To Survive and Prosper in China
Boyé Lafayette De Mente
PREFACE
In my book China’s Cultural Code Words I noted that all languages are reflections of the emotional, spiritual and intellectual character of the people who created them., and that the older, more structured and more exclusive a society and its language, the more terms it has that are pregnant with cultural nuances that control the attitudes and behavior of the people.
Here are brief introductions to 10 Chinese terms that are especially important.
1) Guanxi (Gwahn-she) / Connnections
From the dawn of China’s ancient civilization the people were controlled by beliefs, customs and laws that limited their ability to make personal and individual decisions. Virtually every aspect of their lives was prescribed, or was set by precedent, down to where they lived, what they wore, the work they did, the education they received, who they married, and how they interacted with other people.
Over the long millennia of Chinese history this system along with the beliefs and behavior that supported it became the foundation of the Chinese mindset. There was a precise Chinese way of doing everything.
In such a society the old adage “It’s not what you know it’s who you know” becomes an axiom of life. Another truism in this kind of society is the fact that it is generally not your intelligence, knowledge, ambition or motivation that determines you success in life. It is guanxi (gwahn-she), the personal connections you have and how clever you are at using them.
Guanxi is usually translated into English as “connections,” but this English term does not do justice to the cultural implications and importance of the word in Chinese society. In my above mentioned book I explain the concept of guanxi by defining it as relationships that are based on mutual dependence.
There is, of course, a certain amount of mutual dependence in all societies but in the American mindset in particular it is generally secondary to a strong sense of individualism and independence. Our mantra is that we take personal responsibility for our actions and our success or failure. Seeking and depending upon connections is not built into our way of life.
That is not the case in China. The essence of Chinese culture, still today, is based on guanxi. The foreigner in China who attempts to get by without making and nurturing connections is almost always doomed to failure.
2) Hou Men (Hoe-uu Mane) / The Back Door
In a society in which personal connections play a paramount role in all relationships—business, personal, political and otherwise—the typical Western way of doing things is often ineffective, and may be considered both arrogant and rude.
In China where historically ordinary people had no inalienable rights to protect them from those in power and where bureaucracy was universal and honed to perfection, expecting something simply because it was “right” and you should get it, and especially “demanding” something or some action, would get the door slammed in your face, or far more serious results.
This situation resulted in the Chinese having to develop a variety of strategies and tactics to get things done—ways that were unofficial but were a key part of the system—like authorities allowing a black market to function because it provided them with advantages of one kind or another.
The most common of these unofficial tactics was using the hou men (hoe-uu mane) or “back door”—that is, contacting and making deals with people behind-the-scenes; in private.
Despite political reforms and cultural changes that have made life in China far more rational and practical, the use of hou men remains deeply embedded in the culture, and when there is a “back door” most people choose to take it—and if there isn’t one they will generally attempt to make one.
This is usually one of the first lessons learned by foreigners working in China.
3) Bao (Bah-oh) / “Social Reciprocity”
In societies that do not have laws that allow people to deal with each other in an honest and fair way, relationships of all kinds—business, personal, political, etc.—must be based on trade-offs of one kind or another.
This means that people must first develop personal contacts and then all of the skills that are necessary to accomplish the results they want.
In China this cultural factor is known as bao (bah-oh), which may be translated as “social reciprocity.” In China’s Cultural Code Words I also refer to it as “bartering social credits.”
Despite the fact that the younger generations of Chinese, especially those with international educations, are gradually breaking away from the restraints of bao in order to deal more effectively with foreigners, the use of “social credits” continues to play an important role in all aspects of life and work in China.
It is still advisable for foreigners assigned to China to build up bao with business contacts and government officials as rapidly and as widely as possible. Just as in the U.S. and elsewhere, one of the primary ways of building up bao in China is hosting dinner and drinking parties.
4) Bi (Bee) / Unity the Chinese Way
The fact that many of the greatest feats of mankind (building long canals, constructing great walls, creating thousands of full-sized terra cotta images of warriors to bury with a dead emperor, etc.) were accomplished in China suggests that the Chinese long ago mastered the art of working together harmoniously and cooperatively.
