Page 15 - Chinese SIlver By Adrien Von Ferscht

The “shame” factor was a reaction that highlighted the significant cultural difference
between the West and China as well as its differing mindsets. Miànzi is almost
impossible to fully translate into English; many words such as ‘honour’, ‘self-respect’,
‘reputation’ and ‘social-standing’ relate to it. Unlike its nearest Western counterpart, miànzi
in China is not simply ‘saving face’; it is a complex sociological and psychological
science that most Westerners fail to grasp due to its alien concept and the emotions
it engenders. Miànzi is an integral and essential part of Chinese etiquette to the point
where it could be said to be part of China’s DNA. A Westerner would automatically place a
total emphasis on the literal meaning of spoken words whereas in China one would expect
an intuitive sensitivity to what was precisely intended or implied.

‘A man has his face just as a tree has its bark; a man has a sense of shame’ is one of
many Chinese idioms that reflect on miànzi. It demonstrates that in Chinese culture,
miànzi is regarded as a physical entity. It is, if you will, a middle layer between the inner
soul and the outer manifestation of self - using the analogy of a tree, a mediating or
reconciling layer that sits just below the bark and above the sap.

Words and actions in China, therefore, have an additional dynamic which is tantamount to
being an extra sense that Westerners lack. Blaming opium and the fanqui have become
the de facto reason due to the way history has been portrayed rather than its original
intention or implication; we have all simply got used to that without really questioning it.

The 1842 treaty, the change in the silver fortunes of the Qing Dynasty and the rapid shift in
the focus of trade from Canton to Hong Kong and Shanghai created the combined engine
that drove a new era of the Chinese economy. This, as always, manifested itself in the
silver wares that were produced - a new era of Western forms “in the Chinese style”. The