Gift Giving in Hong Kong and the Continuum of Social Ties
Gift Giving in Hong Kong and the Continuum of Social Ties
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DOI：
10.1086/322900
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发表时间：
2001-09
影响因子：
7.2
通讯作者：
Annamma Joy
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Annamma Joy
本文利用在香港通过访谈收集的数据探讨了送礼行为。我认为中国文化强调家庭自我高于个人自我，并且以家庭为导向的目标的实现是自我实现和自我满足的一个重要衡量标准。尽管每个人也都有一个私人的或内在的自我（“己”），但它也受制于集体意志。这一观念符合儒家的理想，即鼓励个人在追求社会礼仪的过程中注重培养内在的道德约束并克服自私。此外，家庭自我的边界是具有渗透性的，可能会包括其他人，比如重要的恋爱对象，偶尔还会包括亲密得“像家人”的朋友。在家庭以及类家庭的情境中，不提倡互惠，也无需通过送礼来建立关系。然而，我们的研究也表明，在互惠、情感和面子等重要文化规则的背景下，送礼关系中的亲密程度存在各种层次。根据我们的参与者所提供的类别，送礼关系连续体包括“亲密朋友”、“好朋友”、“普通朋友”/“点头之交”以及“恋人”。芝加哥大学2001年版权所有。
This article explores gift-giving practices using data collected through interviews in Hong Kong. I argue that Chinese culture promotes the familial over the private self and that the attainment of family-oriented goals represents an important measure of self-realization and self-fulfillment. Although each individual also has a private or inner self (chi), it is also subject to the collective will. This idea is in keeping with Confucian ideals that encourage the individual to focus on developing internal moral constraints and conquering selfishness in the pursuit of social propriety. Furthermore, the boundaries of the familial self are permeable and may include others, such as important romantic partners and, occasionally, close friends who become "like family." In family and like-family contexts, reciprocity is discouraged, and there is no need to build relationships through gift giving. Our research also suggests, however, that there are various gradations of intimacy in gift relationships against the backdrop of important cultural rules such as reciprocity, sentiment, and face. Using the categories provided by our participants, the gift continuum includes "close friends," "good friends," "just friends"/"hi-bye friends," and the "romantic other." Copyright 2001 by the University of Chicago.