Chinese politeness is not about ‘face’: Evidence from the business world.

Through reviewing the historical development of the English term face and the Chinese terms mianzi and lian, and drawing upon examples of the use of the terms mianzi and lian in the business domain in mainland China and explanations of negotiations in which the author has been personally involved, this paper argues that mianzi and lian (and by reference ‘face’) are not sub-concepts lying essentially at the heart of Chinese politeness, but separate concepts which, while overlapping with politeness in some instances, frequently operate in ways which are entirely removed from any accepted notions of politeness. In this way, this paper claims that concern for mianzi and lian in Chinese business interaction is just as likely to engender acts of impoliteness as it is to link with examples of politeness, and concludes that the sooner we accept the disassociation between Chinese ‘face’ and politeness, the more we will find ourselves better placed to understand crucial nuances of cross-cultural interaction between Chinese and non-Chinese interactants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]