Face Perceptions In China And The United States-Are There Any Similarities?

Research on face and facework is well documented in a variety of settings and cultures. Scholars from the fields of anthropology, psychology, philosophy, culturology, and communication have done numerous pancultural studies (Goffman, 1955, 1967; Brown and Levinson, 1978; Ting-Toomey, 1988) as well as cultural specific studies (Hu, 1944; Lin, 1936; Jia, 1997, etc) to explore this universal construct in human interaction. Their findings provide us a useful tool to understand better this complex and delicate cultural phenomenon, to develop relevant facework strategies, and to cultivate necessary competence to communicate effectively with people from different cultural backgrounds.China and the United States are generally recognized as two countries with quite different characteristics, especially their different value systems, which drove many scholars to study different face perceptions in these two countries (Ho, 1976; Hu and Cornelius, 1991; Ting-Toomey, 1999; Dong and Li, 1999; Li, 2003, etc). The Chinese have long been known for a strong sense of face and corresponding polite communication styles (noted by Smith, 1894; Hu, 1944; Brown & Levinson, 1978). In contrast, the United States has been noted for a strong focus on personal freedom and self-interest (Hartzell, 1988; Dong and Li, 1999; etc).However, the increasingly developed Sino-US exchanges and cooperation aroused the author's curiosity to probe into the similarities of face perceptions which have emerged in these two cultures. The purpose is two-fold—to provide a new framework for the comparative study of this area as well as to alleviate communication barriers between the two peoples. Accordingly, a relative comprehensive questionnaire was designed to test the author's hypothesis. Analysis of questionnaire data identified several desirable findings. First, they have similar views on the locus of face. Second, both of them greatly cherish the value of equality and right. Third, both think face can either be a communication solidifier or a communication destroyer. Fourth, they have similar preference to the strategies dealing with face. Last, certain issues can cause common feelings among the two peoples.