Circles Circles Circles

In the age old dance that is Guan Xi (relationships) one's circle is the base of all relationships. Who one associates with defines one's position. The higher the profile of the circle's participants the higher one's personal stature.

An influential circle can have many different types of members with different backgrounds and different circles of their own. A circle begins with one's family and extended family and widens out to include close and distant relatives.

If your circle is a wealthy or influential one you will be constantly asked to use the relationships in your circle(s) to help and influence people who might need help from your circle. One ahs an obligation to use the circle where possible. The use of one's circle is in itself an expansion of your own circle.

Creating a debt by helping someone inside or outside your circle creates a future opportunity to call that debt for a future purpose or requirement. Some will deliberately "help" others in order to create this future opportunity. Conversely some will refuse help so as not to have an obligation to return the favor in the future.

There are government circles - helpful with business.

There are circles that revolve around police and public security - useful with run ins with the "authorities"

There are circles for education - useful in getting children into better schools.

Foreigners can be a circle - useful for international business and overseas study.

The wide and more influential the circle the more one is able to accomplish. Success usually never depends on one's own individual ability but rather on the strength of one's relationship circle. In fact individuals are often judged based on the quality of their circle rather than their individual abilities and personal successes.

Creating a circle requires investment in time and money. It takes time to meet people and get to know them. It takes time to create debts and have them repaid. Circles grow over years and years of interaction and effort.

Creating a circle also costs money. Mostly for meals, drinks and other entertainment. Investing in a circle brings future rewards not immediate rewards. But when a circle is operating a peak efficiency it can produce immediate results.

One of the most powerful circle in China comes through one's education. From elementary school students are bound together in "classes." Each class has a class monitor who acts as the class leader. These are usually the best students. From this time forward the circle created with "classmates" becomes a baseline circle on which new circles are created.

High School classmate, University classmate, these are very common and critically important circles. Individuals utilize these circles for years and years to expand their own circles and create opportunities to accomplish tasks.

Another extremely strong circle is one's hometown. If two Chinese are from the same hometown and speak the same dialect then they are instant friends and instantly share their circles. Since nearly every Chinese speaks both Mandarin and their local dialect, this bond is extremely strong and can be extremely useful.

The essential point here is to understand that China is not monolithic. It is instead a collection of very diverse circles operating together for both personal and mutual benefit.

If one is doing business in China one needs one's own circle. Without a circle one remains on the outside circle-less !