Why Is Guanxi Used?
The existing literature addresses some of the reasons why guanxi is popularly used in China today. Some scholars stress its institutional causes (Guthrie 1998; Wank 2002; Gold et al. 2002), and others highlight cultural causes (Fei 1992[1947]; Hwang 1987;
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Why Is Guanxi Used?
The existing literature addresses some of the reasons why guanxi is popularly used in China today. Some scholars stress its institutional causes (Guthrie 1998; Gold et al. 2002), and others highlight cultural causes (Fei 1992[1947]; Hwang 1987; King 1991; Yang 1994, Yan 1996a). However, the literature lacks empirical evidence; and this chapter aims to fill this gap. The first half discusses three rationales for practising guanxi to obtain a school place (la guanxi), or to accept favour asking: (1) ganging (affection) and virtues; (2) renqing and face; and (3) material gain. The second section demonstrates that both institutions and culture encourage people to practise guanxi (including la guanxi). Furthermore, traditional culture and values in the two cities dramatically influence the implementation of institutional regulations, and cultural causes seem to be very significant.
5.1
RATIONALE FOR PRACTISING GUANXI
The rationale for using guanxi is, on one hand, based on distrust of the weak institutional system in China, and on the other hand, on the actor’s expectation of their benefactor’s motivation. Therefore, when discussing the reasons why people use guanxi, it is more useful to look at the rationales of the benefactors than those of the favour seekers, since the favour seekers’ use of guanxi is always motivated by self-interest.
© The Author(s) 2017 J. Ruan, Guanxi, Social Capital and School Choice in China, Palgrave Studies on Chinese Education in a Global Perspective, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-40754-8_5
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This section examines some accounts given by benefactors as to why they practise guanxi and discusses how favour seekers judge their benefactors’ rationales. Multiple evidence resources are used, drawn from observation of informants’ actions as well as informants’ own accounts. Perceptions, calculations and strategies associated with guanxi practice in different situations are examined. 5.1.1
Ganqing and Virtues
As we saw in Chap. 3, Confucian ren refers to inner spiritual development: an all-encompassing ethical ideal that includes all the desirable qualities or virtues including benevolence (ren), righteousness (yi), propriety (li), loyalty (zhong), sincerity (xin), obligations to wu lun (five cardinal relations identified by Confucianism: ruler and subject, father and son, husband and wife, elder brother and younger brother, and between friends), and so on. Ganqing, or zhong gangqing (valuing affection) should be regarded as one of the desirable qualities or virtues of Confucianism, since the Chinese ganqing is always associated with moral obligation (Kipnis 1997). When informants talked about their reasons for helping their guanxi obtain school places, they frequently mentioned ganqing, renyi, yiqi, and obligation. Renyi is translated as benevolence (ren) and righteousness (yi). Yiqi means righteousness and loyalty. These are all Confucian virtues driven by Confucian ren. People in the two cities la guanxi for school places because they expect their guanxi to prac
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