This page contains Chinese text. Without proper rendering support, you may see question marks, boxes, or other symbols instead of Chinese characters.

Guanxi (Traditional Chinese: 關係; Simplified Chinese: 关系; pinyin: gūanxi ), describes the basic dynamic in personalised networks of influence. The Pinyin romanization of this Chinese word is becoming more widely used instead of the two common translations —- "connections" and "relationships" —- as neither of those terms sufficiently reflect the wide cultural implications that guanxi describes. Image File history File links Zhongwen. ... Chinese (written) language (pinyin: zhōngw n) written in Chinese characters The Chinese language (汉语/漢語, 华语/華語, or 中文; Pinyin: H nyǔ, Hu yǔ, or Zhōngw n) is a member of the Sino-Tibetan family of languages. ... Traditional Chinese characters are one of two standard sets of printed Chinese characters. ... Simplified Chinese characters (Simplified Chinese: 简体字; Traditional Chinese: 簡體字; pinyin: jiÇŽntǐzì; also Simplified Chinese: 简化字; Traditional Chinese: 簡化字; pinyin: jiÇŽnhuàzì) are one of two standard character sets of printed contemporary Chinese written language. ... Pinyin is a system of romanization (phonemic notation and transcription to Roman script) for Standard Mandarin, where pin means spell and yin means sound. The most common variant of pinyin in use is called Hanyu Pinyin (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: HànyÇ” PÄ«nyÄ«n), also known as scheme... Pinyin is a system of romanization (phonemic notation and transcription to Roman script) for Standard Mandarin, where pin means spell and yin means sound. The most common variant of pinyin in use is called Hanyu Pinyin (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: HànyÇ” PÄ«nyÄ«n), also known as scheme...

Guanxi is a central concept in Chinese society and describes, in part, a personal connection between two people in which one is able to prevail upon another to perform a favor or service, or be prevailed upon. The two people need not be of equal social status. It could also be a network of contacts, which an individual can call upon when something needs to be done, and through which he or she can exert influence on behalf of another. It can also describe a state of general understanding between two people: "he/she is aware of my wants/needs and will take them into account when deciding her/his course of future actions which concern or could concern me".

The term is not generally used to describe relationships within a family, although guanxi obligations can sometimes be described in terms of an extended family. The term is also not generally used to describe relationships that fall within other well-defined societal norms (e.g. boss / office worker, teacher / student, friend). The relationships formed by guanxi are personal and not transferable.

Sociologists have linked guanxi with the concept of social capital (it has been described as a Gemeinschaft value structure), and it has been exhaustively described in studies of Chinese economic and political behavior, including those listed below. When a guanxi network violates bureaucratic norms, it can lead to corruption, and guanxi can also form the basis of patron-client relations. Social capital is defined as the value that is created through the application of social networks during non-organizational time. ... Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft are sociological categories introduced by the German sociologist Ferdinand Tönnies for two normal types of human association. ... In sociological theories, bureaucracy is an organizational structure characterized by regularized procedure, division of responsibility, hierarchy, and impersonal relationships. ... Generally, patronage is the act of a so-called patron who supports or favors some individual, family, group or institution. ...

Guanxi often makes the press when its obligations take precedence over civic duties, leading to nepotism and cronyism, but commentators that focus exclusively on these negative aspects of guanxi are missing the bigger picture described above. Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Nepotism Nepotism means favoring relatives because of their relationship rather than because of their abilities. ... Cronyism is partiality to long-standing friends, especially by appointing them to public office without regard for their qualifications. ...

Closely related concepts include that of ganqing, a measure which reflects the depth of feeling within an interpersonal relationship, renqing, the moral obligation to maintain the relationship, and the idea of "face", meaning social status, propriety, prestige, or more realistically a combination of all three. "Face" has two components, lian and mianzi. Lian is achieved through proper behavior in relationships. Mianzi is obtained when behavior exceeds obligatory role expectations. Ganqing (Chinese: 感情 Mandarin pinyin: găn qíng ) is an important concept in Chinese social relations which is loosely translated as feeling and is related to the concept of guanxi. ... Face refers to two separate but related concepts in Chinese social relations. ... Face refers to two separate but related concepts in Chinese social relations. ...

See also:

• Social network
• Chinese social relations

A social network is a social structure made of nodes which are generally individuals or organizations. ... Chinese social relations are social relations typified by a reciprocal social network. ...

External links

• China's modern power house, BBC article discussing the role of Guanxi in the modern governance of China.
• What is guanxi? Wiki discussion about definitions of guanxi, developed by the publishers of Guanxi: The China Letter.
• Guanxi, The art of relationships, by Robert Buderi, Gregory T. Huang, ISBN 0743273222.
• “Questioning Guanxi: Definition, Classification and Implications”, International Business Review, 11:5, 543-561, 2002. by Ying FAN