The Field of Guanxi Studies

The Institute of East Asian Studies at UC Berkeley presents a symposium on recent research and thinking about guanxi.

Even as China becomes an ever-more significant player on the world stage, its inner workings become ever-more intriguing. "Guanxi," the often complex, multi-layered network of personal relationships that shape life and labor from the humblest village to the pinnacle of power, continues to be key in understanding China today. Since the publication in 2002 of Social Connections in China: Institutions, Culture, and the Changing Nature of Guanxi, edited by Thomas Gold, Doug Guthrie and David Wank, a distinct "field of guanxi studies" has emerged involving scholars from the social sciences, business and area studies. This conference draws together more than a dozen experts from around the world to share their recent research and thinking about guanxi, its historical and cultural foundations and contemporary evolution along with China's reform and globalization.

This conference continues March 7 at the Institute of East Asian Studies, 1995 University Avenue.