← culture / festivals
Culture
The Concept of 'Face'
Miànzi
The short answer
Face (面子, miànzi; also 臉 (脸), liǎn) is social reputation in Chinese culture. You can give it, save it or lose it, and it shapes business, family and even arguments.
Where
China/East Asia
Category
Social Concept
When
Daily
Origin
Ancient (Confucianism)
What it is
A cultural concept of social standing reputation and honor. Actions are often taken to 'give face' or 'save face'.
Why it matters
Crucial for social and business interactions. Losing face can bring shame not just to an individual but to their family or company.
Fun fact
English 'lose face' is a calque of Chinese 丟臉 (丢脸, diūliǎn), borrowed in the 19th century.
Kungfucius says: The fastest way to lose face in China is to explain the concept of face to a Chinese person.
More festivals & phenomena
Japan · Pop Culture/ArtAnime and Manga アニメ / 漫画 (マンガ)Anime (Japanese animation) and manga (comics) are among Japan's biggest cultural exports, covering every genre for every age. Many learners first meet Japanese through them.Japan · Art Form|EntertainmentAnime Culture アニメAnime is Japan's animation industry and fandom, from children's shows to adult dramas. The modern TV era began with Astro Boy in 1963.Southeast Asia (also markets in China); rare in Japan, Korea and Taiwan shops · Social PracticeArt of HagglingHaggling is normal in many Southeast Asian markets and some Chinese markets, but not in Japan, Korea or most Taiwanese shops, where prices are fixed.Taiwan · Social Trend|Food CultureBinlang Girls 檳榔西施Betel nut beauties (檳榔西施 (槟榔西施)) are young women who sell betel nuts from glass roadside booths in Taiwan, often in revealing outfits, mainly to truck drivers.Japan · Art/HorticultureBonsai 盆栽Bonsai (盆栽) is the Japanese art of growing miniature trees in containers through pruning, wiring and root care. It developed from Chinese penjing (盆景).Taiwan · SubcultureBoy Love (BL) Culture 耽美Boys' love (BL) is fiction about romance between men, born in 1970s Japanese manga. In Chinese it is called 耽美 (dānměi); Taiwan has produced popular BL dramas such as HIStory and We Best Love.Taiwan (Global) · Cuisine/TrendBubble Tea Obsession 珍珠奶茶Bubble tea (珍珠奶茶, zhēnzhū nǎichá) was invented in Taiwan in the 1980s and became a global industry. Two teahouses, Chun Shui Tang (春水堂) and Hanlin (翰林), still dispute who added the tapioca first.Taiwan · Food Culture|TourismCat Cafes 貓咪咖啡館 (猫咪咖啡馆)The world's first cat café, Cat Flower Garden (貓花園), opened in Taipei in 1998. The idea spread to Japan from 2004 and then worldwide.China/Global Diaspora · Festival/HolidayChinese New Year 春節 (春节)Chinese New Year, or the Spring Festival (春節 (春节)), starts the lunisolar year between 21 January and 20 February. It means reunion dinners, red envelopes, firecrackers and the world's largest annual human migration.Japan · SubcultureCosplay in Japan コスプレCosplay (コスプレ, kosupure) is dressing up as characters from anime, manga and games. The word was coined in Japan in 1983 or 1984 by Nobuyuki Takahashi.Taiwan · SubcultureCosplay in Taiwan 角色扮演Cosplay is big in Taiwan, with crowds at events such as Fancy Frontier (開拓動漫祭) and many cosplayers at the Taipei Game Show. Locals usually just say 'COS'.China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and other Chinese communities · FestivalDragon Boat Festival 端午節 (端午节)The Dragon Boat Festival (端午節) falls on the 5th day of the 5th lunar month, with dragon boat races and zongzi (粽子) rice dumplings, traditionally commemorating the poet Qu Yuan.Japan · Social CustomDrinking with Coworkers 飲み会Nomikai (飲み会) are after-work drinking parties in Japan, used to bond and speak freely. They have become less obligatory since