Synopsis

Guanxi describes the basic dynamic in personalized networks of influence, and is one of the most powerful forces in Chinese culture. Though it has been generally interpreted in English as ‘relationships’ or ‘connections’, the concept as it is used and rooted in Chinese culture is much richer and encompassing than any single non-Chinese term could sufficiently accomplish. In Western media, the pinyin Romanisation of this Chinese word becomes commonly used, because of the inadequacy of any direct translation on the one hand, and the other, the increasing visibility of Chinese culture in the international arena. Guanxi does express the relationship of one person to another, or one party to another. However, the term also reflects an obligation of an individual to the others, built over time by the reciprocation of social and political exchanges, and more importantly, the cultural implication woven through the history of China.

The origin of guanxi can be traced back to the concept of lun in Confucian ideology, where individual is considered fundamentally a social or relational being. Confucius defined five cardinal (dyadic) role relations, called wu-lun, namely, emperor-subject, father-son, husband-wife, elder-younger brothers, and friend-friend. Based on this tradition, social order and stability in China depend on properly differentiated role relationships between particular individuals. However, as most of cultural legacies would have experienced the difficulty to sustain during China’s revolutions since the beginning of the twentieth century, the traditional notion of guanxi is being re-established along with the ideological and social changes.

The absolute dignity of Confucianism was challenged by the launch of the New Cultural Movement in 1919, whilst the concept of lun was to be destructed purposely, and then reconstructed for a new social order in the daily life. Particularly, since the advent of Mao’s China in 1949, people were encouraged to conform to a new life of collective, which could be interpreted a ‘family’, a ‘criterion’, or indeed, an idealistic network for living. The ideology of collective life does not necessarily require any independence of individuals, but a kind of conformity, within which one then could be recognised and valued with a legitimate status. Significantly, people’s guanxi has been re-incubated in such a particular social environment towards communist utopia, reshaped through a series of political movements, and then transformed during China’s economical reform since the Open-door policy in the end of the 1970s. 

The term guanxi had been often discussed in the area of social science today, and particularly in business management, but little within the context of visual culture. This research based curatorial project intends to break the linearity of a historical narrative, visually explore the ‘contemporaneity’ of guanxi either in reality or fantasy, in representations or memories. The implication of guanxi is now such a complex in today’s China. On the one hand, the ‘comrade guanxi’ propagated during the revolutionary era has not yet completely faded out from our social exchange, but still been stimulating, or at least nostalgic, particularly amongst the older generation. On the other hand, new dimensions of guanxi are derived from China’s rapid changes in a variety of aspects including ideology, politics, and ethics, in particular, the development of people’s living and working environment, globalisation of cultural and business exchange, and the rise of internet communication.

At a practical level, the curatorial strategy is not to simply select existing relevant works. Instead, it aims to set up a thematic framework for discussion, encourage interactions between artists and curator, expand the boundary of our understanding, and develop creative ideas for visual reflections. Some works by those suggested artists are considered significant responding to the curatorial framework, yet they are not necessarily definitive works to be included in the exhibition. While artists would be encouraged to develop new works for the exhibition, their previous experiences are inspirational in a way in which the notion of guanxi could be reinterpreted consciously and unconsciously through artistic practice, and provide key references for the curatorial research and critical reflection.