Changing Chinese values: Keeping up with paradoxes

Abstract

The impact of China's modernization during the past three decades (1978–2008) on the changes of Chinese behaviours is salient. However, these changes have had an even greater impact on Chinese values. Indeed, China seems to have never given up its single most important cultural characteristic, the ability to manage paradoxes. Ancient Chinese society was an oxymoron melting pot. In the current age of globalization, Chinese society has retained and reinforced this unique feature even in the most significant sociocultural changes. Through the analysis of eight pairs of paradoxical values, referring to business and society at large, the article argues that life in contemporary China has undergone significant cultural change. Nonetheless, in terms of the thinking process, modern Chinese society remains anchored to the classical Yin Yang approach.

Introduction

In the 5000 years of Chinese history, the past three decades (1978–2008) of the People's Republic of China (PRC) have proportionally elicited changes that probably not a single Western observer has been able to foresee. A direct consequence of China's “open-door” policy since 1978 is that Chinese society is now in direct contact with foreign concepts, technologies, cultures and lifestyles. Globalization, foreign direct investment (FDI) and the Internet are exposing China, for the first time in its history, to unprecedented global knowledge transfer, information sharing and cultural learning.

The impact of China's modernization during the past 30 years on the modification of Chinese social and business behaviours is salient. However, one must question the changes at a deeper level—that of people's values. Indeed, China seems to have never given up its single most important cultural characteristic, the ability to manage paradoxes. Ancient Chinese society was an oxymoron melting pot. In the current age of globalization, Chinese society has retained and reinforced this unique feature even in the most significant sociocultural changes. A constant reality of China has been its outstanding capability for keeping up with paradoxes throughout its history including the current period.

In this article, we discuss paradoxical values that coexist in today's Chinese society observed at least in the economically developed coastal regions at the forefront of China's modernization. By “paradoxical values” we mean seemingly contradictory value orientations both of which can nonetheless be true within the same society. We firstly argue that there is a need to move beyond classical Western methodology to study culture, especially Chinese culture. A Yin Yang perspective of culture is used to capture the complexity of Chinese values. Then, paradoxical values in today's Chinese society are discussed with reference to business and society at large. Our observations do not reflect different aspects of a segmented society but rather patterns of contradictions manifested within the Chinese society.