pp. 1-23.
4. See Max Weber, The Religion of China (New York: Free Press, 1968), p.236; Talcott Parsons, The Structure of Social Action (New York: Free Press, 1939), p.551; Liang Shuming, Zhongguo wenhua yaoyi [The Essential Features of Chinese Culture] (Hong Kong: Jicheng Book Company, 1963), p.94; Fei Xiaotong, Xiangtu Zhongguo [Folk China] (Shanghai: Guancha Press, 1947), pp.22-37 (the English translation of this book is entitled From the Soil: The Foundations of Chinese Society [Berkeley: University of California Press, 1992]); Ambrose Yeo-chi King (Yao-ji Jin), The Individual and Group in Confucianism: A Relational Perspective', in Donald J. Munro (ed.), Individualism and Holism: Studies in Confucian and Taoist Values (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1985), p.64; Ambrose King, 'Kuan-hsi and Network Building: A Sociological Interpretation', Daedalus, vol.120, no.2 (1991), pp.63-84; and Kwang-kuo Hwang, 'Face and Favor: The Chinese Power Game', The American Journal of Sociology, vol.92, no.4 (1987), p.954.
5. See Max Weber, The Religion of China (New York: Free Press, 1968), p.236; Talcott Parsons, The Structure of Social Action (New York: Free Press, 1939), p.551; Liang Shuming, Zhongguo wenhua yaoyi [The Essential Features of Chinese Culture] (Hong Kong: Jicheng Book Company, 1963), p.94; Fei Xiaotong, Xiangtu Zhongguo [Folk China] (Shanghai: Guancha Press, 1947), pp.22-37 (the English translation of this book is entitled From the Soil: The Foundations of Chinese Society [Berkeley: University of California Press, 1992]); Ambrose Yeo-chi King (Yao-ji Jin), The Individual and Group in Confucianism: A Relational Perspective', in Donald J. Munro (ed.), Individualism and Holism: Studies in Confucian and Taoist Values (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1985), p.64; Ambrose King, 'Kuan-hsi and Network Building: A Sociological Interpretation', Daedalus, vol.120, no.2 (1991), pp.63-84; and Kwang-kuo Hwang, 'Face and Favor: The Chinese Power Game', The American Journal of Sociology, vol.92, no.4 (1987), p.954.
6. See Max Weber, The Religion of China (New York: Free Press, 1968), p.236; Talcott Parsons, The Structure of Social Action (New York: Free Press, 1939), p.551; Liang Shuming, Zhongguo wenhua yaoyi [The Essential Features of Chinese Culture] (Hong Kong: Jicheng Book Company, 1963), p.94; Fei Xiaotong, Xiangtu Zhongguo [Folk China] (Shanghai: Guancha Press, 1947), pp.22-37 (the English translation of this book is entitled From the Soil: The Foundations of Chinese Society [Berkeley: University of California Press, 1992]); Ambrose Yeo-chi King (Yao-ji Jin), The Individual and Group in Confucianism: A Relational Perspective', in Donald J. Munro (ed.), Individualism and Holism: Studies in Confucian and Taoist Values (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1985), p.64; Ambrose King, 'Kuan-hsi and Network Building: A Sociological Interpretation', Daedalus, vol.120, no.2 (1991), pp.63-84; and Kwang-kuo Hwang, 'Face and Favor: The Chinese Power Game', The American Journal of Sociology, vol.92, no.4 (1987), p.954.
7. See Max Weber, The Religion of China (New York: Free Press, 1968), p.236; Talcott Parsons, The Structure of Social Action (New York: Free Press, 1939), p.551; Liang Shuming, Zhongguo wenhua yaoyi [The Essential Features of Chinese Culture] (Hong Kong: Jicheng Book Company, 1963), p.94; Fei Xiaotong, Xiangtu Zhongguo [Folk China] (Shanghai: Guancha Press, 1947), pp.22-37 (the English translation of this book is entitled From the Soil: The Foundations of Chinese Society [Berkeley: University of California Press, 1992]); Ambrose Yeo-chi King (Yao-ji Jin), The Individual and Group in Confucianism: A Relational Perspective', in Donald J. Munro (ed.), Individualism and Holism: Studies in Confucian and Taoist Values (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1985), p.64; Ambrose King, 'Kuan-hsi and Network Building: A Sociological Interpretation', Daedalus, vol.120, no.2 (1991), pp.63-84; and Kwang-kuo Hwang, 'Face and Favor: The Chinese Power Game', The American Journal of Sociology, vol.92, no.4 (1987), p.954.
