Face Values In China The university where Gail and I live in Beijing has a grandiose new library that is six stories tall and most impressive. It's one of those modern white brick buildings you see so often in China that look a bit like a child has gone berserk with his Lego set. The roof rises up in various odd shapes, there are thousands of square meters of unusable space, and even a huge, arched window on the front that is several stories high. I have no idea how much our new library cost, but it was certainly designed to look as though it cost a lot. Gail and I watched for six months as the workers gradually applied the finishing touches and cleaned up the construction site. Then last month, we had an opening ceremony that was really something. The fountain by the main entrance was turned on with jets of water so high they flooded the road. Colored flags flew every few feet along the pathways, and a cavalcade of dark, expensive cars appeared, depositing some Very Important People for an afternoon of speeches and smiles. There's only one problem with our new library: there are hardly any books in it. A lot of money was lavished on the facade, but nothing was spent on the reading material that a library is supposed to contain. Many of the students and teachers I've talked with are quite disgusted with the situation. But personally I see in our empty library a lovely metaphor for the concept of "face."
It's not only architecture. Here at our university, for example, Gail and I are in the charge of a young man from the "International Cooperation Department" whose task it is to be our liaison with the school and act as an interpreter. Unfortunately, this is a young man who clearly got his job through "guanxi" -- personal connections, that is, a subject I dealt with in last week's column -- for though it is his job to speak English, he actually speaks very little English and understands even less. This is a problem, particularly since none of us can admit to this most obvious fact, or even allude to it. When Gail and I need to discuss something more intricate than the weather, we bring along a Chinese friend who actually does speak English. But we must pretend that our friend just happened to meet us outside the office by accident, otherwise our young liaison would lose enormous face. The question of face seems to pervade every aspect of life in China, personal as well as professional. Like most Americans, I have been fascinated with the popularity of Karaoke, particularly since many of the Karaoke parlors seem to me appallingly expensive. A local person was telling me recently that some of the clubs where the businessmen go charge a hundred dollars or so per person just to get in, and this does not include the drinks, the hostess, or the VIP room you need to rent to impress your friends. I asked him why? Why spend so much money on nothing -- or what seems to me to be nothing from a Western point of view? He replied that the point was the extravagance itself, a way to show that you are so successful you can throw money around without a thought. Another Chinese friend said he went to a dinner recently with six business people and the bill came to $2500. The food, he assured me, was nothing special. Once again, the real purpose of this splurge was the splurge itself, just to show you could do it. Ironically, my friends assure me that the sort of Chinese businessman who wouldn't think twice about spending $2500 for dinner, will generally lead a very frugal personal life. In the West, of course, we do things in reverse. Certainly business entertaining is important throughout the world, and we must impress our colleagues in various ways, but few Western businessmen would be impressed by wasteful extravagance. When it comes to business, we want to get our money's worth, and in America particularly there is an old puritanical Yankee insistence on common sense. I think most of us would judge a grandiose library with few books inside as a very poor investment, and someone who spent several thousand dollars taking us out to dinner as a business partner to avoid at all costs! It is simply a different style, and Westerners in China need to be tactful regarding this matter of face. It's important to remember that from the other side, our Chinese friends might be easily dismayed at our personal wastefulness and self-indulgence. We foreigners may spend less on the facade, but we certainly make up for it in the private sector of our lives -- our houses, cars, toys, and other pleasures. Next week: "Coco's Club" From the Editor in Chief: If you have some travel or work experience in China to share with us, we will be very excited to hear from you! Send your feedback by e-mail or regular mail to ASM Overseas Corporation. Thank you! And if you liked this column, please check Expats In China (International Community in China) for more interesting and useful information on life in China as a foreigner, including calendar of events, entertainment, housing, employment, classifieds, personal, etc. |
||||
