Dimensions of Guanxi in Chinese Elite Politics

Abstract

Scholars of Communist Party recognize critical influences of guanxi on political behaviour. Lowell Dittmer, for example, argues that guanxi is the central term in our conceptualization of in China. Lowell Dittmer, Chinese Informal China Journal, No. 34 (July 1995), p. 10. Hans J. van de Ven identifies intense personal relationships in party cells during period when Party was born. Hans J. van de Ven, The Emergence of Text-Centered Party, in Tony Saich and Hans van de Ven (eds), New Perspectives on Communist Revolution (New York: M. E. Sharpe, 1995), p. 9. Zhang Guotao specified guanxi as primary force that ensured Party's survival when nationalists and Communists split from United Front in 1920s. See William W. Whitson with Chen-hsia Huang, High Command: A History of Communist Military Politics, 1927-1971 (New York: Praeger, 1973), p. 50. Other studies of CCP confirm pervasiveness of these interpersonal influences after founding of People's Republic. Li Rui's memoirs indicate important role of guanxi in pursuing political advantages and mutual protection in 1959 Lushan Plenum. Li Rui, Lushan huiyi shilu (True Record of Lushan Conference) (Zhengzhou: Henan Renmin Chubanshe, 1995), pp. 34, 74, 169, 280. Frederick C. Teiwes and Warren Sun deem personal ties an important factor in determining alignments of Party elite during Cultural Revolution. An excellent analysis is their in-depth examination of Lin Biao case, in which strong professional and personal ties played a significant role in bonding Lin's group together. Frederick C. Teiwes and Warren Sun, Tragedy of Lin Biao (London: Hurst and Company, 1996), pp. 38-42. In investigating elite politics during post-Mao period, Richard Baum sees zongpai (factions) as a decisive factor in politics and a source of significant irregularity in reform cycles. Baum defines zongpai as informal networks of