Introduction
Research concerning compliancegaining strategies in different contexts has received much attention in different disciplines (e.g., Burgoon, Parrott, Burgoon, Birk, Pfau, & Coler 1990; Marwell & Schmitt, 1967; Miller, Boster, Roloff, & Seibold, 1977; Schneider & Beaubien, 1996). Yet most of the studies were based on Western cultures. As a result, knowledge about the identification and utilization of compliancegaining strategies has been limited in intracultural settings. This study expands the scope of such studies by examining compliance strategies from the Chinese cultural perspective.
Although compliancegaining, as a persuasive strategy, is considered as a universal function of human communication, such persuasive strategies are not necessarily used crossculturally. Persuasive strategies reflect the cultural complexity in which each culture develops its own unique ways. Thus, the same strategies used in different cultures may lead to different effects or outcomes.
In regard to the Chinese persuasive strategies, Chiao (1988a, 1989) and Chu (1991) have indicated that the Chinese cultural tradition is filled with wisdom regarding how to use compliancegaining strategies to manipulate social relations for maximum benefits. According to Chiao (1988b), there are three special features of Chinese compliancegaining behaviors. First, oral channels are the main tools the Chinese use in compliancegaining strategies. Because using such strategies in social interactions was treated as a heresy by the Confucian tradition, written records were not preferable. Second, through oral channels the Chinese compliancegaining strategies were expressed by using metaphorical phrases. For example, diao (lure) hu (tiger) li (away) shan (mountain) means to lure the enemy away from his or her base. Finally, most of the Chinese compliancegaining strategies were originated from military maneuvering. As a plan of action, the military maneuvering strategies were applied to social life to achieve personal and group goals. These strategies continue to be dominant in the contemporary Chinese life.
Chen (1995) and Kao (1976) argued that the success of practicing Chinese compliancegaining strategies depends on one's ability to be creative and to understand, memorize, adapt to the situation in which strategic behaviors will be employed. In other words, the ability to recognize the temporal and spatial contingencies and to perceive what is hidden and evident of the situation is necessary to take the appropriate action. This practice is based on three related ontological assumptions: (1) the universe is a great whole in which all is but a transitional process, with no fixed substance of its substratum, (2) the transforming process of the universe does not proceed onward, but revolves in an endless cycle, and (3) there is no ending for the transforming process of the universe (Chai & Chai, 1969; Chen, 1996). This transforming, endless, and cyclic process is built on the philosophical concept of bian (change).
Bian is based on the dialectic interaction of two opposite but complementary forces: yin and yang. Yin represents the amiable, yielding or submissive attributes, and yang unyielding or dominant attributes. The interaction of the two forces produces more opposite but interdependent pairs of change, such as emptiness vs. tangibility, brightness vs. darkness, motion vs. tranquillity, large vs. small, more vs. less, high vs. low, distance vs. closeness, and so on. As indicated in the Book of Changes (or I Ching): The Changes is a book from which one may not hold aloof. Its tao is forever changing alteration, movement without rest, flowing through the six empty places; rising and sinking without fixed law, firm and yielding transform each other. They cannot be confined within a rule; it is only change that is at work here" (Wilhem, 1990. p. 348).
In order to successfully carry out persuasive or compliancegaining strategies one has to bring continuity into the process of change. Because "when a change runs its course, it will alter; through alteration one achieves continuity; and through continuity one achieves duration. This is the key to being blessed by heaven and bringing in good fortune" (Chu, 1974, p. 106).
Three elements that help to bring continuity into the process of change and achieve duration include: shih, wei, and ji. Shi refers to temporal contingencies. It is the ability to decide when is the appropriate time to take the action. Wei refers to spatial contingencies. It broadly includes those static attributes such as our position, status, and the external environment. It is the ability to figure out what and where is the appropriate situation or environment for the action. Ji is the first imperceptible beginning of movement that shows the trace of possible consequences of the ongoing action (Chen, 1998; Wilhem, 1990). It is the ability to perceive what is hidden and what is evident in order to take an appropriate action in the compliancegaining process.
