Guanxi Master

Towards a More Perfect Blog

Posted by Joe Benn | 31 May, 2010

Many of you who read our blog here have noticed the break in postings over the last few weeks. We have gone through some transitions here in our office and will be going through a few more over the next couple of weeks.

First, the members of our awesome writing team are going their own separate directions. This is to be expected. I have never seen a group assembled with more dynamism and flexibility, with a collective creativity that surpasses the sum of its parts. I am honored to have had these guys working with me, and I will remember the great conversations that we had for the rest of my life. However, it’s time for them to go on and do bigger and better things. Frank is going into doctoral studies, and Jason will pursue his budding career in law and public relations. This leaves me, Joe, back where it all started… Thanks guys, for a good run!

Three years ago, we founded a media company with a local partner, with backing from prominent Hollywood producers that our material would find a market in the US. We soon grew to eight people, striving tirelessly to make an innovative and international quality product. When funding fell through with the US because of the economic crisis, we figured we’d be okay by pursuing a Chinese domestic market for our media series. Boy, were we wrong! It turned out that what everyone had said about Chinese censorship, distrust of foreigners, conniving workers, and local protectionism was true. It has been one rough ride, and I am proud of the fact that we were able to “survive” and come close to “thrive”.

Over the last year alone, we’ve run the full gamut of seeing ideas stolen by the local English language station (we did a pilot for them which they said they didn’t like, and then made a program exactly the same… without our names and our development costs), having lots of bills to local television stations go unpaid, and seeing our largest project killed by a “no-go” from officials afraid that our “interpretation of ancient history” was not based on their “official understanding”. It’s “been real” as they say, but not “real fun”.

With that said, however, I couldn’t have paid the same amount we’ve lost for a college degree with this kind of hands-on exposure and on-the-ground training. While tough, it has been a great way to learn the ropes. With this kind of dog-eat-dog experience under my belt, going back to work in media in L.A. doesn’t even seem daunting!

As I said (Here Kitty Kitty) in a previous posting, learning to handle the realm of Chinese business takes a good humor on the part of the foreign business man, and as I said here (Living on Air), a great deal of patience. The only problem with business is that you have to make something to survive. If you can’t do well for yourself, there’s no point. I’m starting to see why the “waidi” (immigrant worker) kids are so uptight, because they feel that they can never get ahead in this system (witness the recent tragedies at Foxconn). With the lack of business ethics, cronyism, and downright fraud that I’ve seen over here, I would say that they’re right.

Therefore, I am going to try to do some things differently. I am going to focus on my Chinese language skills again, and stop talking, writing, and hanging out so much in English. I am going to cut my expenses by doing the work myself, because I’ve found that I spend more time and money trying to get Chinese workers to re-do things than if I had just knuckled down and done it myself.

And, while I’ll keep blogging, this time I am not going to focus on being the expert analyzer, but focus on a real life struggle to duke it out as a foreigner in the intriguing field of Chinese Guanxi.

Many of you who read our blog here have noticed the break in postings over the last few weeks. We have gone through some transitions here in our office and will be going through a few more over the next couple of weeks. Read the rest of this entry »

Around the World in Fifty-Four Years

Posted by Frank Reichart | 17 May, 2010

Past and Present Hollywood Stereotypes and Archetypes of China

Phileas Fogg and Passepartout One of the great movies of the 50’s is the legendary Around the World in Eighty Days, and part of the charm of the 1956 movie adaptation of Jules Verne’s classic novel is in its exaggerated stereotyping of the characters. It’s a surprise feast for the eye and delightfully flooded with incidental cameo appearances of almost fifty celebrities alive at the time. Directed by Michael Anderson and produced by Michael Todd, the film starred the stately Larry Niven as Phileas Fogg. Nominated for eight Oscars and winning five, it was a late part of that era in which Hollywood “took itself seriously.” Todd’s movie is an affectionately tongue-in-cheek “seriously epic” send up of 1930’s -1950’s Hollywood. Read the rest of this entry »

The People Who Love to Laugh

Posted by Joe Benn and Jason Lau | 13 May, 2010

Understanding the Chinese sense of humour

Laughing Woman One of the big differences between Chinese and Western culture is in humour. Growing up in Australia, I sometimes struggled to understand why my aunts and uncles all thought a joke was so funny. Their particular way of telling the tale, repetitiously laboring the punch lines, irritated me. And they were vastly entertained by stories that I found not even slightly amusing. However, in my English education, I had failed to learn the Chinese sense of humour… and the deep reflection of Chinese society it reveals. Read the rest of this entry »

The Cult of Prosperity

Posted by Frank Reichart | 10 May, 2010

A Goddess of Mercy becomes a Goddess of Fortune

Guan Yin Last week, I wandered into the Buddhist temple at the famous Shanghai water town of Zhujiajiao. People were charged a 10 yuan admission to enter the main temple grounds, but in the annex, worshippers got a freebie. Before paying the fee, one could kneel on a padded bench before a glass-encased Laughing Buddha (Maitreya Buddha) covered in gold paint, with a mischievous-looking Haibao peeking around the corner of the case. The little blue mascot for the Shanghai World Expo 2010 and the golden Buddha are emblems of the same aspiration among the Chinese: conspicuous wealth and a global showcase of modernization. Read the rest of this entry »

The Leaping Carp Becomes a Dragon

Posted by Joe Benn | 6 May, 2010

An Omen of the Middle Kingdom’s Rise in Middle America

Children's Day Carp Banners In the last few years, fishermen in the United States have started to notice that the old bluegill, sunfish, bass, and catfish of the Illinois, Mississippi and the Ohio rivers have been disappearing. In their place a new kind of fish is gobbling up resources, feeding on the other species, and reproducing at an astonishing rate. The problem has become so intense that officials are now afraid that the Great Lakes are doomed to fall in the onslaught. They call these ferocious invaders “Asian carp”. The Chinese call them “Li Yu” (鲤鱼), “Black” or “Silver” carp, and have cultivated these breeds for their amazing reproductive vitality and hardiness for thousands of years. Read the rest of this entry »