弱关系的弱势及其转化——“关系”的一种文化阐释路径

本文试图对“关系”的文化特质加以探讨。作者首先梳理了学界有关“关系”的文化论题、结构论题和工具论题，并阐明了重拾文化论题的必要性。在此基础上，作者指出，有必要突破以往过于倚重中国社会本土概念的文化阐释方法，寻求更具有普遍意含的社会学概念和理论工具来界说和分析中国社会的“关系”现象。作为一种初步尝试，作者提出，社会网络理论中的弱关系概念对于认识中国社会的“关系”具有特殊的意义。在作者看来，在中国社会，“关系” 是与家族（或家族）内部关系相对应的一种社会关系形式，前者以弱关系为特征，后者以强关系为特征，两者在满足的功能、成员的可供选择性、规范性和社会分层效应等诸多方面都具有明显的差异。作者认为，“关系”实际上是指导社会成员处理某些家庭外部社会关系的行动模板。作者还提出，中国的“关系”不仅是一种弱关系文化，而且由于它善于促成弱关系向强关系的方向转化，善于从弱关系的动员中释放出巨大的社会能量，因而深刻地塑造了中国的社会结构形态。

The Weak Valence in Weak Ties and Its Transformation: A Cultural Interpretation of Chinese Guanxi

This paper examines the specific cultural characteristics of guanxi(relationship).The author first summarized the cultural theme,structural theme,and instrumental theme in the academic research on guanxi and then explained the necessity to go back to the cultural theme.The author concluded that general sociological concepts and theories should be applied to delineating and dissecting the guanxi phenomenon in Chinese society in order to break the dependence on the cultural interpretations based on the endogenous concepts only.As an exploratory step,the author recommended the concept of weak ties in the social network theory for its particular helpfulness to the understanding of guanxi in Chinese society,where guanxi refers to external social relationships in contrast to internal familial relationships,the former being characteristic of weak ties while the latter of strong ties.The two types of relationships display significant differences in their potential for personal choices,regularity,and social stratifying effects.Guanxi,in the author's opinion,is in fact an action model that guides social members in their dealing with social relationships outside the family.In addition,guanxi in China represents not just a culture of weak ties;it profoundly cultivates the Chinese social structure owing to its powerful agency to transform its weak valence toward the strong end.