Wisdom is the guidepost for implementing shih, wei, and ji to appropriately regulate change. According to Kao (1976), wisdom reflects four characteristics: (1) it fosters the memory power of the situation, (2) it fosters the ability to understand the situation, (3) it fosters the ability to adapt to the situation, and (4) it fosters creativity. Thus, wisdom provides a foundation for effectively using persuasive strategies in the world of change by integrating the ability to act in the right time (shi) and right place (wei) with an accurate judgment (ji).
Because the implementation of compliancegaining strategies is part of social behaviors, the Chinese consider it necessary to follow a set of behavioral principles that are consistent with those ontological assumptions. These principles can be used not only to guide one's actions in carrying out compliancegaining strategies, but also to guide our daily conduct as well. According to Chai (1993), Chiao (1989), and Lieu (1980), the following principles have shown their pragmatic value and lasting popularity in the Chinese culture for the implementation of compliancegaining strategies:
First, take holistic perspectives. A skilled strategist must act like an orchestra conductor who needs not to practice all kinds of instruments. Nevertheless, as a conductor, s/he must know how to direct and command all the orchestral members to make a perfect performance. The holistic perspective requires us to focus on all aspects of the action, to foster a longterm view, and to look after the elements of hierarchical structure of the plan.
Second, maximize potential interests. "Interest" is the degree of profit involved in the process of interaction. The goal of compliancegaining strategies is to search for a satisfactory outcome of interest. In order to reach a maximum interest, a ruthless action is often taken to prevent opponents from retaliating. Doing this is like uprooting the grass lest it should grow again in the spring. In other words, one has to show no mercy in order to completely eliminate the potential cause of trouble initiated by opponents.
Third, be flexible. Like a good medical doctor, when the patient's symptom changes, the prescription changes. Being flexible to adjust oneself to different situations promotes the winning power over opponents. To be flexible means not to be tied down by the conventional methods, by one strategy or by regular practices.
Fourth, be cautious. The use of compliancegaining strategies is like chess playing in which every game presents a different situation. The whole plan may be ruined by a small mistake made on a single move. Thus, a successful implementation of compliancegaining strategies demands a careful calculation and precaution before taking any action.
Finally, keep secrets. As Sun Tze said, "If an item of intelligence is heard before a spy reports it, then both the spy and the one who told about it die" (Cleary, 1988). Unable to follow the principle of secrecy often leads to a failure for the practice of compliancegaining strategies.
Although the Chinese have systematically developed the ontological assumptions and principles for the implementation of compliancegaining strategies, the literature shows a serious lack of research in the classification of the strategies. The main reason for this problem is that under the influence of Confucianism, which emphasizes the concepts of jen (benevolence), yi (righteousness), and li (rite/ritual), compliancegaining strategies were treated as a heresy. While the Chinese people constantly apply various compliancegaining strategies in their daily social activities, the intellectuals avoid formally or publicly discussing them or putting them in writing. The unofficial booknotes and fictions are the only sources where we can find some descriptions of compliancegaining strategies. Thus, as indicated previously, the major channel of the dissemination of Chinese compliancegaining strategies is based on the oral tradition. Among those compliancegaining strategies the san shih liu ji (the 36 stratagems) is the most popular model used to describe the Chinese wisdom of social behaviors.
The "36 stratagems" which originated about 1,500 years ago represents an ancient Chinese collection of strategies for dealing with all situations in life. The number "36" is only a symbolic mark to signify the variety of persuasive strategies. While the number "36" is used, the contents may be various depending on the different situations. According to Chu (1991), the "36 stratagems" specify "methods for manipulating specific manifestations of the universal duality to one's advantage" (p. 43). More specifically, the practice of "36 stratagems" involves five elements: (1) dangerous situation, (2) indirect action, (3) enemy or opponent, (4) trick or deception, and (5) specific goal (Senger, 1988). They are the indirect actions used to trick or deceive one's opponent in a dangerous situation in order to achieve a specific goal for the advantage of the sponsor.
