Re-conceptualizing the Chinese concept of face from a face-sensitive perspective: A case study of a modern Chinese TV drama

The present study adopts a new approach to face-analysis, originally proposed by Spencer-Oatey (2007:639–656) in light of identity theories, to analyze and re-conceptualize the Chinese concept of face based on data collected from a modern Chinese TV drama. The results reveal that miànzi in Chinese culture is inherently associated with the respectable identity and/or status that an individual establishes, and many Chinese miànzi phenomena can be explained and understood in terms of people's attributes or characteristics from a miànzi-sensitive perspective on identity theory. Its findings also indicate that Chinese people tend to be miànzi-sensitive about those attributes or characteristics foregrounded in social interactions of their own, as well as those of their family members, close friends, colleagues, and social groups. Based on these categories of miànzi-sensitive factors, this paper concludes that the Chinese concept of face, as a holistic term, can be categorized as individual, relational, and group miànzi.