[
    {
        "id": 212955,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
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        "document_key": "RAS-1993",
        "page_number": 23,
        "title": "RAS-1993",
        "content_text": "2\n\ndictionaries of phrases, many of them carry the figurative meaning. What more, these 'phenomena' suggest that the concept of face is important.\n\nis\n\nFace Is Important\n\nLu Xun, the author of the epic A Q, had written many stories, articles, and poems. Among them, one article was solely devoted to the concept of face (Lu, 1934).* Another contemporary writer, Lao She also took pains to single out face as the central theme in one of his early plays: Mianzi Wenti (The Question of Face), a three-act play published in 1941.6\n\nIn what can be regarded as a concise statement of what Lu Xun and Lao She had tried to convey, Lin Yutang, the famous linguist, wrote that face was 'yet the most delicate standard by which Chinese social intercourse [was] regulated' (Lin, 1935: 200). He also lamented that if China was to become strong, it was necessary for her people, especially those who had face, to cast aside this concern (Lin, 1980: 210). His underlying assumption was that the concern with face barred the country from developing into a state ruled by law and thereby a strong state. This view was shared by other social critics like Bo Yang (Bo, 1987: 121). Even some Westerners who had much experience living in China feel the same (Bo, 1987: 338-339).\n\nSome Western scholars also attended to the concept. Elizabeth Croll, for example, in her study of marriage rituals, concluded that the scale of marriage was taken as a symbol of a household's or even a larger social group's status. Wedding banquets were used by those who experienced changes in their status to advertise their new positions in society. Although the word 'face' was not directly used, it is apparent that the concept worked in this context. As far as this ritual was concerned, the situation remained the same in post-1949 China. More so, the cadres themselves, rather than the villagers, were the group being indulged in extravagant feasting.\n\nEven in the political arena, the concept of face appears to be important. In an analysis of the dynamics of political factions, Lucian Pye has argued that, very often, politicians would not be totally driven out, nor would political factions be totally defeated. This is to save the losers from a complete dismantling of their status, power and other means of living. This is also important to allow the defeated to live on by saving them from a 'deep sense of loss of face' which implies loss of respect and dignity (Pye, 1980: 188-189).\n\n* A copy of the bibliography is available from the Hon. Editor",
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        "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/66833t302",
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    {
        "id": 212957,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
        "series_use_hku_proxy": false,
        "document_key": "RAS-1993",
        "page_number": 25,
        "title": "RAS-1993",
        "content_text": "position, to avoid total loss of face for them.\n\nIt has been pointed out by Elizabeth Croll that the party cadres were very much concerned about the scale of wedding banquets which was a symbol of their status and a means to induce favourable attitudes from others. However, these incidents had been condemned by the government-controlled media, and face had been denounced as belonging to the lot of feudal ills which had to be discontinued in the socialist era (Croll, 1981: 124-126). Surprisingly, despite this denunciation, the concept of face or the word itself did not disappear altogether in the press. As a matter of fact, it was even being directly used by government officials and the government media,\n\nOn 19 May 1985, the Chinese soccer team lost to Hong Kong in a World Cup Qualifying Round match. Afterwards, members of the crowd leaving the Beijing Workers' Stadium damaged public properties. They even attacked foreigners, their cars and shouted at them in the capital's streets. News reports and comments which covered this event accused those who created disorder as losing the nation's face.\" While there are direct proofs of the existence of \"face\" in these \"slips-of-the-tongue\", the question as to how much has been swallowed up or how much has been concealed awaits investigation,\n\nNot only was the nation's face being at stake amidst outbursts of hooliganism, but also in terms of economic activities. GNP figures have been low in China, at least not compatible with a big country. The face of the country, the government and her people, was challenged and threatened in view of the growing strength of other countries. This put China into a dilemma. On the one hand, she could not deny the success of other countries, but on the other, she could not sink behind them or lose face before them due to her sense of national superiority (Hsu, 1981: 411).\n\nTo maintain that China was still a great country, a superior nation under the Communists, the burden was put on the media. Figures in bicycle production in China and India, a rather trivial topic, had been compared to highlight the former's success.\" These types of contents were badly needed in view of the growing exposure of Chinese people to Western products and achievements (Funadashi, 1985: 232).",
        "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1993.txt",
        "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/66833t302",
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    },
    {
        "id": 212958,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
        "series_use_hku_proxy": false,
        "document_key": "RAS-1993",
        "page_number": 26,
        "title": "RAS-1993",