Moreover, the "36 stratagems" exist in the Chinese oral tradition that are composed of three or fourcharacter idioms. The structure of each stratagem is based on the metaphoric principle in which an extended meaning can be derived from different associated aspects of the Chinese culture (Chiao, 1988b; Chu, 1991). Thus, each stratagem contains a high degree of metaphoric and transformative feature which strongly reflects its heuristic power.
Chen (1995) selected and content analyzed the common 36 stratagems used for compliance gaining in Chinese social interactions and found that they could be classified into eight categories: (1) delusion which is to confuse opponents by creating a situation in which one can take advantage of the opponent's misjudgment, (2) borrowing which is to use one's opponent or the third party's strength to achieve one's goal, (3) misleading which is to block the opponents' plan by leading them into a blundering situation, (4) threat which is to shaken one's opponent's will power by coerce, (5) retreat which is to escape by directly running away or tricking the one's opponent. (6) termination which is to cut away all the possible resources to prevent opponents from reviving their strength, (7) espionage which is to create a conflict between one's opponents and their friends by alienating them, and (8) agitating which is to provoke one's opponents to an emotional situation which leads to a unsound judgment. Chen's analysis was based on the meanings of the 36 compliancegaining stratagems.
Although the results may help us understand the patterns of those compliancegaining strategies recorded in the literature, they do not, due to the lack of empirical confirmation, indicate whether these patterns represent the strategic behaviors that are still practiced in modern Chinese world. Aimed to improve this problem, this paper extended Chen's study to include more strategies and empirically test them to generate a pattern of Chinese compliancegaining strategies can be found. In other words, this study attempted to find a model of the dimensions of Chinese compliancegaining strategies.
Method
Participants
Participants were 1,087 Chinese students enrolling in communication classes in colleges at China (227), Hong Kong (403), and Taiwan (457). Among them, 711 were males, 368 were females, and their average age was 21.25. Participants completed the measures anonymously, and responses were returned to the researchers directly.
Procedure and Instruments
In addition to the 36 stratagems, 29 other common strategies specified by Chiao (1988a, 1988b), Chu (1991), Kao (1976), Senger (1988), Wang (1990), and Yu and Yu (1995) were included in this study to make a questionnaire of Chinese compliancegaining strategies (Appendix A lists the 65 strategies). Participants were asked to complete the questionnaire by reporting the degree to which they think these strategies are employed in Chinese social interactions. A fivepoint Likert scale, with 5 representing "very often" and 1 "never use", was used in answering the questions. The coefficient alpha for the instrument is .97.
Results
In order to generate a model that best explains the dimensions of Chinese compliancegaining strategies factor analysis was performed in this study. Table 1 reports the results of the principal axis factor analysis. Seven factors with eigenvalues of 1.00 or higher were extracted for the 65 items of Chinese compliancegaining strategies. These factors accounted for 57% of the variance. Items having loadings of at least .50 with secondary loadings no higher than .40 were included in the model.
Table 1. Principal Axes Factor Analysis of Chinese ComplianceGaining Strategies
Factor I.
60. pai ma pi (fawn on) .76
40. luo jing xia shi (hit someone when he's down) .69
53. xiao ti da zuo (selfserving exaggerations) .67
63. la guan xi (making connection/claim closeness) .65
59. ban zhu chi hu (pretending to be loyal while intend to trick opponent) .64
07. wu zhong sheng you (purely fictitious/fabricated) .64
12. shun shou qian yang (take others property and walk off) .62
05. chen huo da jie (take advantage during someone's crises) .62
56. yu mu hun zhu (create confusion by mixing up things) .61
10. xiao li cang dao (hiding harmful intention behind a smiling face) .60
20. hun shui mo yu (create disorder for self gain) .59
46. hu jia hu wei (using others' power to bully opponent) .57
57. xu zhang sheng shi (bluff and bluster) .56
31. mei ren ji (set up a sextrap) .55
45. zhang guan li dai (purposefully confuse one person with another) .54
61. pan long fu feng (play up to people of power and influence) .53
Factor II.
