Barbalet Jack
Institute for Humanities and Social Sciences, Australian Catholic University, Fitzroy, Victoria, Australia.
Br J Sociol. 2025 Jan;76(1):83-95. doi: 10.1111/1468-4446.13151. Epub 2024 Sep 14.
Informal affective bonding through which social resources are deployed, known as guanxi, is significant in social, political, and economic relationships in present-day China. Guanxi is sociologically understood as a form of social network and also as a type of social exchange. In addition, guanxi is regarded as a kind of or derived from ritual practices. Ritual aspects of guanxi are critically examined. The concept of ritual is distinguished from Confucian li, with which guanxi is often associated. Rituals held to be supportive of guanxi are examined, three distinct conceptualisations of ritual are identified, and ritual is differentiated from social practice, ceremony, and rite. Finally, emotions in guanxi ritual are briefly discussed, comparing Collins' approach with an account from the early Chinese theorist Xunzi.
通过其来调配社会资源的非正式情感纽带，即所谓的“关系”，在当代中国的社会、政治和经济关系中意义重大。从社会学角度来看，“关系”被理解为一种社会网络形式，也是一种社会交换类型。此外，“关系”被视为一种仪式实践或源自仪式实践。本文对“关系”的仪式层面进行了批判性审视。将仪式的概念与常与“关系”相关联的儒家“礼”相区分。考察了被认为对“关系”有支撑作用的仪式，识别出三种不同的仪式概念化方式，并将仪式与社会实践、典礼和仪式区分开来。最后，简要讨论了“关系”仪式中的情感，将柯林斯的方法与中国早期理论家荀子的观点进行了比较。