But this image of China can be misleading to Westerners who are not familiar with the details of Chinese history or with the way the Chinese work together.
In reality the Chinese have always been independent-minded and individualistic but they have also always been under the iron fist of rulers who treated them like cattle, forcing them to behave and work in unison to survive.
Chinese philosophers preached about the wisdom of bi (bee) or “unity” and the rulers took their preaching to heart, but they used force to compel people to behave the way they wanted them to. And thus the bi of China was mostly a mirage.
Now that the heavy boot of the government is gradually being removed from the necks of the Chinese they are exercising varies degrees of freewill for the first time in their history, with the result that life in China has become more chaotic than ever before except in times of war.
Most Chinese are now out to get as rich as possible as quickly as possible, resulting in a lot of friction and frustration that alarms the government—and makes the lives of foreigners living and working in China a lot more unpredictable and interesting.
It is therefore important for foreigners in China to be aware of the historical role of Chinese style bi, and to use the term in its modern sense in their relationships with Chinese.
5) Budan Xin (Buu-dahn Sheen) / Chinese Style Sincerity
In China, as everywhere else in the world, people are very much concerned about sincerity in all of their relationships—because without it one’s trust can be misplaced and abused with serious consequences.
But problems often occur in cross-cultural relationships despite the fact the both sides are aware of the importance of sincerity and often harp on it in their presentations to each other.
Friction and frustration often occur between the parties for the simple reason that their cultural understanding of sincerity differs in a fundamental way.
The Chinese commonly use the term budan xin (buu-dahn sheen) in their references to sincerity and in their desire to have budan xin relationships with their foreign business contacts. This, of course, is always pleasing to the foreigners, and they readily agree that they too want sincerity with their business dealings.
These relationships are seldom without misunderstanding and friction, however, because in its Chinese context budan xin means “sincerity plus understanding”—and the catch is that this understanding means that the foreigners are expected to understand the circumstance or position of the Chinese side, and accept it.
This, of course, puts an entirely different slant on the concept of sincerity that prevails in the West, and it often happens that foreigners dealing with the Chinese must compromise their expectations and behavior to some degree…if they want to do business with them.
6) Buhe Luoji De (Buu-hay Loo-oh-jee Duh) / Fuzzy Logic
As I explain in my book China’s Cultural Code Words, there are three kinds of logic in China: traditional, Communist and Western—and you have to know which one you are dealing with to understand what is going on.
Until the latter part of the 20th century Chinese in general were not allowed to behave in purely Western style logical ways, despite the fact that they could and did think logically in the Western sense in virtually all matters.
This situation is further complicated in present-day China by the fact that people who have been educated and trained to think and behave logically in Western terms will often behave in the traditional Chinese way by choice or in the Communist way because they have no choice.
The traditional Chinese way of thinking is what I call “fuzzy logic,” meaning that it is not the hard two times two equals four kind of thinking or straight-line thinking. It is “holistic” thinking, or thinking in circles.
Since few Westerners are experienced in holistic or circular thinking, Chinese attitudes and behavior are often confusing to them. But fuzzy thinking (the term was actually invented by an American) is often far more powerful than “straight-line” thinking because it is takes in a lot more territory in terms of time, space and long-term results.
Westerners dealing with the Chinese should prepare themselves by learning how to use fuzzy logic.
7) Cheng (Chuung) / Personal Loyalty
Westerners are, of course, familiar with the concept of personal loyalty and are well aware of how important it can be in their lives. But their concept of the importance of personal loyalty pales when compared with that of the Chinese.
Again because the Chinese have never been able to depend upon their governments to detail and defend their rights with laws that applied to everyone, they have been on their own when it comes to avoiding problems, protecting themselves and surviving in every sense of the word.
This situation has changed considerably in present-day China, but the average Chinese still has to depend upon the personal loyalty of family and friends to a far greater extent than Americans and other Westerners.
