Factionalism Observed: Behind the “Face” of Harmony in a Chinese Community

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Abstract
The importance of “face” (lien or mien-tzu) has long been recognized as a prime determinant of Chinese behavioural patterns whether those of an individual or of a group. We also know that the Confucian emphasis on “harmony” (ho-p'ing) has long constituted a basic ideal in Chinese inter-personal relations. Recently social scientists have drawn attention to “impression management” and to the relatively great disparities in some societies between an individual's or group's “front region,” “front-stage” or “public sphere” behaviour and the contradictory “back region,” “back-stage” or “closed sphere” behaviour. Applying these concepts in a Chinese society which still purports to uphold Confucian ideals we find that the front-stage impression a group seeks and often manages to convey is one of unity and harmony. Closer inspection may reveal, however, that, back-stage, factionalism is rife.

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