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Review focus: creativity in thinking and behaviour in China was widely discouraged to hamper individual decision making
Asian Business Code Words Index NTC/Contemporary Publishing Company Asia Pacific Management Forum
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There are three distinct categories of "logic" in China: traditional Chinese logic, Chinese Communist logic and Western logic. Until the 1980s creativity in thinking and behavior for the average Chinese was practically taboo. One of the primary policies of successive governments during the long history of China was to maintain the status quo - to discourage and prevent changes that would make it possible for common people to make decisions on their own, become well-to-do, or gain political influence. For generation after generation, the Chinese, on virtually every level of society, were conditioned to do things exactly the way they had always been done; to never question anything that was established by law or custom. In this environment, the natural curiosity of the Chinese were suppressed to the point that it not only became politically and socially dangerous, it literally became un-Chinese. People did not have to ask questions about most routine things because they were common cultural knowledge. Asking questions about things that did not directly concern them could be considered a threat to the state. This cultural conditioning now impacts on China's foreign relations in a number of ways and areas. Westerners have been taught to ask questions until they understand every bit and piece of a subject. Chinese have been conditioned to think and behave in terms of buhe luoji de (boo-hay loo-oh-jee duh), which I translate to "fuzzy logic;" keep quiet and learn things by slow osmosis; to not get involved in all of the background facts of plans and decisions. They do not automatically begin considering a wide range of possibilities when presented with something new. As a result of their cultural conditioning, typical Chinese business people often appear unimaginative, with little or no creative ability, by foreign standards. It is therefore often necessary for foreign partners to spend considerable time teaching their Chinese counterparts about the basics of many aspects of promotion and marketing. One of the first mistakes that Westerners make in dealing with the Chinese is to take too much for granted; to presume that their counterparts understand, agree with, and will act on the things they say. This common failing is indirectly responsible for most of the problems that befall the inexperienced newcomer in China. Another mistake that foreigners typically make in their dealings with non-Westernized Chinese is underestimating their intelligence and knowledge because they do not speak English or any foreign language well, and because they often demonstrate cultural traits that seem irrational or childish. It is very important to keep in mind that unless the individual Chinese has been educated abroad or has had substantial cross-cultural experience in China or elsewhere, his or her stock of knowledge and perceptions are totally different. Even several years of study and experience abroad is not enough to convert many Chinese over to Western way of thinking and acting. They quickly come to understand Western thought and practices, but their values and motivations are more likely to remain Chinese. On both a professional and personal level, non-Westernized Chinese are generally so ethnocentric in their views that they find it difficult to believe that non-Chinese can do such simple "Chinese things" as eat with chopsticks, and they often ask questions that make them appear simple-minded. But the Chinese way of "fuzzy" or ethnocentric thinking should not be regarded as a deficiency or handicap that makes it possible for people to take advantage of them. Their successes in the various sciences are proof of their ability to think and behave logically when they are free to do so. In many ways, the most difficult form of Chinese logic for foreigners to understand and deal with is the third category, Chinese Communist Party (CCP) logic. CCP logic is based on agreeing with and abiding by all of the policies and goals of individual Party leaders and the Party as a whole - policies and goals that are often irrational and inhuman, and change with the circumstances. Chinese-American author Bette Bao Lord says the Chinese go through life constantly switching between two "masks," a social mask and a CCP mask, each of which requires a different kind of logic, depending on the situations they encounter. Lord says there is a carefully scripted role for each mask and that both roles are charades that must be acted out with great skill and unquestionable sincerity to avoid unmerciful punishment. Within these two broad categories of behavior there are sub-categories that determine the logic to be used and the behavior. These include a "family mask," "kinship mask," "old friend mask," "co-worker mask," "mask to be worn when dealing with superiors," and so on. Each person has to wear the right mask at the right time and follow the prescribed logic and behavior or risk serious problems. During the first four decades of the Communist regime, not wearing the politically correct "mask" of the moment could be fatal. Lord says the demands of this system invariably led to paranoia. CCP logic is dissipating at a fairly rapid rate and will hopefully be gone within one or two decades, but China's traditional logic is not likely to disappear for at least several generations.
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Boye Lafayette de Mente is one of our regular monthly columnists at the 
| This month's column is excerpted from China's Cultural Code Words, by Boye Lafayette De Mente available from NTC/Contemporary Publishing Company |
© Boye Lafayette De Mente & the Asia Pacific Management Forum 2000
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