Chinaisasocietywherefamilyishighlyvalued.鈥淔amilyharmonyisthebasisforsuccessinanyundertaking鈥漣samottothatChinesepeoplebelievein.Onlywhenthefamilyisharmonious,cansocietyremainstable,thecountryprospersandpersonalcareersprogresssmoothly.Therefore,everythingisbaseduponfamilyharmony,andmanyparentsbecomeconcernedoverthemarriageandfamilyoftheirchildren,hopingthattheywillnotforgethowimportanttheirfamilyiswhentheyarebusywiththeirjobs.
Chinesepersonalrelationshipsarealsofullyreflectedinthefamily.Theparent-childrelationshipisanintegralpartofChineseculture.Parentsworkhardtogivetheirchildrenthebestupbringingpossible.Theyalsolookaftertheirgrandchildren.Conversely,Westernfamilyrelationshipsaremoreindependentasparentshavefewerresponsibilitieswhentheirchildrenhavereachedadulthood.
InChina,childrenareraisedbytheirparents,andparentsaresupportedbytheirchildrenwhentheygetold;suchtraditionalfamilyrelationsstemfromConfucianvirtuesandrundeepintheChinesepsyche.ThereisaChinesesaying,鈥淒onotgofarwhenyourparentsarestillalive,鈥漨eaningthatyou,asthesonordaughter,shouldstayclosetoyourparentstotakecareofthem.Thisphenomenonis,however,graduallychanginginmodernChinesesociety.Peoplearebecomingmoreindependent,andtheymaynotworkandliveinthesamecitywiththeirparents.Nowadays,childrenmayonlyreturnhomeduringholidays.Nevertheless,familiesandfamilialaffectionarehighlyregardedinChinesesociety.Hewhohasabandonedhiswifeandchildrenanddoesnotassumehisfamilialresponsibilitiesorsupporthisparentswillbeseverelycondemnedbysociety.
Colleaguerelationships
ThegoldenmeanisseenasthebasisoftheChinesephilosophyoflife;harmonyandrespectforothersisanintegralpartofChinesesociety.Aharmoniouscolleaguerelationshipwillmakeworkandlifemorepleasantandefficient;ifthereisnoharmonybetweencolleagues,workwillsuffer.
Inthepast,duetopoliticalandhistoricalreasons,therewaslittlemobilitybetweenjobsorindustrysectors;mostpeopleworkedatonejobinoneindustryuntilretirement.
Jobtransferspreviouslywerenotprivateaffairs,andinvolvedeverythingfromdeeplyrootedpersonalrelationshipstoarchivalproofofidentity.Eventoday,deepandlongtermrelationshipsarebothadvantageousanddisadvantageous.Theadvantagesincludethatpeopleareintimateandkeepnosecretfromeachother.Onedisadvantageisthatpeopleignorepersonalprivacy.Manycolleaguesandfamilieshaverelationshipsthatrunsodeepthattheyknowabouteachother鈥檚mostprivateaspectsoflife,includingsalariesandspecificsaboutchildren.Chinesepeoplebelievethatgoodfriendsshouldnotkeepthingsfromeachother,althoughitleaveslittleroomforprivacy.Inconclusion,Chinaisaninterpersonalrelationship-basedsocietyinwhichconnectionsandrelationshipsareimportantfactorsthatcannotbeignored.