22. guan men zhuo zei (block the opponent's retreat in order to capture him) .77
28. shang wu chou ti (lead opponent to be trapped, then block the retreat) .76
25. tou liang huan zhu (take other's possession as own through cheating/perpetrate a fraud) .70
29. shu shang kai hua (creating illusion in order to benefit self) .69
22. guan men zhuo zei (block the opponent's retreat in order to capture him) .65
47. liang mian san dao (attack opponent behind back/doubledealing) .64
65. tuo dao ji (purposefully delay to refuse a request) .64
11. li dai tao jiang (sacrifice one for another) .64
27. jia chi bu dian (fake madness in order to avoid attention) .63
23. yuan jiao jin gong (befriend opponent's friends in order to isolate him) .60
02. wei wei jiu zhao (relieve the besieged by besieging the base of the besiegers/keep
opponent's attention on something other than the true target) .58
50. qi zu bao shuai (sacrifice minor things in order to save major ones) .54
41. yi shi jia huo (committing crime and accuse it onto opponent) .54
64. tui wei zhi ji (shift responsibility onto others) .51
08. an du chen cang (do one thing undercover another) .50
Factor III.
16. yu qin gu zong (purposefully trick opponent to relax in order to attack) .68
14. diao hu li shan (lure the enemy away from the his base) .60
17. pao zhuan yin yu (offer cheap items in order to receive the more valuable) .60
15. da cao jing she (act rashly and alert the opponent) .59
Factor IV.
38. ming zhi gu mei (withholding the truth to mislead opponent) .58
48. jian feng shi duo (observing the situation and take action when appropriate for
selfserving purposes) .56
54. pang qiao ce ji (make oblique references) .54
49. tou shi wen lu (testing opponent's intention in order to protect self) .54
Factor V.
37. yi jian shuang diao (hitting two birds with one stone) .58
32. kong cheng ji (presenting a bold front to conceal a weak defence) .56
33. fan jian ji (stratagem of sowing distrust among opponents) .54
34. ku rou ji (using selfabuse to gain opponent's sympathy and trust) .51
Factor VI.
55. jiang ji jiu ji (beat opponent at his own game) .59
62. ren ru fu zhong (endure humiliation in order to carry out important missions) .53
58. shun shui tui zhou (pushing the boat along existing current) .51
Factor VII.
03. jie dao sha ren (using another person to get rid of enemy) .61
01. man tian guo hai (practice deception to benefit self) .59
04. yi yi dai lao (wait to take profit instead of working) .53
The first factor accounted for 35.5% of the common variance and had an eigenvalue of 23.08. Sixteen items, including 60, 40, 53, 63, 59, 07, 12, 05, 56, 10, 20, 46, 57, 31, 45, and 61, were clustered in this factor. Most of these items are concerned with how to use strategies to confuse one's counterpart by creating a situation in which one's intention or action is concealed or covered up in order to take advantage of the counterpart's miscalculation. This factor was labeled Delusion.
The second factor accounted for 8.2% of the common variance and had an eigenvalue of 5.32. Fifteen items, including 24, 28, 25, 29, 22, 47, 65, 11, 27, 23, 02, 50, 41, 64, and 08, were included in this factor. These items are mainly about how to use the counterpart's or third party's strength to achieve one's goal, or how to lead the counterpart into a blundering situation in which one can prevent the counterpart from achieving his/her goal. This factor was labeled Burrowing/Misleading.
The third factor accounted for 4.3% of the common variance and had an eigenvalue of 2.79. Four items had a significant loading on this factor: 16, 14, 17, and 15. These items are concerned with how to achieve one's goal by distracting counterparts' attention from key issues. This factor was labeled Distraction.
The fourth factor accounted for 3.3% of the common variance and had an eigenvalue of 2.17. Four items significantly loaded in this factor: 38, 48, 54, 49. These items deal with using indirect ways to detect counterparts' intention in order to make the next move. This factor was labeled Indirect Exploration.
