Chinese Relationalism: Theoretical Construction and Methodological Considerations

The goal of this article is attempting to establish a research tradition of Chinese relationalism on the methodological grounds of constructive realism. Two of Ho's (1993, 1998a) key concepts, person-in-relations and persons-in-relation, are carefully examined and reinterpreted. Three of my theoretical models, namely, my Face and Favor model (Hwang, 1987), Confucian ethics for ordinary people (Hwang, 1995), and a conflict resolution model (Hwang, 1997-8), are conceived of as microworlds for illustrating an account of person-in relations in Chinese culture. The manifestation of Confucian ethics for ordinary people in one's lifeworld results in the phenomenology of persons-in-relations as depicted by Fei's (1948) differential order or Hsu's (1971a) psychosociogram. Applying constructive realism to my models and using the result as a framework for studying Chinese social behavior constitutes Chinese relationalism.