Rationales for using guanxi

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Much research has shown that guanxi is based on some traditional Chinese concepts,

especially renqing, face, ganqing, and yiqi (loyalty and righteousness) (Kipnis 1997,

Yan 1996bb, Yang 1994). People practice guanxi in order to fulfil the obligation

formed by renqing, face or ganqing. Moreover, people practice guanxi to help out

their friends or relatives due to their high value of yiqi.

1) Renqing

The notion of renqing, simply translated as reciprocal obligation and indebtedness, is

central to the system of guanxi in China, and makes guanxi more than simply the

social embeddedness and connections that have meaning in the West (Qi 2013, Yan

1996a, Yan 1996b, Yang 1994). Guanxi can be regarded as a system of gifts and

favours in which renqing (obligation and indebtedness) are manufactured, and there is

no time limit on repayment (Yang 1994). The morally infused mutual exchange

carried by renqing is the dynamic force behind guanxi practice (Qi 2013). Guanxi

relations are cultivated and, as they involve reciprocity, obligation and affectively

charged moral assessments and commitments endure as a network of structured

engagements, and can be understood as a form of asymmetrical exchange of favours

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(favour) exchange and the degree of reciprocity (huibao) that arises from it together

determines the strength of future guanxi relations (Qi 2013).

The concept of renqing has at least four implications: 1) human feelings; 2) a resource

as gift or favour; 3) unpaid obligation and sense of indebtedness (called renqing debt,

or social debt); 4) social norms in Chinese society (Gabrenya, Jr. and Hwang 1996,

Hwang 1987, King1991, Li 2001,Yan 1996b, Yang 1994).

In Chinese, “owing a renqing” means being indebted to someone. “Gaining a renqing”

or “earning a renqing” means making others indebted to you. “Doing a renqing” or “selling a renqing” means doing a favour. According to Hwang (1987, p954), this norm of renqing includes two basic kinds of social behaviour: “(a) Ordinarily one

should keep in contact with the acquaintances in one’s social network, exchanging gifts, greetings or visitations with them from time to time, and (b) when a member of

one’s reticulum[guanxi network] gets into trouble or faces a difficult situation, one should sympathize, offer help, and ‘do a renqing’ for that person.” People who follow the norm well have human kindness, or so-called renqing wei.

On one hand renqing, as social norms and sense of indebtedness, is a moral force for

people to practice guanxi. On the other, since renqing produces social debt, it is

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based on observations of rural life, he mostly takes renqing as social norms - the last

implication listed above. Yan calls this “renqing ethic”, and draws out three

dimensions of it - rational calculation, moral obligation, and emotional attachment - as

the principles of guanxi networks (146). Renqing actually derives from the Confucian

emphasis on the ethics of human relationships (lun li) and the notion of li or ritual

(Yang 1994, p70). This “renqing ethic”, or social norm, is complicated and it takes time to learn. As a famous Chinese saying goes: “Being experienced in renqing is big

knowledge and talent” (renqing lianda ji wen zhang).

However, when scholars talk about renqing, few of them clarify which connotation

they refer to. As renqing has at least the four implications discussed above, this results

in confusion. For example, Yan (1996, p229) argues that close relationships involve a

lot of renqing, and critiques Hwang’s ( 1987) and King’s (1991) arguments that

people do not have renqing in expressive ties. Here Yan’s renqing refers to “moral

norms” (Yan 1996b,p229) ,while Hwang and King’s renqing mainly refer to the sense of indebtedness, or social debt (renqing debt). In order to avoid mixing up the four

implications in different contexts, this thesis will indicate implication of renqing is

being discussed.

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In essence, guanxi represents a web of obligations that exchange parties feel morally

obliged to meet. Failure to do so results in a loss of face and network resources (Bian

1997). Face (mianzi or lian) is a combination of a sense of moral imperatives, social

honour, and self-respect (Yang 1994, p141). Because of the concern with face, one

would still try to help his/her friend although he/she knows that the task would

involve a lot of time, effort, and risk, and may beyond his/her ability. Yang’s

informants call this si yao mianzi (wanting face and willing to suffer for it). Guanxi is

not simply a dyadic structure, but a triadic one, which includes observers or shared

friends; thus public reputation and face are important (Barbalet 2014, Qi 2011). The

triadic nature of exchange relations is universal when such relations include an

audience, which may be a social gaze, a public or a legal scrutiny (Barbalet 2014). In

order to gain face, give face or avoid offending other’s face, people accept others’

requests for favour and practice guanxi (Zhai 2011a, Barbalet 2014). Face, therefore,

become another moral force for guanxi practice, along with renqing.

3) Ganqing

The third tradition concepts is ganqing, which is translated as “affection’, or

“emotional feeling”, and stands for emotional commitment in long-standing and intimate bonds (Yang 1994, p121). Ganqing, as feelings of intimacy, can be seen as a

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Chinese develop ganqing to maintain or strengthen their guanxi. The more ganqing

you have, the firmer your guanxi. Ganqing is different from the western concept of

affection, since the Chinese ganqing always goes with material obligation

(Kipnis1997). For close relations, people are more likely to do others favours for

ganqing, and this is one of the key rationales for people to practice guanxi (Yang

1994).

In addition, ganqing has another implication as “human feeling” or “emotion” (Chang

2010, p462). This implication is similar to the first implication of renqing presented

earlier. Embodying ganqing (feelings or emotion) is similar to embodying renqing, or

so-called “biao da renqing guan huai” in Chinese. Renqing and ganqing are so easily

confused that in some situations they are difficult to distinguish clearly (Chang 2010,

p463).

4) Yiqi

Yiqi (loyalty and righteousness) is an important concept primarily attached to

friendship rather than family or kinship. “It is a term that describes the affective sentiment found in non-kin peer relations,” explains Yang (1994, p119). Since guanxi

is personal rather than organisational, loyalty to guanxi members is stronger than

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a system (Redding 1990). Yiqi would not be evident to outsiders but good friends.

If one has yiqi, one must have a strong obligation to help his/her good friends,

otherwise he/she will be considered to be lacking in yiqi, and not a good friend (bugou

yiqi, or bugou gemen) (Yang 1994, p140).

Based on existing literature on guanxi, the reasons of people practising guanxi

includes at least the above four Chinese concepts of renqing, face, ganqing and yiqi.

However, discussion about the situations in which people are motivated to practice

guanxi by different rationales is rare in the existing literature.