The fifth factor accounted for 2.3% of the common variance and had an eigenvalue of 1.49. Four items were included in this factor: 37, 33, 32, 34. These items deal with how to alienate the relationship between counterparts and their partners, and to inflict misery on oneself to fool counterparts into believing one's intention. This factor was labeled Espionage/Self Inflicting
The sixth factor accounted for 1.8% of the common variance and had an eigenvalue of 1.17. Three items had a significant loading on this factor: 55, 62, 58. These items mainly deal with using the current situation as a tool to play the game. This factor was labeled Adapting.
The last factor accounted for 1.6% of the common variance and had an eigenvalue of 1.05. The factor is comprised of three items: 03, 01. 04. These items are concerned with save one's energy by deceiving or delaying techniques in order to gain compliance from counterparts. This factor was labeled Deceiving.
Discussion
The results of this study indicate that a model can be generated to explain Chinese compliancegaining strategies. The model is comprised of seven dimensions: delusion, burrowing/misleading, distraction, indirect exploration, espionage/self inflicting, adapting, and deceiving. The results provide four implications. First, Marwell and Schmitt's (1967) study has classified compliancegaining behaviors into socially acceptable and socially unacceptable techniques. It might be surprising to see that all the compliancegaining strategies analyzed in this study are antisocial variables that are used to reach one's goal without concerning the means employed. The most plausible explanation for this phenomenon is that, as indicated previously, most of the 65 strategies included in this study traditionally were applied to the military maneuvering situation in which to defeat one's enemy is the ultimate goal for the battle. When these strategies were gradually employed in social interactions to gain compliance from one's counterparts, they naturally aim to show no mercy to avoid giving one's enemy a chance to come back. For future research, it is necessary to include those prosocial strategies, if there is any, used in Chinese society to see whether a more complete model can be generated.
Second, these compliancegaining strategies reflect the ambivalence of Chinese culture. On the one hand, the Chinese culture is dominated by the Confucian teachings that are embedded in the concepts of jen (benevolence), yi (righteousness), and li (rite/ritual) (Chen & Chung, 1994; Yum, 1988). These concepts demand specific kinds of Chinese social behaviors, including face saving, reciprocal relationship, emotional control, avoidance of aggressive behaviors, and avoidance of saying "no" (Chen & Starosta, 19978; Chen & Xiao, 1993, 1994; Chu, 1988; Hwang, 1988, 19978; Jia, 19978; Shenkar & Ronen, 1987). On the other hand, the thoughts of Fa school dictate the real life of Chinese people. Fa school extended Lao Tze's argument on the dialectical interaction of kan (strongness) and jou (weakness) to emphasize the application of strategic skills in social behaviors (Lao, 1991). In other words, Confucian teachings represent an ideal state of Chinese social norms that are more likely reflected on the superficial level of Chinese social behaviors and in the intellectual community, while the practice of strategic skills reflects the real face of Chinese interactions. This is why the strategic communication continues to be rejected by Confucianism, and the written records of strategic behaviors were only available in unofficial booknotes and fictions.
Third, according to Buskirk (1976), each of the compliancegaining strategy used in the Chinese social interaction represents a heuristic concept of persuasive communication that can originate a series of special tactics, defined as the behavioral maneuvering used carry out the strategies used in social interactions. It will be intriguing for future research to further explore what are those specific tactics attached to each of the compliancegaining strategy discussed in this study.
Finally, the participants of this study were from China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. Although people in this areas claim that they are all Chinese descendants, the lack of interactions and the practice of different social and economic systems over the last several decades may lead to a significant difference among the participants. Further research should investigate whether differences exist among them. In addition, a comparative study between Chinese and Western strategic communication will also make a significant contribution to the study of intercultural communication.
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Appendix A: The 65 Chinese ComplianceGaining Strategies
1. man tian guo hai (practice deception to benefit self).