8. See Max Weber, The Religion of China (New York: Free Press, 1968), p.236; Talcott Parsons, The Structure of Social Action (New York: Free Press, 1939), p.551; Liang Shuming, Zhongguo wenhua yaoyi [The Essential Features of Chinese Culture] (Hong Kong: Jicheng Book Company, 1963), p.94; Fei Xiaotong, Xiangtu Zhongguo [Folk China] (Shanghai: Guancha Press, 1947), pp.22-37 (the English translation of this book is entitled From the Soil: The Foundations of Chinese Society [Berkeley: University of California Press, 1992]); Ambrose Yeo-chi King (Yao-ji Jin), The Individual and Group in Confucianism: A Relational Perspective', in Donald J. Munro (ed.), Individualism and Holism: Studies in Confucian and Taoist Values (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1985), p.64; Ambrose King, 'Kuan-hsi and Network Building: A Sociological Interpretation', Daedalus, vol.120, no.2 (1991), pp.63-84; and Kwang-kuo Hwang, 'Face and Favor: The Chinese Power Game', The American Journal of Sociology, vol.92, no.4 (1987), p.954.
9. See Max Weber, The Religion of China (New York: Free Press, 1968), p.236; Talcott Parsons, The Structure of Social Action (New York: Free Press, 1939), p.551; Liang Shuming, Zhongguo wenhua yaoyi [The Essential Features of Chinese Culture] (Hong Kong: Jicheng Book Company, 1963), p.94; Fei Xiaotong, Xiangtu Zhongguo [Folk China] (Shanghai: Guancha Press, 1947), pp.22-37 (the English translation of this book is entitled From the Soil: The Foundations of Chinese Society [Berkeley: University of California Press, 1992]); Ambrose Yeo-chi King (Yao-ji Jin), The Individual and Group in Confucianism: A Relational Perspective', in Donald J. Munro (ed.), Individualism and Holism: Studies in Confucian and Taoist Values (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1985), p.64; Ambrose King, 'Kuan-hsi and Network Building: A Sociological Interpretation', Daedalus, vol.120, no.2 (1991), pp.63-84; and Kwang-kuo Hwang, 'Face and Favor: The Chinese Power Game', The American Journal of Sociology, vol.92, no.4 (1987), p.954.
10. See Max Weber, The Religion of China (New York: Free Press, 1968), p.236; Talcott Parsons, The Structure of Social Action (New York: Free Press, 1939), p.551; Liang Shuming, Zhongguo wenhua yaoyi [The Essential Features of Chinese Culture] (Hong Kong: Jicheng Book Company, 1963), p.94; Fei Xiaotong, Xiangtu Zhongguo [Folk China] (Shanghai: Guancha Press, 1947), pp.22-37 (the English translation of this book is entitled From the Soil: The Foundations of Chinese Society [Berkeley: University of California Press, 1992]); Ambrose Yeo-chi King (Yao-ji Jin), The Individual and Group in Confucianism: A Relational Perspective', in Donald J. Munro (ed.), Individualism and Holism: Studies in Confucian and Taoist Values (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1985), p.64; Ambrose King, 'Kuan-hsi and Network Building: A Sociological Interpretation', Daedalus, vol.120, no.2 (1991), pp.63-84; and Kwang-kuo Hwang, 'Face and Favor: The Chinese Power Game', The American Journal of Sociology, vol.92, no.4 (1987), p.954.
11. See Max Weber, The Religion of China (New York: Free Press, 1968), p.236; Talcott Parsons, The Structure of Social Action (New York: Free Press, 1939), p.551; Liang Shuming, Zhongguo wenhua yaoyi [The Essential Features of Chinese Culture] (Hong Kong: Jicheng Book Company, 1963), p.94; Fei Xiaotong, Xiangtu Zhongguo [Folk China] (Shanghai: Guancha Press, 1947), pp.22-37 (the English translation of this book is entitled From the Soil: The Foundations of Chinese Society [Berkeley: University of California Press, 1992]); Ambrose Yeo-chi King (Yao-ji Jin), The Individual and Group in Confucianism: A Relational Perspective', in Donald J. Munro (ed.), Individualism and Holism: Studies in Confucian and Taoist Values (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1985), p.64; Ambrose King, 'Kuan-hsi and Network Building: A Sociological Interpretation', Daedalus, vol.120, no.2 (1991), pp.63-84; and Kwang-kuo Hwang, 'Face and Favor: The Chinese Power Game', The American Journal of Sociology, vol.92, no.4 (1987), p.954.
