Guanxi Master

How the Chinese Ideal of Virtue Transmits to an Ethereal View of Business

On a delightful fall day a few years ago, while with my family on a Sunday jaunt in the rural Songjiang area of Shanghai, we pulled over to look at a roadside stall selling beautiful flowers in narrow pots, hanging from a rack. I was intrigued by the elaborate rig for these simple-looking, grassy plants, and was even more captivated by the smell of their little green flowers. I was hooked. I bought two pots and brought them home, and it was the start of my two-year, love-hate relationship with Chinese orchids.

Doing some preliminary research, I found that the cymbidium (our Latin name for the Chinese orchid) was one of the “Four Sacred Flowers” of Chinese tradition. One of the original features of the “Crystal Palace” of the first World Expo in 1851, it was notoriously hard to grow in hothouses in Victorian England, but its flowers are regarded as one of the most rewarding of the orchid species. Its delightful fragrance fills a room for weeks at a time.

And then, by chance, I stumbled upon an even more interesting fact. After seeing the orchids in my office, a painter friend immediately commented that I was “becoming a Chinese scholar”. “There is no flower that represents the scholar and his life better than the orchid”, he said with a wistful smile on his ancient face. “Why?” I asked innocently. “For that, you must look to Confucius!” he replied, in a mysterious way, and then changed the subject. This peaked my interest, and I started looking into it more. Read the rest of this entry »

Playing the Game – Understanding How It’s Done

This is the second of a two-part series exploring the Chinese use of Western philosophy as a basis for negotiation with the outside world. The first article detailed how Chinese utilize postmodernism to undermine the West’s position. The second part discusses practical applications for negotiation.

With an awesome reputation for getting a deal, the Chinese are globally acknowledged masters of negotiation. As our first article explained, much of their talent lies in identifying the other party’s values and priorities, and then using those same priorities to control the agenda. At a philosophic and political level, this means China effectively takes the language and values of Western postmodernism, and uses them to its advantage. At an individual level, a Chinese negotiator will identify something that the foreigner wants, and then use it, as it were, “against him.” Read the rest of this entry »

In the midst of rumors of a closing China, expats should learn how even hated influences can be tolerated in the Chinese quest for riches

In the northern Chinese province of Jilin, it is not uncommon to come across signs for local chapters of the “Resist Japan Club”. More than sixty years have passed since the Imperial Army was driven out of China, but for the people of the old puppet state of Manchukuo, the duty to fight against Japanese aggression continues.

Even at a national level, television programs frequently remind the Chinese populace of the “unforgivable,” rallying public sentiment against anything and everything that Japan might “do to China.” As recently as at last week’s national CPPCC congress, a university president warned, “Chinese youth need to be more fit, in case of a war with Japan.”

An interesting contradiction, however, is the prominent place of honor that a Japanese citizen receives in local shops and markets. No, we are not talking about the Japanese travelers who are courted for their tourism dollars – in fact, there are still areas of northern China where it is dangerous to be identified as Japanese. Rather, I’m referring to the waving golden puss that sits on the shelves and counters of so many Chinese stores. Read the rest of this entry »

Understanding one of the most important aspects of Chinese culture

The Chinese can be very generous people. In fact, they are some of the most generous people I know. They never arrive empty-handed, and won’t let you leave without taking gifts or food. From fighting for the check at a restaurant to playing the gracious host, the Chinese’ spirit of generosity is one of their greatest cultural treasures. Stemming from the old village traditions, this attribute continues to impact everything from the birthday of an Anhui farmer’s baby to Foreign Ministry negotiations in western Africa. Read the rest of this entry »

A little-known jewel of Chinese wisdom that is opening doors to great opportunity

China has a historical tradition of great old sages. However, they generally weren’t characterized by the flowing silk robes and serene walled gardens that the Western mind imagines. Instead, art and history always depict them as wearing tattered rags and living in mountain caves, cold and poor. Lao Zi, Ji Gong, Zhuang Zi, and the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove are all models for this stereotype. They were men who “Saw the Tao,” and realized that because entropy was inherent in all things, poverty was the only “sustainable” lifestyle that could be proposed. In this philosophy, therefore, the building of palaces and the ruling of nations was pointless – unless one realized that they are pointless, at which point they become great fun! Read the rest of this entry »