Author
Yunxiang Yan
Other affiliations: University of Hong Kong
Bio: Yunxiang Yan is an academic researcher from University of California, Los Angeles. The author has contributed to research in topics: China & Kinship. The author has an hindex of 18, co-authored 35 publications receiving 2362 citations. Previous affiliations of Yunxiang Yan include University of Hong Kong.
Papers
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Book•
01 Jan 1996
TL;DR: In this article, a preliminary classification of the world of gifts is presented, along with a sketch of Xiajia village and a discussion of the relationship between the gift economy and Renqing ethics.
Abstract: 1. Introduction: the gift in anthropology and Chinese society 2. Xiajia village: a sketch of the field site 3. The world of gifts: a preliminary classification 4. The gift economy and Guanxi networks 5. The structure of Guanxi in village society 6. The principle of reciprocity and Renaqing ethics 7. Power and prestige in gift-exchange relations 8. Marriage transactions and social reformations 9. Conclusions: socialism, Guanxi, Renqing and the gift Notes Bibliography Character list Index.
529 citations
TL;DR: Examining profound social changes during the three decades of the post-Mao reforms in China reveals a number of similarities with the individualization process in Western Europe but also demonstrates some important differences.
Abstract: This article explores the rise of the individual and the consequential individualization of society which should be viewed as a reflexive part of China's state-sponsored quest for modernity. It traces the origin of the individualization process to the Maoist era, arguing that some collectivist programmes of social engineering and the socialist path of modernization under Maoism ironically resulted in a partial individualization of Chinese society. Examining profound social changes during the three decades of the post-Mao reforms, the article reveals a number of similarities with the individualization process in Western Europe but also demonstrates some important differences. In the last section, the theoretical implications of the Chinese case in light of Ulrich Beck's theory of individualization and second modernity are discussed.
402 citations
Book•
01 Nov 2009
TL;DR: The Individualization of Chinese Society reveals how individual agency has been on the rise since the 1970s and how this has impacted on everyday life and Chinese society more broadly as mentioned in this paper. But despite China's recent dramatic entrance into global politics and economics, neither of these significant shifts has been fully analysed.
Abstract: Chinese society has seen phenomenal change in the last 30 years. Two of the most profound changes have been the rise of the individual in both public and private spheres and the consequent individualization of Chinese society itself. Yet, despite China's recent dramatic entrance into global politics and economics, neither of these significant shifts has been fully analysed. China may indeed present an alternative model of social transformation in the age of globalisation - so its path to development may have particular implications for the developing world.The Individualization of Chinese Society reveals how individual agency has been on the rise since the 1970s and how this has impacted on everyday life and Chinese society more broadly. The book presents a wide range of detailed case studies - on the impact of economic policy, patterns of kinship, changes in marriage relations and the socio-economic position of women, the development of youth culture, the politics of consumerism, and shifting power relations in everyday life.
327 citations
Book•
05 Mar 2003
TL;DR: For seven years in the 1970s, the author lived in a village in northeast China as an ordinary farmer and returned to the village as an anthropologist to begin the unparalleled span of eleven years' fieldwork that has resulted in this book-a comprehensive, vivid, and nuanced account of family change and the transformation of private life in rural China from 1949 to 1999 as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: For seven years in the 1970s, the author lived in a village in northeast China as an ordinary farmer In 1989, he returned to the village as an anthropologist to begin the unparalleled span of eleven years' fieldwork that has resulted in this book-a comprehensive, vivid, and nuanced account of family change and the transformation of private life in rural China from 1949 to 1999 The author's focus on the personal and the emotional sets this book apart from most studies of the Chinese family Yan explores private lives to examine areas of family life that have been largely overlooked, such as emotion, desire, intimacy, privacy, conjugality, and individuality He concludes that the past five decades have witnessed a dual transformation of private life: the rise of the private family, within which the private lives of individual women and men are thriving
262 citations
TL;DR: It is argued that food-safety problems not only affect the lives of Chinese people in harmful ways but also pose a number of manufactured risks that are difficult to calculate and control.