The Chinese therefore put great credence in developing and sustaining relationships that are based on strong cheng (chuung) ties. This requirement takes up a great deal of the time and energy of the Chinese when both of the parties involved are Chinese.
Interestingly enough, the Chinese can often develop strong cheng relationships with foreigners faster than they can with other Chinese because the cultural baggage that comes with Chinese relationships is far heavier.
Some Chinese/foreign relationships between businesspeople have survived time and war and become legendary.
8) Falu (Fah-luu) / Virtue vs. the Law
One of my favorite Confucian quotes (repeated in China’s Cultural Code Words) is as follows: “Attempting to rule people by laws that require them to act the same leads to resentment and disobedience of the laws and to feel no shame!” Confucius believed that people should behave because of their inherent virtue; not because of manmade laws.
The Imperial rulers of China (as well as the present-day Communist rulers to some extent) apparently took part of this philosophy to heart because most of China’s falu (fah-luu) or “laws” were not codified or published. It was left up to judges and others to decide on what was legal and not legal.
In present-day China there are many published falu but many of them retain some of the essence of Confucius by being worded vaguely—so vaguely in many cases that their purpose cannot be clearly understood. [And when most people ignore them, the government sometimes pretends they don’t exist; or that they were just a test.]
Like the emperors before them, China’s Communist leaders know that if the laws are vague and punishments are quick and severe most people will refrain from doing anything that might even seem or arbitrarily judged to be illegal.
Still today the Communist government of China prefers to rule by directives rather than codified and published laws, which often puts foreign businesspeople and others at a disadvantage because they cannot anticipate how the directives are going to be interpreted.
The only practical approach for foreigners is to get the advice and assistance of experienced Chinese—and hope for the best.
9) Hanyu (Hahn-yuu) / China’s Secret Code
My referring to Hanyu (Hahn-yuu) as China’s secret code is a bit of stretch that is intended to emphasize a key factor in China’s historical and present-day relations with other people. Hanyu means “Chinese language” or “Chinese languages.”
My point is that the existence of ten major Chinese languages (and dozens of minority languages and regional dialects) along with one of the most complex of all writing systems has traditionally served as the “Great Wall” of China—a wall that has helped keep the country isolated, insulated and exclusive until modern times.
In the past so few Westerners learned Chinese (mostly except for some missionaries!) that there was very little communication between ordinary Chinese and Westerners—and the bulk of that was with Chinese who had learned English or some other foreign language. As a result very few Westerners were ever able to fully understanding Chinese culture.
This failing is gradually being remedied, as more and more non-Chinese are learning Mandarin (made the national language of China by the Communist Party in 1949)—and this includes Americans, who traditionally ignored language learning as an important skill.
But the “language wall” that has obscured China for so many millennia is far from being breached, and continues to present a challenge to the rest of the world.
10) Gongwei (Goong-way-ee) / Flattery
To paraphrase an entry in my book, China’s Cultural Code Words, there are many words in Chinese that are designed and used to show respect and deference to the elderly and superiors, to acknowledge social inferiority as well as demonstrate social superiority, to indicate sex and age differences, to account for extended-family relationships, to seek favors, etc. and etc.
This extensive vocabulary is a result of the vital importance that personal relationships have had in China since ancient times—which in turn resulted in people becoming extraordinarily sensitive to and about all of their relationships.
Another result of this situation was the role that gongwei (goong-way-ee), or “flattery,” played in Chinese life.
With both success and survival generally depending on maintaining good relations with others—in the extreme sense—the use of flattery became a national custom that was raised to a fine art.
The use of gonwei is still deeply embedded in the character and personality of the Chinese, and has become one of their most valuable tools in dealing with foreigners. The Chinese learned a long time ago that Westerners—Americans in particular—are especially susceptible to flattery, and they use it with great skill in disarming and manipulating them.
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For a comprehensive explanation of 305 key Chinese words, see my book China’s Cultural Code Words. Also see: Chinese Etiquette & Ethics in Business. Available from amazon.com.
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Copyright © 2010 by Boyé Lafayette De Mente. All rights reserved.
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