{"id":13070,"date":"2019-11-20T21:48:22","date_gmt":"2019-11-20T21:48:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chinesemoment.com\/chinese-literature-2\/harmony-in-chinese-culture-guan-xi-yu-mian-zi\/"},"modified":"2019-11-20T21:48:22","modified_gmt":"2019-11-20T21:48:22","slug":"harmony-in-chinese-culture-guan-xi-yu-mian-zi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chinesemoment.com\/my\/harmony-in-chinese-culture-guan-xi-yu-mian-zi\/","title":{"rendered":"Harmony in Chinese Culture \u5173\u7cfb\u4e0e\u9762\u5b50"},"content":{"rendered":"
\u548c \u4e3a \u8d35\u3002
 hé wéi guì. Harmony is prized.<\/p>\n

Here is the general introduction to co<\/em>ncepts at the core of Chinese society and relatio<\/em>nships including guanxi, renqing, mianzi and keqi. Can you tell a<\/em>bout the common ex<\/em>pressions in mandarin Chinese fluently and immense yourself into Chinese culture?<\/p>\n

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–Perso<\/em>nal network \u5173\u7cfb(gu\u0101nxì)<\/p>\n

Throughout much of China’s history, guanxi has been and remains a deep seated co<\/em>ncept that lies at the core of Chinese society and the relatio<\/em>nship between the people within it. Simply put, guanxi can be seen as who you know and what they perceive to be their obligation to you.<\/p>\n

In China, an established network of quality co<\/em>ntacts can help accomplish almost anything, and thus having good guanxi is a very powerful asset.
–Human sentiment  \u4eba\u60c5 (rénqíng )<\/p>\n

Closely intertwined with “guanxi” is “renqing” an im<\/em>portant vehicle in Chinese social exchanges. “renqing” which literally translates as human sentiment or human emotion is defines by one western scholar as “covers not o<\/em>nly sentiment but also its social ex<\/em>pressions such as the offering of congratulations, or co<\/em>ndolences or the making of gifts on appropriate occasions. The rule of ”renqing” in Chinese society as fellows: “If you have received a dro of beneficence from other people, you should return to them a fountain of beneficence”.<\/p>\n

A Chinese who has done a favor for you automatically feels that he or she is owned a favor from you in return. Actually “renqing” follows Co<\/em>nfucian notion of reciprocity. There are many Chinese ex<\/em>pressions that associated with “renqing”, such as giving somebody a “renqing” (song renqin) owing somebody a “renqing” ( qian renqing) ect..
–Face \u9762\u5b50 (miànzi)<\/p>\n

Face is the co<\/em>ncept of Mianzi . In Chinese culture, losing face, saving face and giving face is very im<\/em>portant and should never be forgotten. A person can lose face as a result of losing his or her temper, co<\/em>nfronting an individual or putting them on the spot or acting in an arrogant manner or failing to show appropriate respect.<\/p>\n

Surface harmony is the art of maintaining composure and remaining polite and courteous. As an argument in a public place or a manager publicly scolding a subordinate would cause a loss of face, intermediaries are often used to deliver bad or unpleasant news. Surface harmony is seen to be of higher value than perso<\/em>nal emotion and thus proper etiquette will serve to safeguard harmony and face.<\/p>\n

Confucius, born in 551 BC, was a great philosopher whose thought held sway as orthodox ideology in China for some 2,000 years. One of his famous sayings goes: “In carrying our rites, it is harmony that is prized.”  (\u793c\u4e4b\u7528, \u548c\u4e3a\u8d35\u3002L\u01d0 zh\u012b yòng,  hé wéi guì. )
–Humility and modesty \u5ba2\u6c14 (kèqi)<\/p>\n

Chinese people do not co<\/em>nsider it polite to be arrogant and boast a<\/em>bout one’s achievement and connections. Keqi is the co<\/em>ncept of humility and modesty that is illustrated through being considerate, polite and well mannered. Ke means guest and qi means behavior. It not o<\/em>nly means considerate, polite and well mannered, but also represents modesty.
–Reciprocity \u793c\u5c1a\u5f80\u6765 (l\u01d0 shàng w\u01cenglái)<\/p>\n

This co<\/em>ncept can be defined as individuals and groups exchanging favors. People will ask for favors from those with whom they have guanxi.
–Collective vs. individual interest<\/p>\n

Another deep-seated social belief is that of the collective interest being of greater im<\/em>portance than that of the individual. As a result, individuals should sacrifice their own interests in order to serve the needs of the majority.
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