Introduction
The Guanxi phenomena is exclusive to China and is very apparent in everyday life, it can be used in the personal dealings or at the business level. Guanxi concept is not completely alien to the rest of the world, it is apparent in a slightly different, more modest form.
Most of people would be aware of bribery (it is an act of giving money or gifts that alters the behavior of the recipient), which would be someway linked to guanxi concept. The main difference is that bribery recognised as an illegal act when guanxi is very acceptable and apparent in China. The other examples would be nepotism (favoritism granted to relatives) or cronyism (is partiality to long-standing friends, especially by appointing them to positions of authority, regardless of their qualifications). They are known tendencies and can be found in any country, however, the main difference is that these tendencies are recognised as illegal or at least outside the norm. When guanxi in China it is absolutely acceptable and is part of their lives.
Depending on the source or the article guanxi description will vary, but the literal guanxi translation is “relationship”. This gives an indication what is it about. Wikipedia describes guanxi as “the basic dynamic in personalized networks of influence, and is a central idea in Chinese society.<…> At its most basic, guanxi describes a personal connection between two people in which one is able to prevail upon another to perform a favor or service, or
When the Chinese and Europeans first came into contact with each other, there was a mutual fascination for the other's culture, or way of life. The Chinese began to look at the European culture. They became interested in Western thinking. They were also beginning to look at the religion that the European missionaries were preaching about, Christianity. On the other end, the Europeans who came in contact with the Chinese were fascinated by their culture and their philosophy, mainly the philosophy of Confucius. While the two cultures seemed to be a good match, each respecting and admiring the other, it came to an abrupt halt. The end result was China and Europe both rejecting the other culture.
The Europeans who dreamt of conquering Asia were under the impression that Asia was a blank slate, isolated with no history and traditions. However, that is their misconception for Asia from 500-1500 CE “was a vast world of contrast… [and] bewildering variety” thriving with many empires, capital cities, religions, and cultures (Gordon, 177). Because of this, Asia then can be classified as a compilation of many key eras such as the Medieval Age in China and the Golden Age. Such prosperous times for Asian states and empires are to be accredited to the notable networking in Asia at this time period. People who utilized the establishment of fundamental institutions such as the religions of Islam and Buddhism and various modes of trading and traveling were able to facilitate the diffusion of ideas and cultures therefore indirectly contributing to the overall connection of Asian states and empires during 500-1500 CE.
Mandate of Heaven is an ancient Chinese belief and philosophical that heaven granted emperors the right to rule based on their ability to govern well and fairly.
1. Why are the centuries of the Tang and song dynasties in China sometimes referred to as a “golden age”?
It would be the best if she tried to learn Chinese and reached to a certain level to communicate basic things with her customer directly. But she didn’t try even to know Chinese cultural relationship, which is guan-xi (觀視).
The Yellow River is located in Qinghai, China. In the present day it is not very dense in population. It is a very high-altitude called the Tibetan Plateau. It is place of strong Tibetan and Mongol cultural traditions in present day China. The Yellow River is known by all Chinese people as the “mother river” (Wu). It is also agreed upon by almost all Chinese people that it is the cradle of Chinese civilization and the spiritual home of the Chinese people (Zhou). The Yellow River is the symbol of the Chinese nation, the spirt of the Chinese people, but most importantly civilization itself.
Imperialism is a important period for China because it protected natural resources, and gave the economy a boost it needed. The European countries were looking to exploit the vast natural resources China had and without a strong government and no political power they could have gotten walked all over. From there this boosted the economy to the point where they could produce materials the European countries were looking for. They also had the ability to sell the natural resources straight up which brought more money into the nation. With the boost in the economy education and culture were able to flourish throughout which led to a positive influence for the future. Imperialism created many great things in China and resulted in them flourishing into a powerhouse.
