Chinese culture, like most oriental cultures, can be categorized as collectivistic. The Chinese see society as a unit (Lee-Wong, 2000). Their social orientation, as Bond (1991: 34) maintains:
Is reflected in the highest endorsement they give to group-related traits and roles, as well as the fact that their ideal self is closely involved in social
relationships. The dimensions they use to perceive themselves and others are likewise focused on interpersonal concerns, not on mastery of the external world or absorption with narrowly personal processes.
For the Chinese, society and various social relations are more highly valued than the individual. The individual self is bounded by mutual role obligations and duties, and as such is subject to negotiation during social interaction (Ting-Toomey, 1988; Ting-Toomey and Kurogi, 1998). The Chinese value group goals over individual goals, interdependence, reciprocal obligations, and the need for approval and appreciation from others (Ting-Toomey, 1988; Ting-Toomey and Kurogi, 1998). In Chinese culture, sincerity and demonstration of respect and deference are indispensable for successful social interaction (Lee-Wong, 2000: 310). One of the most important cultural values is
qiangong (modesty and courtesy), which leads the Chinese to downgrade or
deny any instance of verbal recognition, praise, compliments or admiration (Bond, 1991; Kornacki, 2002).
The philosophy of the school founded by Confucius (551—479 BC), “the Venerable Master K’ung,” is the key to understanding Chinese culture. Although many people think of traditional Chinese culture as Confucian, Confucianism was only one of the intellectual movements that have existed in China over the centuries (van Norden, 2002). Confucius was mainly “concerned with values as the basis of social and political order” (Flew, 1979: 72). One of the main concepts of his doctrine is dào (tao), which originally meant “way” (in the sense of “path” or “road”). Dào is the proper way to behave and the proper way for society to be organized (van Norden, 2002).
Another concept of Confucianism is the lι˘ (li), meaning “rites” or “rituals.” They include matters of etiquette, everything concerning one’s way of life or ethos, and proper behaviour in general (van Norden, 2002). The lι˘, like all rituals, have a symbolic function. Their performance is required for the proper organization of the society. The reason why they are so powerful, however, is a mystery (van Norden, 2002). In modern Chinese there are several compound nouns involving lι˘, e.g., lijiao (the Confucian ethical code), lijie (courtesy, etiquette, protocol ceremony), limao (courtesy, politeness, manners), and lisu (etiquette, custom) (van Norden, 2002).
One of the ethical terms used by Confucius is rén (jen), meaning “benevolence,” “humaneness,” and “goodness” (van Norden, 2002). This is what every individual should aim at. Confucius was concerned with the cultivation of character and the problems of human perfection in both the individual and social sense (van Norden, 2002, Cheng, 1986). This is related to one of the most important values in Chinese culture mentioned above, modesty. “Perfection” and “self-training” involve the avoidance of boasting, of over-estimation of one’s abilities and of the exaggeration of one’s capacities,
which can evoke envy or unpleasant feelings in others (Hu, 1944). Confucianism held that “perfection of an individual is an essential way for achieving social and political harmony and ordering which in their turn should have preserved and encouraged individual perfection” (Cheng, 1986: 337). The supreme value of rén is to value connection to others, similarity to others, and harmony in relationships (Ho, 1995).
Yì (i) is another ethical term in the Confucian vocabulary. It means “right,”
“righteousness,” “appropriate” and “moral.” In Chinese culture, which was, and still is, highly role-conscious, and in which social relations have always been vertically structured, what is right or appropriate is determined by an individual’s social role (Lee-Wong, 2000; van Norden, 2002). Thus the value of an individual strongly depends on the way he performs his social roles. According to Confucian ethics, self-cultivation involves expression of the goodness of an individual in five kinds of basic social relationships (Cheng, 1986; Earley, 1997)):
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emperor—subject (or righteousness),•
father—son (or closeness),•
husband—wife (or distinction),•
elder—youth (or order),•
friendship (or faithfulness).The self in the Confucian sense is defined by a person’s surrounding relations, which are supported by cultural values such as filial piety, loyalty, dignity, and integrity (Gao, 1996). Thus, the Chinese self (see interdependent self-construal (Markus and Kitayama, 1991)) needs to be recognized, defined, and completed by others, whose needs, wishes and expectations are essential for its development (Gao, 1996). The importance of other people in the creation of the Chinese self results from the values prevailing in Chinese culture, such as tolerance for others, harmony with others, and solidarity with others. This is reflected in social norms prevailing in Chinese culture, such as modesty and humility, reserve and formality, and inhibition of strong feelings (Gao, 1996).
Through moral self-cultivation an individual can achieve perfection, while social harmony is an extension of virtues from an individual to his family and to the society (Cheng, 1986). The connectedness between people, especially within the family, is the key issue in Chinese culture. The Confucian Golden Principle states:
The humane man, wishing to establish himself, seeks to establish others; wishing to be prominent himself, he helps others to be prominent (Ho, 1995: 133—134).
The social order is maintained through the fundamental social roles (e.g., parent, child, husband, wife), which determine people’s behaviour in social interaction (Gao, 1996).
Confucian philosophy can be summarized in three main principles (Cheng, 1986: 337):
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Self-cultivation of a person must be conducted in the context of developing social relationships.•
The successfulness of self-cultivation of a person must be judged in terms of successfulness of development of social relationships under a rule of government.•
The ultimate form of successfulness of development of social relationships is a good government under which everyone is well and properly placed in an order of social relationships and everyone will look upon the maintenance and improvement of this order as defining an intrinsic quality of his existence and the worth of his moral achievement.These three principles can serve as a basis for the understanding of the Chinese concept of face.