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Lishang-wanglai (礼尚往来): A Chinese Model

of Social Relations and Relatedness

Dr Xiangqun Chang Asia Research Centre, LSE

International Colloquium on New Discourses in Contemporary China20 – 21 September 2007, Management School, Lecture Theatre 3, Lancaster University

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This presentation consists of six parts

1. Social relations (guanxi 关系) and relatedness 2. Different usages of lishang wang lai （礼尚往

来）

3. Kaixiangong village4. A lishang-wanglai model5. How the lishang-wanglai model works 6. Conclusion

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Guanxi关系 & renqing人情

关系 guanxi: relations or relationship;instrumental exchange

150 million results for 关系 in Google a 3rd of million results for guanxi in Google人情renqing: Human feelings; ethic,

expressive exchange 8 million results for人情 in GoogleRenqing……???

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礼尚往来 Li shang wanglai (I)

Originally comes from Confucian Analects:“the rules of propriety (li) value reciprocity.

If I give a gift and nothing comes in return, that is contrary to propriety; if the thing comes to me, and I give nothing in return, that also is contrary to propriety (礼尚往

来。往而不来，非礼也；来而不往，以非礼也)” (Li Ji (Boot of Rites), “Qi Li”, 1987:7; Legge 1885:65).

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礼尚往来 Li shang wanglai (II)

li礼: gift, courtesy or politeness, propriety,ritual or ceremonyshang尚: to esteem or upholdwang往: out and home, go and returnlai来: comewanglai 往来: come-and-go

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礼尚往来 Li shang wanglai (III)

“The rules of propriety value reciprocity”“Courtesy demands reciprocity”“Give as good as one gets”“Deal with a man as he deals with you”“People interact with each other in terms of gift exchange(礼上往来 )” (Yan, 1996)Get gifts through online shopping (礼尚网来)

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礼尚往来 Li shang wanglai (IV)

58 results for pinyin li shang wanglai in GoogleA half million results for礼尚往来 in GoogleMore than 1 million results for 礼尚网来 (get gifts through online shopping ) in Google网 wang: internet, networks “The system of propriety upholds the reciprocal interactions among people” (ditto)Lishang-wanglai礼尚往来 model

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南京礼品网礼尚往来 往而不来，非礼也！

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Kaixiangong Village View (1)

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Kaixiangong Village View (2)

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Kaixiangong village and surrounding areas (2006)

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Basic figures in 2006 (I)

Population: 3,044 Households: 790Groups: 25Village cadres: 4Land area: 3,090 muIncome per capita: 8,580 yuan.

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Basic figures in 2006 (II)

28 private cars 850 motorcycles730 households built a new house1200 air conditioning1,230 mobile phones 720 landline telephonesnearly one quarter of village households have broadband internet access!

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The destruction of the 1st floor of a private enterprise workshop (1996)

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Remains of Laotai temple (1996)

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The Rebuilt Laotai temple (2003)

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The Rebuilt East temple in Kaixiangong (2003)

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Anthropological approach to Chinese relations

Mayfair Yang (1994): guanxi / guanxixue 关系 / 关系学

Charles Stafford (1995): cycle of yang / cycle of laiwang养圈/来往圈

Yunxiang Yan(1996): guanxi networks / renqing ethics关系网络 / 人情伦理

Andrew Kipnis (1997): producing guanxi / embodying ganqing关系生产 / 感情表达

Charles Stafford (2000): separation / reunion 分/合

Xiangqun Chang (forthcoming ): lishang-wanglai 礼尚往来

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Yunxiang Yan Xiangqun ChangGuanxi networksStructure of guanxiConfiguration of guanxi

Social support networks

Expressive gift giving Instrumental gift givingObligatory gift givingUnilateral gift givingImbalanced gift exchange Unbalanced reciprocityNegative reciprocity

Generous wanglaiExpressive wanglai (renqing)Instrumental wanglai (guanxi)Negative wanglai

Rational calculationMoral obligationEmotional attachment

Moral judgementHuman feelingsRational calculationSpiritual beliefs

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A Chinese model of relations and relatedness – Lishang-wanglai (礼尚往来)

Resources

Events Range

Lishang criteria

Sources

Social creativity – renxin (人心)

Wanglai types

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A framework for the analysis of social support networks

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Social creativity – the driver

renqing 人情：human feelings renxin人心: human heart qi气：vital energy nonrepresentational ethics (Kipnis, 1997)Social creativity (Davis, 1993)

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Silk Weaving Factory, owned by the village until 1996, owned by Zhou Yonglin privately since 1996

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Fei Xiaotong visits a family business (1996)

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“Aid-the-poor programme” on wall of the workshop (2007)

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Entrance of the workshop (2007)

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A one storey workshop joined to the owner’s house (1996)

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A two storey workshop joined to the owner’s house (2004)

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Conclusion: can lishang-wanglai (礼尚往来) be a general analytic concept for analysing social relations?

Lishang-wanglai has methodological implicationsLishang-wanglai combines a static model and dynamic networks Lishang-wanglai unifies principles with a typology of reciprocity Lishang-wanglai’s motivation is social creativity