12. Some of the early studies, such as Liang's and Fei's, are critical of the particularism expressed through guanxi relations as an unhealthy aspect of Chinese culture, in contrast to the universalism which supposedly prevails in the West. More recently, the primacy of such personal relations has been reappraised as a positive feature of the Chinese model of capitalism. See, for example, Gary G. Hamilton and Kao Cheng-shu, 'The Institutional Foundations of Chinese Business: The Family Firm in Taiwan', Comparative Social Research, vol.12 (1990), pp.95-112; Cheng-shu Kao, 'The Role of "Personal Trust" in Large Businesses in Taiwan', in Gary Hamilton (ed.), Business Networks and Economic Development in East and Southeast Asia (Hong Kong: Centre of Asian Studies, 1991); Gordon Redding, The Spirit of Chinese Capitalism (Berlin: de Gruyter, 1990); and Siu-lun Wong, 'The Chinese Family Firm: A Model', British Journal of Sociology, vol.36, no.1 (1983), pp.58-72, and 'The Applicability of Asian Family Values to Other Socio-Cultural Settings', in Peter Berger and Michael Hsiao (eds), In Search of an East Asian Development Model (New Brunswick: Transaction Books, 1988), pp. 135-42.
13. Some of the early studies, such as Liang's and Fei's, are critical of the particularism expressed through guanxi relations as an unhealthy aspect of Chinese culture, in contrast to the universalism which supposedly prevails in the West. More recently, the primacy of such personal relations has been reappraised as a positive feature of the Chinese model of capitalism. See, for example, Gary G. Hamilton and Kao Cheng-shu, 'The Institutional Foundations of Chinese Business: The Family Firm in Taiwan', Comparative Social Research, vol.12 (1990), pp.95-112; Cheng-shu Kao, 'The Role of "Personal Trust" in Large Businesses in Taiwan', in Gary Hamilton (ed.), Business Networks and Economic Development in East and Southeast Asia (Hong Kong: Centre of Asian Studies, 1991); Gordon Redding, The Spirit of Chinese Capitalism (Berlin: de Gruyter, 1990); and Siu-lun Wong, 'The Chinese Family Firm: A Model', British Journal of Sociology, vol.36, no.1 (1983), pp.58-72, and 'The Applicability of Asian Family Values to Other Socio-Cultural Settings', in Peter Berger and Michael Hsiao (eds), In Search of an East Asian Development Model (New Brunswick: Transaction Books, 1988), pp. 135-42.
14. Some of the early studies, such as Liang's and Fei's, are critical of the particularism expressed through guanxi relations as an unhealthy aspect of Chinese culture, in contrast to the universalism which supposedly prevails in the West. More recently, the primacy of such personal relations has been reappraised as a positive feature of the Chinese model of capitalism. See, for example, Gary G. Hamilton and Kao Cheng-shu, 'The Institutional Foundations of Chinese Business: The Family Firm in Taiwan', Comparative Social Research, vol.12 (1990), pp.95-112; Cheng-shu Kao, 'The Role of "Personal Trust" in Large Businesses in Taiwan', in Gary Hamilton (ed.), Business Networks and Economic Development in East and Southeast Asia (Hong Kong: Centre of Asian Studies, 1991); Gordon Redding, The Spirit of Chinese Capitalism (Berlin: de Gruyter, 1990); and Siu-lun Wong, 'The Chinese Family Firm: A Model', British Journal of Sociology, vol.36, no.1 (1983), pp.58-72, and 'The Applicability of Asian Family Values to Other Socio-Cultural Settings', in Peter Berger and Michael Hsiao (eds), In Search of an East Asian Development Model (New Brunswick: Transaction Books, 1988), pp. 135-42.
15. Some of the early studies, such as Liang's and Fei's, are critical of the particularism expressed through guanxi relations as an unhealthy aspect of Chinese culture, in contrast to the universalism which supposedly prevails in the West. More recently, the primacy of such personal relations has been reappraised as a positive feature of the Chinese model of capitalism. See, for example, Gary G. Hamilton and Kao Cheng-shu, 'The Institutional Foundations of Chinese Business: The Family Firm in Taiwan', Comparative Social Research, vol.12 (1990), pp.95-112; Cheng-shu Kao, 'The Role of "Personal Trust" in Large Businesses in Taiwan', in Gary Hamilton (ed.), Business Networks and Economic Development in East and Southeast Asia (Hong Kong: Centre of Asian Studies, 1991); Gordon Redding, The Spirit of Chinese Capitalism (Berlin: de Gruyter, 1990); and Siu-lun Wong, 'The Chinese Family Firm: A Model', British Journal of Sociology, vol.36, no.1 (1983), pp.58-72, and 'The Applicability of Asian Family Values to Other Socio-Cultural Settings', in Peter Berger and Michael Hsiao (eds), In Search of an East Asian Development Model (New Brunswick: Transaction Books, 1988), pp. 135-42.