2. wei wei jiu zhao (relieve the besieged by besieging the base of the besiegers/keep opponent's attention on something other than the true target)
3. jie dao sha ren (using another person to get rid of enemy)
4. yi yi dai lao (wait to take profit instead of working)
5. chen huo da jie (take advantage during someone's crises)
6. sheng dong ji xi (make feint to the east and attack in the west)
7. wu zhong sheng you (purely fictitious/fabricated)
8. an du chen cang (do one thing undercover another)
9. ge an guan huo (look on other's trouble with indifference)
10. xiao li cang dao (hiding harmful intention behind a smiling face)
11. li dai tao jiang (sacrifice one for another)
12. shun shou qian yang (take others property and walk off)
13. jie shi huan hun (find reincarnation in another's corpse)
14. diao hu li shan (lure the enemy away from the his base)
15. da cao jing she (act rashly and alert the opponent)
16. yu qin gu zong (purposefully trick opponent to relax in order to attack)
17. pao zhuan yin yu (offer cheap items in order to receive the more valuable)
18. qin zei qin wang (attack opponent's primary leader to scare others)
19. fu di chou xin (take a drastic measure to prevent future trouble)
20. hun shui mo yu (create disorder for self gain)
21. jin chan tuo qiao (escape by cunning manoeuvring)
22. guan men zhuo zei (block the opponent's retreat in order to capture him)
23. yuan jiao jin gong (befriend opponent's friends in order to isolate him)
24. jia dao fa guo (pretend to borrow opponent's resource in order to attack him)
25. tou liang huan zhu (take other's possession as own through cheating/perpetrate a fraud)
26. zhi sang ma huai (indirect verbal attack/make oblique accusations)
27. jia chi bu dian (fake madness in order to avoid attention)
28. shang wu chou ti (lead opponent to be trapped, then block the retreat)
29. shu shang kai hua (creating illusion in order to benefit self)
30. fan ke wei zhu (pretend to be servant of opponent in order to control)
31. mei ren ji (set up a sextrap)
32. kong cheng ji (presenting a bold front to conceal a weak defence)
33. fan jian ji (stratagem of sowing distrust among opponents)
34. ku rou ji (using selfabuse to gain opponent's sympathy and trust)
35. lian huan ji (a set of interlocking stratagems)
36. zou wei shang ji (leaving unfavorable situation until later)
37. yi jian shuang diao (hitting two birds with one stone)
38. ming zhi gu mei (withholding the truth to mislead opponent)
39. xian fa zhi ren (take preemptive measures)
40. luo jing xia shi (hit someone when he's down)
41. yi shi jia huo (committing crime and accuse it onto opponent)
42. sha ji jing hou (punish one to warn others)
43. ji jiang zhi ji (prodding opponent into action by ridicule or sarcasm)
44. yi hua jie mu (graft one thing for another)
45. zhang guan li dai (purposefully confuse one person with another)
46. hu jia hu wei (using others' power to bully opponent)
47. liang mian san dao (attack opponent behind back/doubledealing)
48. jian feng shi duo (observing the situation and take action when appropriate for selfserving purposes)
49. tou shi wen lu (testing opponent's intention in order to protect self)
50. qi zu bao shuai (sacrifice minor things in order to save major ones)
51. bi zhong jou qing (dwell on trivial issues to avoid the important)
52. zei han zhuo zei (the thief crying "stop thief")
53. xiao ti da zuo (selfserving exaggerations)
54. pang qiao ce ji (make oblique references)
55. jiang ji jiu ji (beat opponent at his own game)
56. yu mu hun zhu (create confusion by mixing up things)
57. xu zhang sheng shi (bluff and bluster)
58. shun shui tui zhou (pushing the boat along existing current)
59. ban zhu chi hu (pretending to be loyal while intend to trick opponent)
60. pai ma pi (fawn on)
61. pan long fu feng (play up to people of power and influence)
62. ren ru fu zhong (endure humiliation in order to carry out important missions)
63. la guan xi (making connection/claim closeness)
64. tui wei zhi ji (shift responsibility onto others)
65. tuo dao ji (purposefully delay to refuse a request)
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