Abstract: Food-safety problems constitute a new, urgent, and multifaceted challenge to Chinese people, society, and the state, involving a number of social, political, and ethical issues beyond those of food safety, nutrition, and health. In light of Ulrich Beck's theory of risk society, this article examines food-safety problems in contemporary Chinese society at the levels of food hygiene, unsafe food, and poisonous foods and argues that food-safety problems not only affect the lives of Chinese people in harmful ways but also pose a number of manufactured risks that are difficult to calculate and control. More importantly, food-safety problems in China have contributed to a rapid decline of social trust, thus posing a risk of distrust that has far-reaching social and political ramifications. In this sense, a risk society has already arrived in China but it comes with certain local characteristics and poses some new theoretical questions.
201 citations
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors address impediments to sharing as well as incentives that may encourage more sharing of both tangible and intangible goods in both traditional and virtual worlds. But, they do not address the potential benefits of sharing in the virtual world.
Abstract: Sharing is an alternative form of distribution to commodity exchange and gift giving. Compared to these alternative modes, sharing can foster community, save resources, and create certain synergies. Yet outside of our immediate families, we do little sharing. Even within the family, there is increased privatization. This article addresses impediments to sharing as well as incentives that may encourage more sharing of both tangible and intangible goods. Two recent developments, the Internet and intellectual property rights doctrines, are locked in a battle that will do much to determine the future of sharing. Businesses may lead the way with virtual corporations outsourcing the bulk of their operations. Whether virtual consumers sharing some of their major possessions are a viable counterpart remains an open question.
670 citations
TL;DR: The authors argued that social networks and the use of these networks to exchange gifts and favours (guanxi xue or guanxi practice) are increasing in imnnrtanre in China's transition.
Abstract: Recently a number of scholars have examined guanxi (connections/social relationships) and its role in the structure of Chinese society as the economic transition progresses. While many China scholars view guanxi as a deep-seated cultural fact of Chinese society, I view guanxi as an institutionally defined system – i.e. a system that depends on the institutional structure of society rather than on culture – that is changing in stride with the institutional changes of the reform era. Some scholars have argued that social networks and the use of these networks to exchange gifts and favours (guanxi xue or guanxi practice) are increasing in imnnrtanre. in China's transition.
594 citations
TL;DR: Traditional family arrangements are beneficial in rural Chinese society as they represent the fulfillment of a cultural ideal and implications in the context of the corporate Chinese family are discussed.
Abstract: Objectives. The migration of working-age adults from rural to urban China has altered traditional patterns of living arrangements and intergenerational support among elderly persons who remain in rural regions. This investigation examined how household composition and support exchanges with adult children influenced the psychological well-being of older parents in rural China. Methods. Data derived from a 2001 survey of 1,561 parents aged 60 and older living in rural Anhui Province, China. We used multiple regression in order to estimate the effects of multigenerational living arrangements and intergenerational transfers of financial, instrumental, and emotional support on depression and life satisfaction in older parents. Results. Older parents living in three-generation households or with grandchildren in skipped-generation households had better psychological well-being than those living in single-generation households. Receiving greater remittances from adult children increased well-being and explained why living with grandchildren was beneficial. Stronger emotional cohesion with children also improved well-being. Discussion. These results suggest that traditional family arrangements are beneficial in rural Chinese society as they represent the fulfillment of a cultural ideal. We discuss implications in the context of the corporate Chinese family, characterized by mutual aid and interdependence across generations, and its adaption to social change.
536 citations
TL;DR: The authors analyzed upscale Chinese consumers' understandings of global and local television and print advertising and found two dialectic reactions by Chinese consumers: one side is largely driven by the desire for global cosmopolitanism and status goods for the sake of mianzi (prestige face), whereas the other side is motivated by a more nationalistic desire to invoke Chinese values that are seen as local in origin.
Abstract: An implicit assumption in advertising content analysis, as well as in studies of advertiser intent, is that what an ad says, or what its creator intends for it to convey, is also what it means to consumers. The presence of global images and foreign appeals in advertising is thus often incorrectly taken as evidence that local culture is becoming globalized, and that consumer values are changing accordingly. Using a reader-response approach to analyze upscale Chinese consumers' understandings of global and local television and print advertising, we find that this is not the case. Instead, we find two dialectic reactions by Chinese consumers. One side is largely driven by the desire for global cosmopolitanism and status goods for the sake of mianzi (prestige face), whereas the other side is motivated by a more nationalistic desire to invoke Chinese values that are seen as local in origin. These opposing advertising meanings and preferences have important implications for understanding how international adver...
403 citations