16. Some of the early studies, such as Liang's and Fei's, are critical of the particularism expressed through guanxi relations as an unhealthy aspect of Chinese culture, in contrast to the universalism which supposedly prevails in the West. More recently, the primacy of such personal relations has been reappraised as a positive feature of the Chinese model of capitalism. See, for example, Gary G. Hamilton and Kao Cheng-shu, 'The Institutional Foundations of Chinese Business: The Family Firm in Taiwan', Comparative Social Research, vol.12 (1990), pp.95-112; Cheng-shu Kao, 'The Role of "Personal Trust" in Large Businesses in Taiwan', in Gary Hamilton (ed.), Business Networks and Economic Development in East and Southeast Asia (Hong Kong: Centre of Asian Studies, 1991); Gordon Redding, The Spirit of Chinese Capitalism (Berlin: de Gruyter, 1990); and Siu-lun Wong, 'The Chinese Family Firm: A Model', British Journal of Sociology, vol.36, no.1 (1983), pp.58-72, and 'The Applicability of Asian Family Values to Other Socio-Cultural Settings', in Peter Berger and Michael Hsiao (eds), In Search of an East Asian Development Model (New Brunswick: Transaction Books, 1988), pp. 135-42.
17. Renqing entails a basic emotional empathy and understanding of others and, related to this, a set of moral obligations and social norms.
18. Ezra Vogel, 'From Friendship to Comradeship: The Change in Personal Relations in Communist China', The China Quarterly, no.21 (1965), pp.46-60. Also see Anita Chan and Jonathan Unger, 'Grey and Black: The Hidden Economy of Rural China', Pacific Affairs, vol.55, no.3 (Fall 1982), esp. pp.461-6; Thomas B. Gold, 'After Comradeship: Personal Relations in China Since the Cultural Revolution', The China Quarterly, no.104 (1985), pp.657-75; Jean Oi, State and Peasant in Contemporary China: The Political Economy of Village Government (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1989), pp.131-54, 214-25; Andrew Walder, Communist Neo-Traditionalism: Work and Authority in Chinese Industry (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1986), pp.179-89, 210-12; and Mayfair Mei-hui Yang, 'The Gift Economy and State Power in China', Comparative Studies in Society and History, vol.31, no.1 (1989), pp.25-54.
19. Ezra Vogel, 'From Friendship to Comradeship: The Change in Personal Relations in Communist China', The China Quarterly, no.21 (1965), pp.46-60. Also see Anita Chan and Jonathan Unger, 'Grey and Black: The Hidden Economy of Rural China', Pacific Affairs, vol.55, no.3 (Fall 1982), esp. pp.461-6; Thomas B. Gold, 'After Comradeship: Personal Relations in China Since the Cultural Revolution', The China Quarterly, no.104 (1985), pp.657-75; Jean Oi, State and Peasant in Contemporary China: The Political Economy of Village Government (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1989), pp.131-54, 214-25; Andrew Walder, Communist Neo-Traditionalism: Work and Authority in Chinese Industry (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1986), pp.179-89, 210-12; and Mayfair Mei-hui Yang, 'The Gift Economy and State Power in China', Comparative Studies in Society and History, vol.31, no.1 (1989), pp.25-54.
20. Ezra Vogel, 'From Friendship to Comradeship: The Change in Personal Relations in Communist China', The China Quarterly, no.21 (1965), pp.46-60. Also see Anita Chan and Jonathan Unger, 'Grey and Black: The Hidden Economy of Rural China', Pacific Affairs, vol.55, no.3 (Fall 1982), esp. pp.461-6; Thomas B. Gold, 'After Comradeship: Personal Relations in China Since the Cultural Revolution', The China Quarterly, no.104 (1985), pp.657-75; Jean Oi, State and Peasant in Contemporary China: The Political Economy of Village Government (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1989), pp.131-54, 214-25; Andrew Walder, Communist Neo-Traditionalism: Work and Authority in Chinese Industry (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1986), pp.179-89, 210-12; and Mayfair Mei-hui Yang, 'The Gift Economy and State Power in China', Comparative Studies in Society and History, vol.31, no.1 (1989), pp.25-54.
