B412 Week 2 seminar - Chinese History and Culture Part 1
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In this seminar we will explore key questions regarding the history and culture of China from acient times to the 19th century.
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B412 Week 2 seminar - Chinese History and Culture Part 1
- 1. School of Business International Business Regions: China Week 2 Seminar History & Culture Part 1
- 2. Pearson College London XXXX 2 School of Business International Business Regions: China Seminar 2 Questions • How did the introduction of ancient Chinese agricultural practices impact on demographics and culture? • What are the long-standing implications of population growth and a huge population? • What implications does Confucianism have on the state structure and the development of Chinese society? • What is ‘face’? • What is the relationship between hierarchy & business • Is China reverting to its former glory as the Zhong Guo 中国?
- 3. Pearson College London XXXX 3 School of Business International Business Regions: China Seminar 2 Rivers, Irrigation & Rice • Irrigation, Grand Canal, flooding • Yellow & Yangtze Rivers
- 4. Pearson College London XXXX 4 School of Business International Business Regions: China Seminar 2 Continental in size… • Language & dialect • Cuisine • Culture & customs …. Can we talk of ‘China’ in such simplistic terms?
- 5. Pearson College London XXXX 5 School of Business International Business Regions: China Seminar 2 八0九0后 Generation
- 6. Pearson College London XXXX 6 School of Business International Business Regions: China Seminar 2 Confucius & Society • What structures did Confucian society put in place? • Where do Confucian principles still have relevance in business today?
- 7. Pearson College London XXXX 7 School of Business International Business Regions: China Seminar 2 Face 面子 • Can you define it? • ‘Gunboat diplomacy’ • Prime Minister David Cameron to China, November 2012 wearing a poppy – implications? • China’s re-emergence on the world stage & overseas influence: what are the implications? British warships attacking Chunsan China in 1840. Image Source: http://www.jejuweekly.com/news/articleView.html?idxno=1799
- 8. Pearson College London XXXX 8 School of Business International Business Regions: China Seminar 2 Contacts人际关系
- 9. Pearson College London XXXX 9 School of Business International Business Regions: China Seminar 2 Dealing with Problems处理问题
- 10. Pearson College London XXXX 10 School of Business International Business Regions: China Seminar 2 Dealing with anger对待愤怒
- 11. School of Business International Business Regions: China Elderly in daily life／老人的日常生 活
- 12. Pearson College London XXXX 12 School of Business International Business Regions: China Seminar 2 The child／孩子
- 13. Pearson College London XXXX 13 School of Business International Business Regions: China Seminar 2 The Boss／领导
- 14. Pearson College London XXXX 14 School of Business International Business Regions: China Seminar 2 The Middle Kingdom • What does China mean now? • What does it mean to be Chinese? Image Source: http://onemanbandwidth.com/wordpress/wp- content/uploads/2007/05/fotolia_1684848.jpg
Editor's Notes
- Availability of water and climate resulted in the differences in geographical emphasis on staple foods and diet. Northwest – noodles Northeast – bread South – rice – where the population boomed. As early as 1000BC it was realised you could get 2 crops a year from rice and only one from wheat, so more rice was grown. If you could feed your family then you could have larger families and the population swelled, particularly around the Yellow River and the Yangtze River. By the C9th AD when the population of the UK was 1/2 million, China already had a population of 80 million. This led to a boom in production and creativity and a mercantile economy.
- Look at meritocracy, bureaucracy, hierarchy. State has responsibility for its people. Harmonious society – as much a guiding principle in Confucius’ day as it is now. Superiors really are superior Respect your family elders The family comes first, but the group matters Rank is beautiful Learn your lessons well They still have relevance. Reciprocity and obligation are fundamental tenets of culture. Be careful what you ask of someone – you don’t know when they will want you to return the favour or how big that favour will be.
- What is ‘face’? Give a definition Western invaders and Treaty ports & Treaty of Versailles. Humiliation. Barbarians. Cameron wearing the poppy – as a symbol of the war dead – was preceived by the Chinese as a real affront and generated a nationalist response with bloggers stating that it was a political statement humiliating the Chinese again reminding them of the opium wars. China is VERY sensitive. Know your audience. Choose your topics of conversation carefully. Don’t go for taboo subjects (Taiwan, Xinjiang) until you know someone very well. What of the Chinese diaspora? (do you know what that means?) After Sichuan earthquake in 2008 overseas Chinese supported the victims and the relief effort How does China ‘court’ the world and what are the implications? Think about carrot of trade. Chinese travellers overseas – article from the Ministry of Tourism about behaviour!
- We’re going to look at a number of images created by a Chinese PhD student, Yang Liu, when he studied in Germany. In very easy to grasp, visual language these images look at some of the cultural differences that define the Chinese and that show how behaviours and attitudes differ from the West. The red part of the image is the Chinese and the blue is German / western. Here’s one on Guanxi, or connections and contacts. What does this tell you? Chinese connections permeate all walks of life. Who know who? How can I get at that person to help me achieve this or that? Who do I know who knows that person? Western contacts, or networking, via the ‘old school network’ or club network or alumni association. More linear.
- What does this tell you about how the Chinese deal with problems? They will avoid it. They will not be straight-talking about a problem. If it might cause them to lose face – or you – they will avoid the issue or be very indirect about it. 【点评】老外则显得非常没有中国人聪明了，在这一点上。我们中国人是世界上最圆滑的人了吧。见硬就躲，见困难就颠，见便宜就上，见免费的就疯狂。其实，中国的国粹___麻将，最能说明中国人见硬就躲，见困难就颠，见便宜就上，见免费的就疯狂的特点。麻将的最大玄机，就在于如何让自己逃避困难，如何跟人跑，并在最恰当时候，抓住机会，使自己当上最牛比的机会主义分子！我另外想到的是，老祖宗留给我们的几句训话：一切要“和为贵”（形容遇困难尽量把困难化小，小事化了的心态）、不要“不撞南墙不回头”（形容左边那种在中国人看来有些缺心眼的老外们吧）。
- What’s going on here? It is a sign of weakness for Chinese people to show emotions – anger or sadness. If you are in a business context and you get angry, even raise your voice, then this is deemed a weakness in you. Equally, Westerners will speak out if they have something they want to say. For the Chinese, it is better that you don’t let your emotions rise to the surface. Use reason to have an impact.
- Children keep the elderly young; give them a sense of purpose; each party has something to gain from the relationship
- The Chinese child is the centre of everyone’s universe. For 2 sets of doting grandparents and 2 parents that’s a lot of potential spoiling and attention for one child! In the UK, certainly, in Victorian times (and I can still hear it ringing in my ears) “children should be seen and not heard.”
- http://www.igo.cn/2010/news/lxxw/lxdt/2008/03/18/6070.shtml The boss, in China, is king. There are no flat structures in business practices in China. The leader, or the lingdao 领导 is key. Everyone defers to the boss. What the boss says, goes. Questioning the boss is not possible. Giving face to the boss is important. Establishing who is the boss when doing business in China is fundamental otherwise you waste your time dealing with someone who does not have the power and authority to make decisions.
- The age old mandate of everything under heaven and in the earth to be governed by the ruler, tian xia 天下. Only this time, the concept of the whole world became the whole of China, that is, China for itself and the pride of the Chinese race. (‘Cultural Atlas of China’ by Caroline Blunden page 152)