An interesting post over at Diligence China (hat tip, Granite Studio), on the cultural implications of China's economic rise. The topic is framed in terms of business culture - or, more specifically, how foreign business people can use an understanding of Chinese culture to gain a market advantage - which is the one of the foci of the Diligence China blog.
The writer senses that Chinese economic growth has reached a critical moment, especially in its cultural effects. No longer comfortable with understanding itself as "catching up" to the advanced industrial economies, China will increasingly see itself as equal to or better than the richest countries in the world. This is not peculiar to China. Diligence China argues that this sort of move, from cultural insecurity to cultural confidence, is a general pattern of socio-economic development. The transformation may create certain strains, however:
China is in the process of switching from self-loathing acolyte to over-confident preacher, and the speed of the transformation is going to take some folks by surprise.
While certainly attention grabbing, this rhetorical distinction does not stand up to historical analysis. Has the PRC been a "self-loathing acolyte" since 1949? I don't think so. Maoism was, at its most strident moments, something closer to the "over-confident preacher." If we just limit ourselves to the reform period (since 1979), it is still hard to see a clear disjunction. Is it only now that something like a movement from insecurity to overconfidence is evident? Not really. There has always been a strong element of cultural pride in modern China. And this has occurred simultaneous with uncertainty and questioning (perhaps even "self-loathing" in its most extreme forms).
So, I would disagree with the idea of a noticeable change from one cultural orientation to another, and argue instead that both of these tendencies have run parallel to one another for much of the past 100 years. That being said, I think the observations that Diligence China makes about more specific cultural dynamics are worth thinking about. The two points that Granite Studio mentions are particularly thought-provoking:
Rewriting history.
A two stage process. Stage one – All of China’s historical problems were all either imported or the result of forgetting our own traditions. Stage two – Mining history for archetypes of new leaders. Look for Ghengis Kahn to be recast as the proto-Chinese leader. The Cultural Revolution was, somehow, a new management paradigm. Look for obscure writers to take on cult status — particularly when they demonstrate the superiority of Chinese organizational models.
This dynamic is certainly evident in the Confucian revival. We have heard of "boss classes" where rising Chinese business people receive a quick introduction to the Confucian classics in the belief that this will make them better people and managers. Of course, the notion of using his philosophy to promote profit-making would likely be odious to Confucius himself but, hey, what's a little rewriting of history among friends? Sun Tzu has already become a mainstay in the business management world. We should expect ever greater efforts to make Confucius into an idealized CEO. Can Han Fei Tzu as personal trainer be far behind?
A second point:
Anti-Nation Nationalism
Chinese nationalism defined by how much better they are than the US, Japan, Europe, etc. It’s already happening to some extent – on a broad cultural level — but it will start getting more specific and granular soon. Look for Chinese to start ranking different nations and systems. German is better than French. American is better than British. In the early stages, Chinese will rank their own society in between the two. Two weeks later, look for the announcement that they have overtaken.
I would suggest that all nationalisms are always constructed against a foreign "other." Sometimes this might be a large, ideological-cultural formation like "The West" or "The East." At other times it can be more specific, like the adolescent American rejection of the French. In any event, it is a reminder of how different the world is now from the Warring States period, when thinkers like Confucius and Mencius and the Taoists did not think in national terms, but in terms of a broader, universalized (or, at least, potentially universalizable) "civilization."
One last point. In providing practical suggestions for how businesses might successfully navigate the cultural dynamics of contemporary China, Diligence China, at least at one moment, goes all Taoist on us:
2) Go with the flow.
If the Chinese are getting snooty and cocky, then roll with your expensive brands. Some international brand managers still seem to see China as the dumping ground for old designs and low-end product lines. Markets here are much more sophisticated than some overseas managers give them credit for. Work the snob appeal – and if this time around your customers want [to] bitch-out other Chinese yuppies, go with it.
It may seem a bit odd in the context of capturing the market attention of Chinese yuppies, but "go with the flow" would always be sound business advice for Chuang Tzu....
"... how foreign business people can use an understanding of Chinese culture to gain a market advantage ... "
I agree. To shrink, one must expand. Or in this case, to expand, one must shrink.
Posted by: Happy Dee | February 01, 2007 at 09:49 AM