[
    {
        "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",
        "series_use_hku_proxy": false,
        "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",
        "txt_file_path": "txt/dfo323lmgvd/RAS-1993.txt",
        "external_url": "https://digitalrepository.lib.hku.hk/catalog/66833t302",
        "rank": 0
    },
    {
        "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",
        "rank": 0
    }
]