The Influence of Confucianism and Buddhism on Chinese Business:

The Influence of Confucianism and Buddhism on Chinese Business: the Case of Aveiro, Portugal
Tianbo Li
Gillian Owen Moreira
University of Aveiro, Portugal
Abstract
This paper addresses the influence of Confucianism and Buddhism on Chinese business against the background of China´s economic integration into the world. Considering the relationship between Confucianism, Buddhism and business from an intercultural perspective in the context of economic and cultural globalization, we present some modern Chinese business people, including some overseas Chinese, who behave in accordance with Confucianism, pray to Bodhisattva for safety and wealth, and donate to the temple. Reasons for these phenomena are analyzed and the role of harmony emphasized by Confucianism and Buddhism is taken into account. On the one hand, we find that silence, connections (guanxi, 关系), tolerance and harmony are emphasized in the Chinese business community; on the other hand, the relationship between religions, overseas Chinese merchants and their business culture is explored.
Concrete data is taken from our survey in 59 international companies in China, carried out in 2007. The influence of Confucianism and Buddhism on business is analyzed through my practical experience in the Chinese community in Portugal.
Keywords: Confucianism; Buddhism; intercultural communication; harmony; Chinese immigrants; connections (guanxi, 关系); tolerance; cooperative principles; politeness
[pic]
Introduction
Buddhism and Confucianism have had an impact on China for about two thousand years. In fact, Chinese culture is rooted in these two philosophies and their impact on Chinese life and economics is deep. According to Marx (2001:95), the country’s philosophical traditions are a part of its being, while Gernet (1995) recognizes the contributions of Buddhism to Chinese culture, particularly its influence on many aspects of Chinese life, thought, literature, language, art and science (1995:471). Ambler

References: [1] Summary of Ming Jer Chen´s Book in Chen (2003), Inside Chinese Business. http://www.quickmba.com/mgmt/intl/china/. Accessed 21/02/2008. [2] Skeldon, R. (2004). China: From Exceptional Case to Global Participant. http://www.migrationinformation.org/Profiles/display.cfm?ID=219. Accessed 21/02/2008. [5] 华商世界知多少? (2001). (How much do you know Chinese Trader?). http://www.js.cei.gov.cn/huashang/hsdh_h1p.htm. Accessed 13/02/2008. Ambler, T. & Witzel, M. (2003). Doing Business in China. London: Routledge. Blommaert, J.& Verschueren, J. (ed.) (1991). The Pragmatics of International and Intercultural Communication. Amsterdam & Philadelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company. Bond, M. H. (1991). Beyond the Chinese Face: Insights from Psychology. Hong Kong: Oxford University Press. Ch´en, K. (1964). Buddhism in China: a Historical Survey. Princeton & New Jersey: Princeton University Press. Chin, K. (1998). Understanding Buddhism. The Collected Works of Venerable Master Chin Kung, Australia. Gernet, J. (1995), Buddhism in Chinese Society: an Economic History from the Fifth to the Tenth Centuries. New York: Columbia University Press. Green, G. M. (2nd ed.) (1996). Pragmatics and Natural Language Understanding. Mahwah: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Grundy, P. (1995) Doing Pragmatics. London & New York: Edward Arnold. Li, T.B. & Moreira, G. (2007). "How not to Give Offence in the Chinese Marketplace", in Barker D.A. (ed.), Giving and Taking Offence. University of Aveiro, Portugal. Luo, Y.D. (2000). Guanxi and Business. London: World Scientific. Marx, E. (2001). Breaking through Culture Shock: What You Need to Succeed in International Business. London: Nicholas Brealey Publishing. Nyíri, P. & Saveliev, I. R. (2002). Globalizing Chinese Migration: Trends in Europe and Asia. Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing. Rocha, T. & Maria, B.(2006). A comunidade de negócios chinesa em Portugal catalizadores da integração da China na economia global. Oeiras: Instituto Nacional de Administração. Shi, Yongpeng. (2003), Culture and Conflict Management in Foreign-invested Enterprises in China: an Intercultural Communication Perspective. Oxford: Peter Lang. Tu, W.M. (ed.) (1996). Confucian Traditions in East Asian Modernity: Moral Education and Economic Culture in Japan and the Four Mini-Dragons. Cambridge, Massachusetts & London: Harvard University Press. Wang, G.W. (1991). China and the Chinese Overseas. Times Academic Press. Wierzbicka, A. (1991). Trends in Linguistics: the Semantics of Human Interaction. Berlin & New York: Mouton de Gruyter. Wild, J.J.& Wild, Kenneth L. (2006). International Business: the Challenges of Globalization. New Jersey: Upper Saddle River. Articles on the Web Chen, Ming Jer (2003) Dexter, R. (2008). China´s Spiritual Awakening. In Businessweek, January 21. http://businessweek.com/ Accessed 24/01/2008 McGowan, C Ritter. T. (2003). The Cooperative Principle. http://www.classicaldressage.com/zen/articles/a_2.html. Accessed 15/07/2007. Skeldon, R. (2004). China: From Exceptional Case to Global Participant. http://www.migrationinformation.org/Profiles/display.cfm?ID=219. Accessed 21/02/2008. When Opium Can Be Benign (2008). http://www.economist.com/countries/China/. Accessed 17/02/ 2008.