Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Evangelical
Reciprocity, Collectivism, and the Chinese Church

Reciprocity, Collectivism, and the Chinese Church

Last updated on: November 14, 2018 at 7:36 am by Brad Vaughn

Reciprocity, Collectivism, and the Chinese Church 2018-11-14T07:36:11-07:00 Brad Vaughn

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

I’ve said before that patronage might be the most misunderstood and overlooked aspect of traditional cultures. This is why I’m thrilled that the talks from the recent Patronage Symposium in Beirut have now been released. Accordingly, for the next few posts will make up a mini-series touching on various aspects of the topic.

Credit: Public Domain CC0

Today’s post gives an overview of the talk I gave at the Patronage Symposium. FYI–– a video of my talk is now available on YouTube! It is titled “Reciprocity, Collectivism, and the Chinese Church.” Due to time constraints, the talk only covers a portion of the full paper I prepared. So, if you are interested, you can download the full PDF of my prepared notes.

Reciprocity in Context

Gifts have meaning within a specific social context. Rather than assuming the significance of the word “gift,” we ought to consider the context of gift-exchange. In this way, we can better understand patronage and reciprocity.

Therefore, we will reflect on the significance of reciprocity within 2 particular settings: (a) cultures and (b) relationships. I first present reciprocity within a Chinese context. Using Chinese culture as a case study enables us to see the significance of social exchange within different types of relationships.

Consider the following ways people interpreted the favors done for them. In 2006, an older woman in Nanjing fell when getting off a bus. A man, Peng Yu, helped the woman, contacted her family and paid her initial hospital fee (about $33). However, she accused him of causing her to fall. Although no corroborating evidence existed proving Peng Yu was at fault, the judge in the case ruled against him saying, “no one would, in good conscience, help someone unless they felt guilty.”[1]

A similar situation occurred in 2013, when Wang Lan saw an older woman had fallen. Like Peng Yu, Wang Lan assisted the elderly woman, contacted her family, and paid the initial medical fees. Once again, the injured woman accessed Wang Lan of pushing her claiming, “If it wasn’t you who bumped into me, why would you have helped take me to the hospital?” Later, cameras proved conclusively that Wang Lan did not harm the older woman.

Reciprocity in Chinese Culture

A significant form of reciprocity in Chinese culture is called renqing. A wooden translation of renqing (人情) is “human feelings.” Renqing describes a voluntary reciprocal exchange between individuals based on emotional attachment.[2]

Renqing only exists within non-familial relationships. Chinese do not regard the give-and-take of family relationships as renqing. Rather, helping one’s relatives is an obligation, what a person “should do” (yinggai de). In this way, an obligation is distinct from renqing.

Exchanging gifts or favors primarily serves two interconnected functions. First, social exchange establishes relationship with others. I include the initiation, maintenance, and deepening of relationships. Second, gift-giving sows the seed of obligation, which will someday bear fruit in the form of returned favors.

In the talk, I unpack the various social “rules” that either foster friendships or can end relationships.

Why does reciprocity differ across cultures?

Not surprisingly, the norms of reciprocity are different across cultures. But why? While a complete answer is likely impossible, I looked at the research to identify one major influence on reciprocity–– the individualism vs. collectivism distinction.

(People loosely describe collectivist cultures as those prioritizing the group above the individual. By contrast, individualistic cultures emphasize the rights and prerogatives of the individual over the group. These descriptions are simplistic generalizations. They merely stress characteristics that tend to be prominent within cultures.)

Having a collectivist perspective, Chinese do not sharply dichotomize “public” and “private” spheres. The public/private distinction is more prominent in individualistic cultures, where people assume multiple, separate identities. Thus, one’s public role (e.g., employee) should not affect private relationships. Fostering a close personal relationship with one’s boss could even be deemed inappropriate in a Western context.

Western friendships often center on common interests, e.g., sports, books, hobbies. Belonging to interest-based social groups rarely entails a sense of responsibility or debt. Group members relate within a narrow sphere of life. They might not have meaningful relationships beyond their shared interest. A Westerner who divides his relationships in this way can theoretically belong to an infinite number of social groups. Social identity, at any given moment, is temporary. One’s personal sense of identity, across countless groups, is most likely defined by the individual’s particularities.

This basic difference in cultural perspective affects how people practice reciprocity or social exchange. But how and why? The answer has significant implications for the church. My presentation gives a fuller answer. I’ll preview my response in the next post.

[1] Countless articles retell this story and the next one. Both are summarized online: https://medium.com/shanghai-living/4-31-why-people-would-usually-not-help-you-in-an-accident-in-china-c50972e28a82. cf. https://www.chinasmack.com/good-samaritan-again-blamed-after-helping-fallen-elderly.

[2] Cf. K. K. Hwang, “Face and favor: The Chinese power game.” The American Journal of Sociology, 92(4) (1987): 944−74; Yunxiang Yan. The Flow of Gifts: Reciprocity and Social Networks in a Chinese Village (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1996).

Previous Post

November 7, 2018

Did God Shame Jesus? The “Curse” of Gal 3:13 in Light of Honor and Shame

Next Post

November 19, 2018 How does collectivism influence reciprocity?

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Atonement Biblical Theology Book Reviews China Chinese Church Chinese Culture Chinese Language Collectivism Contextualization Culture (General) Ecclesiology Evangelism Gospel Honor & Shame (Face) Interpretation/Exegesis Justification/Righteousness Missiology Mission Methods One Gospel for All Nations Other Practical Contextualization Reading Romans with Eastern Eyes Resources Romans Salvation (General) Saving God's Face Seeking God's Face The Cross in Context Theological Contextualization Theological Education Theology Uncategorized

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who was the first high priest of Israel?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Levi Joshua Moses Aaron

Books by This Author Books by Brad Vaughn

See All Titles »