Co-Constituting Qingmian Based on Renqing Regulation from the Perspective of Interpersonal Pragmatics
Indigenous"qing"concepts such as renqing(human emotion),qingmian(affection-based face)and ganqing(affection)are very important in investigating interpersonal emotions in Chinese culture.Based on Face Constituting Theory and Qingmian-Threat Regulation Model,this study investigates how mediators help the two parties conjointly co-constitute qingmian during mediation of interest disputes between acquaintances in China.It is found that:(1)"Valuing li(interest)above qing(affection)"often violates the renqing principle,triggering interpretations of qingmian-threat/relational separation and leading to interpersonal conflicts or relational tensions;(2)The mediators employ three types of renqing regulation practices,namely,"valuing qing above li","reciprocal renqing"and"splitting the difference"in order to help the disputants co-constitute qingmian,and finally resolve the conflicts and achieve interpersonal harmony.Consequently,a model of co-constituting qingmian based on renqing regulation is proposed,with the aim of shedding new insights into the indigenous study of interpersonal pragmatics.
mediation of interest disputesco-constitution of qingmianrenqing regulationindigenous study of interpersonal pragmatics