21. Ezra Vogel, 'From Friendship to Comradeship: The Change in Personal Relations in Communist China', The China Quarterly, no.21 (1965), pp.46-60. Also see Anita Chan and Jonathan Unger, 'Grey and Black: The Hidden Economy of Rural China', Pacific Affairs, vol.55, no.3 (Fall 1982), esp. pp.461-6; Thomas B. Gold, 'After Comradeship: Personal Relations in China Since the Cultural Revolution', The China Quarterly, no.104 (1985), pp.657-75; Jean Oi, State and Peasant in Contemporary China: The Political Economy of Village Government (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1989), pp.131-54, 214-25; Andrew Walder, Communist Neo-Traditionalism: Work and Authority in Chinese Industry (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1986), pp.179-89, 210-12; and Mayfair Mei-hui Yang, 'The Gift Economy and State Power in China', Comparative Studies in Society and History, vol.31, no.1 (1989), pp.25-54.
22. Ezra Vogel, 'From Friendship to Comradeship: The Change in Personal Relations in Communist China', The China Quarterly, no.21 (1965), pp.46-60. Also see Anita Chan and Jonathan Unger, 'Grey and Black: The Hidden Economy of Rural China', Pacific Affairs, vol.55, no.3 (Fall 1982), esp. pp.461-6; Thomas B. Gold, 'After Comradeship: Personal Relations in China Since the Cultural Revolution', The China Quarterly, no.104 (1985), pp.657-75; Jean Oi, State and Peasant in Contemporary China: The Political Economy of Village Government (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1989), pp.131-54, 214-25; Andrew Walder, Communist Neo-Traditionalism: Work and Authority in Chinese Industry (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1986), pp.179-89, 210-12; and Mayfair Mei-hui Yang, 'The Gift Economy and State Power in China', Comparative Studies in Society and History, vol.31, no.1 (1989), pp.25-54.
23. Ezra Vogel, 'From Friendship to Comradeship: The Change in Personal Relations in Communist China', The China Quarterly, no.21 (1965), pp.46-60. Also see Anita Chan and Jonathan Unger, 'Grey and Black: The Hidden Economy of Rural China', Pacific Affairs, vol.55, no.3 (Fall 1982), esp. pp.461-6; Thomas B. Gold, 'After Comradeship: Personal Relations in China Since the Cultural Revolution', The China Quarterly, no.104 (1985), pp.657-75; Jean Oi, State and Peasant in Contemporary China: The Political Economy of Village Government (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1989), pp.131-54, 214-25; Andrew Walder, Communist Neo-Traditionalism: Work and Authority in Chinese Industry (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1986), pp.179-89, 210-12; and Mayfair Mei-hui Yang, 'The Gift Economy and State Power in China', Comparative Studies in Society and History, vol.31, no.1 (1989), pp.25-54.
24. For example, for guanxi practices in factories, see Danching Ruan, 'Interpersonal Networks and Workplace Controls in Urban China', The Australian Journal of Chinese Affairs, no.29 (January 1993), pp.89-105; in politics, see Cheng Li, 'University Networks and the Rise of Qinghua Graduates in China's Leadership', The Australian Journal of Chinese Affairs, no.32 (July 1994), pp. 1-30. For the role of guanxi in foreign investment and private business, see Josephine Smart and Alan Smart, 'Personal Relations and Divergent Economies: A Case Study of Hong Kong Investment in China', International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, vol.15, no.2 (1991), pp.216-33; and David Wank, 'Private Business, Bureaucracy, and Political Alliance in a Chinese City', The Australian Journal of Chinese Affairs, no.33 (January 1995), pp.55-74.
25. For example, for guanxi practices in factories, see Danching Ruan, 'Interpersonal Networks and Workplace Controls in Urban China', The Australian Journal of Chinese Affairs, no.29 (January 1993), pp.89-105; in politics, see Cheng Li, 'University Networks and the Rise of Qinghua Graduates in China's Leadership', The Australian Journal of Chinese Affairs, no.32 (July 1994), pp. 1-30. For the role of guanxi in foreign investment and private business, see Josephine Smart and Alan Smart, 'Personal Relations and Divergent Economies: A Case Study of Hong Kong Investment in China', International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, vol.15, no.2 (1991), pp.216-33; and David Wank, 'Private Business, Bureaucracy, and Political Alliance in a Chinese City', The Australian Journal of Chinese Affairs, no.33 (January 1995), pp.55-74.