        "content_text": "5\n\nPurpose Of The Study\n\nWhile a nation's face seems so visible and important in the Chinese media, neither the concept of a nation's face nor the media presentations of it have been studied. Indeed, a number of studies and papers have focused on the concept of face, but most of them have adopted the psychological approach in which the behavioral aspects of face are often their concern.\n\nFace, at personal and interpersonal levels has been tackled time and again in various experiments and discussion papers by social psychologists. Others have specifically talked about face concerns among Chinese, particularly relating it to the Chinese culture and sociological structure. An individual's face, a clan's face, ... are the units used. Some of them did mention the category of a nation's face; a better understanding of which is often called for, but pending further studies.\n\nMoreover, many of these studies are of experimental design and they have been based upon some definitions and descriptions of face by some yet earlier works. Although the studies have accomplished the objectives in their own right, they fail to come to terms with an empirical model for the study of face.\n\nAs stated, despite government denunciation of the practice of face by holding extravagant marriage feasts, the government press herself spells out the urgency of face. While the former observation was made by Croll of the newspapers in the 1960's, the explicit spell of face took place two decades later. Could this be a revival of the concept of face, if not a contradiction of the government media themselves? The answer remains unknown as there has not been any empirical inquiry, to the author's knowledge, into the media's presentation of face.\n\nSince the press has displayed the working of, the denunciation of and the concern with the concept of face, it highlights the feasibility of studying the concept through the media. However, again this feasibility awaits proof as there has been none such study nor any analytical framework for the study of face in the press.\n\nIn view of the inadequacies of previous studies on the concept of face, this article attempts:",
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    },
    {
        "id": 213030,
        "series_id": 26,
        "series_slug": "histsyn-rashkb-journal-engine",
        "series_title": "RASHKB Journal 皇家亞洲學會香港分會學刊",
        "series_use_hku_proxy": false,
        "document_key": "RAS-1993",
        "page_number": 98,
        "title": "RAS-1993",
        "content_text": "77\n\n7\n\nIn 1965 one villager estimated that holding a feast with from twenty to thirty tables was the custom, and a feast with from eight to ten tables which could cost 200-300 yuan was the minimum number to maintain the reputation of the household and 'prevent others laughing' (Croll, 1981, 122)\n\nThis defeat knocked China out of contention for passage to further matches leading to the Finals in Mexico. It also lost China's prestige, or rather, face. Representing the nation's cream, the Chinese team lost to a team representing Hong Kong, a place which she would gain sovereignty over 12 years later. This result is incongruous to a nation of strength, of sovereign rights over a metropolitan area. Feelings of humiliation and embarrassment are thus produced.\n\nDirect mentioning of the concept of face is seen in several of them (People's Daily, May 1985: 21.3 \"Beijing Gongren Tiyuchang\", 31.4 \"Yan Weimin\"). Reference to the nation's prestige is made in almost every article on the disturbance in Beijing (People's Daily, May 1985: 22.1 \"Beijingshi\", 22.1 \"Renmin Ribao\", 25.4 \"Zuo Beijing Gongren\", June 1985: 7.3 \"Tiybao Fuwu\", 7.4 \"Beijing Gongren Tiyuchang\").\n\n10. It was said that the Chinese media cited the Chinese production of bikes was 10 million whereas that of India was four million. By comparing these two figures, the Chinese media concluded that China was ahead of India (Funadashi, 1985: 223).\n\nThere may be other attributes of face, for example, prestige, superior social positions, etc. But they may be seen as related to these three broad attributes and the variable factors. Prestige may be seen in terms of honour and influence. Superior social positions may be viewed as an uplifted status, favourable others' reactions and influence. To make the present review more concise, only these three main attributes are discussed.\n\n12. Among them, the most famous is perhaps the pioneer study by Ralph White on the images of the two superpowers, then perceptions of each other which make up a long list. For details, please refer to White (1965) and Stagner (1967, 34-35).\n\nThe word \"verbal\" throughout this paper would mean 'of, relating, or consisting of words' as in the Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary (1982: 1299). That is to say, verbal contents here would mean contents expressed in words, written and spoken.\n\n14\n\nIn the 1986 and 1987 issues of the Zhongguo Xinwen Nianjian, several yearly reports of the Chinese press systems have stated that the media are but mouthpieces of the party, the country and the people (1986: 1-17), and particularly as the mouthpiece of the party and the government (1986: 2). In a discussion paper, this idea is clearly revealed in the title which reads \"Newspaper Business Is Party Newspaper Business\" (1987: 72-73).\n\nFor example, an article in Zhongguo Xinwen Nianjian (1984: 59-62) lists several criteria for good journalists amongst which the first one is ideological background. Another article in the same issue talking about the training of journalists to raise the standards of their work, the first criterion again is the politico-ideological background of the journalists. Second is the cultural or general knowledge of them, then two others are cited (p. 66). An article in the 1985 issue reports the performance of a newspaper after some management reform in which some middle-level cadres have been promoted. But in conclusion, the politico-ideological",
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