Is Chinese culture distinctive? - A review article

The hermeneutic and the positivistic approaches help define the distinctiveness of the Chinese culture. The hermeneutic approach is based on the belief that cultures are historically shaped, socially shared, and should be conceptually viewed. Positivistic approach involves the specific viewing of culture with respect to time and geographical locations. Both approaches advocate personalistic factionalism or 'guanxi,' especially in politics. Good positivistic work uses hermeneutic insights to develop hypotheses, concepts and measures to interpret findings.