26. For example, for guanxi practices in factories, see Danching Ruan, 'Interpersonal Networks and Workplace Controls in Urban China', The Australian Journal of Chinese Affairs, no.29 (January 1993), pp.89-105; in politics, see Cheng Li, 'University Networks and the Rise of Qinghua Graduates in China's Leadership', The Australian Journal of Chinese Affairs, no.32 (July 1994), pp. 1-30. For the role of guanxi in foreign investment and private business, see Josephine Smart and Alan Smart, 'Personal Relations and Divergent Economies: A Case Study of Hong Kong Investment in China', International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, vol.15, no.2 (1991), pp.216-33; and David Wank, 'Private Business, Bureaucracy, and Political Alliance in a Chinese City', The Australian Journal of Chinese Affairs, no.33 (January 1995), pp.55-74.
27. For example, for guanxi practices in factories, see Danching Ruan, 'Interpersonal Networks and Workplace Controls in Urban China', The Australian Journal of Chinese Affairs, no.29 (January 1993), pp.89-105; in politics, see Cheng Li, 'University Networks and the Rise of Qinghua Graduates in China's Leadership', The Australian Journal of Chinese Affairs, no.32 (July 1994), pp. 1-30. For the role of guanxi in foreign investment and private business, see Josephine Smart and Alan Smart, 'Personal Relations and Divergent Economies: A Case Study of Hong Kong Investment in China', International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, vol.15, no.2 (1991), pp.216-33; and David Wank, 'Private Business, Bureaucracy, and Political Alliance in a Chinese City', The Australian Journal of Chinese Affairs, no.33 (January 1995), pp.55-74.
28. Mayfair Mei-hui Yang, Gifts, Favors and Banquets: The Art of Social Relationships in China (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1994), p.320.
29. For a detailed classification and description, see Yan, The Flow of Gifts, ch.3.
30. For instance, one may have a brother who lives in Beijing and still maintains close contacts with his natal village. Such a relationship will be reflected, first and foremost, in gift exchange during family ceremonies and hence recorded in the gift lists. Complicated situations like this, unfortunately, cannot be shown in Figure 1.
31. Such a social space can be regarded as what Arthur Kleinman called a 'local moral world', which is constructed from social experiences defined as 'an interpersonal, intersubjective realm of engagements, transactions, communications, and other social activities'. Arthur Kleinman, 'Local Worlds of Suffering: An Interpersonal Focus for Ethnographies of Illness Experience', Qualitative Health Research, vol.2, no.2 (1992), p.128.
32. See, for instance, James L. Watson, 'Funeral Specialists in Cantonese Society: Pollution, Performance, and Social Hierarchy', in James L. Watson and Evelyn S. Rawski (eds), Death Ritual in Late Imperial and Modern China (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1988), pp. 109-34.
33. For instance, it is a common expression in Mandarin Chinese to say so-and-so luzi hen huo (literally, has vigorous and wide networks), which means to have many personal connections and thus to be very capable, flexible and vital.
34. See Marcel Mauss, The Gift (New York: W. W. Norton, 1967), pp. 1-3, 36-7 and 76-8.
35. According to network analysis theories, a given ego is connected to the people in his or her network either by a single-stranded relationship, such as kinship, or by multistranded relationships, such as a combination of kinship, colleagueship and friendship. If people within the same network have independent relationships with the given ego but rarely interact among themselves, the density of the network is low. See J. Clyde Mitchell, 'The Concept and Use of Social Networks', in J. Clyde Mitchell (ed.), Social Networks in Urban Situations (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1969), pp.1-50; and Norman Whitten and Alvin Wolf, 'Network Analysis', in J. Honigmann (ed.), Handbook of Social and Cultural Anthropology (Chicago: Rand McNally, 1974), pp.717-45.
36. According to network analysis theories, a given ego is connected to the people in his or her network either by a single-stranded relationship, such as kinship, or by multistranded relationships, such as a combination of kinship, colleagueship and friendship. If people within the same network have independent relationships with the given ego but rarely interact among themselves, the density of the network is low. See J. Clyde Mitchell, 'The Concept and Use of Social Networks', in J. Clyde Mitchell (ed.), Social Networks in Urban Situations (Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1969), pp.1-50; and Norman Whitten and Alvin Wolf, 'Network Analysis', in J. Honigmann (ed.), Handbook of Social and Cultural Anthropology (Chicago: Rand McNally, 1974), pp.717-45.