Whenever people think of communism, Russian SFSR (Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic) and China, as two biggest communist polity, always come to people’s mind first. Likewise, at any time people mention authoritarianism, they will never miss the two biggest authoritarian regimes: Russia (Russian Federation) and China. The former, with the collapse of Soviet Union in 1991, the world’s first and largest communist polity and the prime facilitator of communist political system came to an end, which creates the modern Russia Federation, a country that still persists in authoritarianism but applies democratic political system and constitution. The latter, after experience multiple destructive invasions and humiliating
Americans have a very straight forward and practical approach towards business. They believe in driving hard bargains and negotiating, while the Chinese put more focus on respect, friendship saving face in their business conduct. Mr. Smith was a typical American businessman who in spite of knowing that
Time; in America people arrive to any business meeting on time or before the meeting, but in China they time walks and people take it easy instead of living a busy life and in China if
Globalization is far reaching in this day and age. Globalization is the worldwide flow of goods, services, money, people, information, and culture. It leads to a greater interdependence and mutual awareness among the people of the world (Tischler, 2011, 2007, p. 430). One non-Western culture that has been impacted by globalization is China. An example of the impact of globalization on China is their economy. Since joining the World Trade Organization, China has transformed from a culture that relied on economic self-sufficiency and shunned the thought of globalization to an economy that is progressively more open to trade and foreign investment.
East and west. The relationship between the two has never been truly set in stone. Both Europe and Asia have been through many large-scale power shifts throughout the millennia. Empires have risen – and inevitably been razed. If not by conquerors, then by time itself. These empires were often led by those who yearned to increase their land and holdings, and because of this the tendrils of civilization often stretched to seek uncharted territory. This undying curiosity eventually culminated in what is now referred to as the “Age of Discovery,” which spanned from the 1500s to the 1800s. By the beginning of the 20th century, most of the world’s lands had already been discovered. Trade links between China and Europe had been around since the Hellenic Age. And in the year 1900 it had been 124 years since the founding of the United States of America. Cross the Pacific Ocean, and one would find themselves face-to-face with the United States’ distant neighbor, East Asia. In East Asia, two of the most historically significant nations are China and Japan. For a number of reasons, – which will be detailed further later on – the early 1900s were a somewhat tumultuous time for both of said nations. The 20th century was by and large a time of political and economic power consolidation for both China and Japan. It is arguable that the United States played an integral role in this consolidation. The interactions between the United States, China, and Japan highlight a time when the way that
This chapter highlights how global trade as well as regional trade affected different economies, countries and even individuals, in different ways. The first example of this is the Fujian trade diaspora, from the Southeast coast of China. This system focused on economic gain by spreading out across the world, traveling, and accumulating wealth while traveling. If successful, the individual was often rewarded upon their return home. The Chinese tribute system on the other hand, while still somewhat focused on economic gain, was centered more so around political as well as social gain. Often times in this system, traders would find themselves at a slight net positive, or net even, due to the
Fock, H K. Y. and Woo. K.S. (1998). The China Market: Strategic Implications of Guanxi. Business Strategy Review, 9(3):
The unique guanxi culture in Chinese society sets its societal framework distinctively apart from the West. Although guanxi is often portrayed as one’s social network, it is much different from the so-called “connections” in Western society. Guanxi is a special social phenomenon in the Chinese societal context. It has survived throughout history and continues to be a prevalent trend because it has its Chinese characteristics and attributes that are not found in other societies. The existence of guanxi in Chinese society originated from the core Chinese value of collectivism. Since centuries ago, Chinese society’s group life and social organization has been based on collective interests. “Familial sentiments and obligations, [which were regarded as ethical relations], extended from the family into society [later on]”. The unofficial, informal networks of familial and kinship obligations provided the social support mechanisms through which peasant families survived in the economy of transition and hardships” (Bian, 2001, p.276). The twin themes of guanxi and the sense of hierarchy mutually enhance each other because private networks thrive through the existence of the principle of giving and reciprocating, which highlights that there is a dependent on a more resourceful party in the relationship. The future of the twin themes in China will continue to be built upon mutual reliance and the looked upon generous favour giver in bridging the connections between multiple parties.