37. According to Bruce Jacobs, time is the most critical cost in cultivating guanxi networks. See Jacobs, 'A Preliminary Model of Particularistic Ties in Chinese Political Alliances: Kan-ch'ing and Kuan'hsi in a Rural Taiwanese Township', The China Quarterly, no.78 (1979), p.262. As his study focuses on the role of guanxi in making political alliances in a well-developed Taiwan township, time may well be more important than money there for those players in local politics who must have an economic base before entering the game. My study, however, is concerned with everyday interactions among ordinary Chinese villagers, many of whom are unemployed during the agricultural slack seasons and thus have much more time on their hands than money.
38. The questionnaire consisted of twenty-two questions on attitudes toward gift-giving and accounts of gift-exchange activities. A total of one hundred informants were selected according to their age, sex, marital status and economic position. Ninety-three of the one hundred questionnaires were returned by the informants and contained valid data.
39. This is an unusually large amount even for a Party Secretary. Because he had been trying to arrange an urban household registration for his second daughter for the past two years, he had spent more than usual on instrumental gift-giving. According to him and his wife, under normal conditions their expenditures would have been somewhere between 1,000 and 1,200 yuan.
40. In a survey conducted in 1989, I discovered that the net per capita income for the top ten households in 1988 was above 700 yuan, and the poorest households earned less than 300 yuan. See Van, 'The Impact of Rural Reform', p.9. In 1990, these two figures increased to 850 and 400 yuan respectively, based on my follow-up survey on changes in economic conditions. The 1990 census data shows that households in Xiajia village averaged 4.28 people.
41. Recently, contracting work to professional construction teams has become a good solution to the problem of house building, but it applies only to the main frame of the house; there is still a lot of other work to be completed.
42. For analyses of the political and social causes of this famine, see Basil Ashton, Kenneth Hill, Alan Piazza and Robin Zeitz, 'Famine in China, 1958-61', Population and Development Review, vol.10, no.4 (1984), pp.613-45; Thomas Bernstein, 'Stalinism, Famine, and Chinese Peasants: Grain Procurement During the Great Leap Forward', Theory and Society, vol.3, pp.350-69; Ding Shu, Renhuo [Man-Made Disaster] (Hong Kong: The Nineties, 1991); and Roderick MacFarquhar, The Origins of the Cultural Revolution, Vol.II: The Great Leap Forward, 1958-1960 (London: Oxford University Press, 1983).
43. For analyses of the political and social causes of this famine, see Basil Ashton, Kenneth Hill, Alan Piazza and Robin Zeitz, 'Famine in China, 1958-61', Population and Development Review, vol.10, no.4 (1984), pp.613-45; Thomas Bernstein, 'Stalinism, Famine, and Chinese Peasants: Grain Procurement During the Great Leap Forward', Theory and Society, vol.3, pp.350-69; Ding Shu, Renhuo [Man-Made Disaster] (Hong Kong: The Nineties, 1991); and Roderick MacFarquhar, The Origins of the Cultural Revolution, Vol.II: The Great Leap Forward, 1958-1960 (London: Oxford University Press, 1983).
44. For analyses of the political and social causes of this famine, see Basil Ashton, Kenneth Hill, Alan Piazza and Robin Zeitz, 'Famine in China, 1958-61', Population and Development Review, vol.10, no.4 (1984), pp.613-45; Thomas Bernstein, 'Stalinism, Famine, and Chinese Peasants: Grain Procurement During the Great Leap Forward', Theory and Society, vol.3, pp.350-69; Ding Shu, Renhuo [Man-Made Disaster] (Hong Kong: The Nineties, 1991); and Roderick MacFarquhar, The Origins of the Cultural Revolution, Vol.II: The Great Leap Forward, 1958-1960 (London: Oxford University Press, 1983).
45. For analyses of the political and social causes of this famine, see Basil Ashton, Kenneth Hill, Alan Piazza and Robin Zeitz, 'Famine in China, 1958-61', Population and Development Review, vol.10, no.4 (1984), pp.613-45; Thomas Bernstein, 'Stalinism, Famine, and Chinese Peasants: Grain Procurement During the Great Leap Forward', Theory and Society, vol.3, pp.350-69; Ding Shu, Renhuo [Man-Made Disaster] (Hong Kong: The Nineties, 1991); and Roderick MacFarquhar, The Origins of the Cultural Revolution, Vol.II: The Great Leap Forward, 1958-1960 (London: Oxford University Press, 1983).
46. For the role of family and kinship in coping with famines, see Robert Dirks, 'Social Responses During Severe Food Shortages and Famine', Current Anthropology, vol.21 (1980), pp.21-44; and Derrick Jelliffe and E. F. P. Jelliffe, The Effects of Starvation On the Function of the Family and of Society', in Gunnar Blix, Yngve Hofvander and Bo Vahlquist (eds), Famine (Uppsala: Almqvist & Wiksells, 1971), pp.54-61.
47. For the role of family and kinship in coping with famines, see Robert Dirks, 'Social Responses During Severe Food Shortages and Famine', Current Anthropology, vol.21 (1980), pp.21-44; and Derrick Jelliffe and E. F. P. Jelliffe, The Effects of Starvation On the Function of the Family and of Society', in Gunnar Blix, Yngve Hofvander and Bo Vahlquist (eds), Famine (Uppsala: Almqvist & Wiksells, 1971), pp.54-61.
48. See Jonathan Unger, 'The Class System in Rural China: A Case Study', in James L. Watson (ed.), Class and Social Stratification in Post-Revolution China (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1984), pp. 121-41; and Vogel, 'From Friendship to Comradeship'.
49. See Jonathan Unger, 'The Class System in Rural China: A Case Study', in James L. Watson (ed.), Class and Social Stratification in Post-Revolution China (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1984), pp. 121-41; and Vogel, 'From Friendship to Comradeship'.
50. Scholars have shown that threats of famine in rural India increase local people's reciprocal ties, and hence the Jajmani system is reinforced by demands for communal aid during such periods of crisis. See S. Epstein, 'Productive Efficiency and Customary Systems of Rewards in Rural South India', in R. Firth (ed.), Themes in Economic Anthropology, ASA Monograph no.6 (London: Tavistock, 1967); and Peter Prindle, 'Peasant Society and Famine: A Nepalese Example', Ethnology, vol.18, no.1 (1979), pp.31-60.
51. Scholars have shown that threats of famine in rural India increase local people's reciprocal ties, and hence the Jajmani system is reinforced by demands for communal aid during such periods of crisis. See S. Epstein, 'Productive Efficiency and Customary Systems of Rewards in Rural South India', in R. Firth (ed.), Themes in Economic Anthropology, ASA Monograph no.6 (London: Tavistock, 1967); and Peter Prindle, 'Peasant Society and Famine: A Nepalese Example', Ethnology, vol.18, no.1 (1979), pp.31-60.
52. For two studies of guanxi and money politics in Taiwan, see Joseph Bosco, 'Taiwan Factions: Guanxi, Patronage, and the State in Local Polities', Ethnology, vol.31, no.2 (1992), pp.157-83; and Bruce Jacobs, Local Politics in a Rural Chinese Cultural Setting (Canberra: Contemporary China Centre, Australian National University, 1980).
53. For two studies of guanxi and money politics in Taiwan, see Joseph Bosco, 'Taiwan Factions: Guanxi, Patronage, and the State in Local Polities', Ethnology, vol.31, no.2 (1992), pp.157-83; and Bruce Jacobs, Local Politics in a Rural Chinese Cultural Setting (Canberra: Contemporary China Centre, Australian National University, 1980).
54. For a more detailed discussion of power, inequality and gift-giving in Xiajia, see Yan, The Flow of Gifts, ch.7.
55. See Yunxiang Yan, 'Everyday Power Relations: Changes in a North China Village', in Andrew Walder (ed.), The Waning of the Communist State: Economic Origins of Political Decline in China and Hungary (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1995),pp.215-41.
56. Jin Yaoji (Ambrose King), 'Renji guanxi zhong renqing zhi fenxi' [An Analysis of Renqing in Interpersonal Relations], in Yang Guoshu (ed.), Zhongguoren de xinli [The Psychology of the Chinese] (Taipei: Guiguan Publishing Company, 1988), pp.75-104.
57. See Ambrose King, 'The Individual and Group', p.63.
58. See footnotes 6 and 7. Based on a study of the use of personal connections in foreign investment in China, Alan Smart warns of the tendency to over-emphasize the instrumental features of urban guanxi while ignoring the involvement of long-term trust and emotional attachment in such relations. He notes: 'Manipulation and exploitative use of gift exchange is made possible only by the existence of forms of gift exchange that attach priority to the relationship as opposed to the immediate instrumental objectives'. See Alan Smart, 'Gifts, Bribes, and Guanxi: A Reconsideration of Bourdieu's Social Capital', Cultural Anthropology, vol.8, no.3 (1993), p.403.
59. She also argues that in both rural and urban areas women are more influenced by renqing ethics than are men; thus there is another 'gender distinction between a more "feminine" art of renqing and a more "masculine" art of guanxi'. See Yang, Gifts, Favors, p.320.