the pandemic.China · Fashion/HealthFacekini 臉基尼 (脸基尼)The facekini (臉基尼) is a full-head nylon mask worn by beachgoers in Qingdao, China, to block the sun and jellyfish. It reflects a strong preference for pale skin.Taiwan · Performance/RitualFuneral Pole Dancing 電子花車 (电子花车)In parts of Taiwan, funeral processions may hire 'electric flower cars' (電子花車): neon-lit trucks with a stage where dancers, sometimes scantily clad, perform to draw a crowd and give the deceased a lively send-off.Taiwan · Festival|CustomGods from one temple visiting gods of a different temple 遶境In Taiwanese folk religion, deities are carried in processions (遶境) through their districts and on pilgrimages (進香) to other temples. The Dajia Mazu procession covers about 340 km over nine days.Japan · Religious CustomHidden Catholics (Goto Islands) 隠れキリシタンKakure kirishitan (隠れキリシタン) are Japanese Christians who practised in secret during the 1614 to 1873 ban, hiding prayers in Buddhist forms. Communities survived in the Gotō Islands and around Nagasaki.Japan · Social IssueHikikomori 引きこもりHikikomori (引きこもり) are people who withdraw from society and stay at home for six months or more. Japan's government estimated about 1.46 million cases among people aged 15 to 64 in 2023.Taiwan · Travel Trend|CustomHuandao 環島 (环岛)Huándǎo (環島) means going around Taiwan, by bike, scooter or train. The roughly 900 to 1,000 km cycling loop became a rite of passage after the 2007 film Island Etude (練習曲).Japan · Art/HorticultureIkebana 生け花Ikebana (生け花) is the Japanese art of flower arrangement, emphasising line, space and asymmetry over masses of blooms. It is also called kadō (華道), 'the way of flowers'.Japan · Art Form|CustomJapanese Tattoo 和彫り (入れ墨)Wabori (和彫り), or irezumi, is traditional Japanese tattooing, with large body suits featuring koi, dragons and waves. It boomed in the Edo period but still faces stigma.Japan · Social IssueKaroshi 過労死Karōshi (過労死) is death from overwork, such as heart attack, stroke or suicide linked to extreme hours. Japan recognises it officially and compensates families.Japan · Aesthetics/Pop CultureKawaii Culture かわいいKawaii (かわいい, 可愛い) is Japan's culture of cuteness, visible in fashion, mascots, packaging and even police posters. It took off in the 1970s and is a major soft-power export.Taiwan · Social Gathering|EntertainmentKTV KTV (卡拉OK)KTV is Taiwan's private-room karaoke, open late with food menus and huge song lists. Chains such as Party World (錢櫃) and Holiday KTV (好樂迪) are a staple of birthdays and work outings.Taiwan · Festival|CustomLantern Flying 放天燈Releasing sky lanterns (放天燈) is a Pingxi (平溪) tradition in New Taipei, said to date from the 19th century when villagers signalled safety. The Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival is held around the Lantern Festival.Taiwan · Social Event|AdvocacyLGBTQ+ Pride in Taiwan 臺灣同志遊行 (台湾同志游行)Taiwan Pride (臺灣同志遊行) in Taipei, held every October since 2003, is the largest Pride parade in East Asia. Taiwan legalised same-sex marriage on 24 May 2019, the first in Asia.Global (esp. Japan) · Cultural ConceptLost in Translation'Lost in translation' describes meaning that disappears between languages and cultures. Sofia Coppola's 2003 film set in Tokyo made it shorthand for foreigners' disorientation in Japan.China · Historical PracticeLotus Feet (Foot Binding) 纏足 (缠足)Foot binding (纏足) was the practice of tightly binding girls' feet to make them small, from around the 10th century to the early 20th century. It was banned in 1912 and caused lifelong disability.Japan · Tourism|SubcultureMaid Cafes メイドカフェMaid cafés are themed cafés where staff in maid costumes treat customers as 'masters'. The first permanent one, Cure Maid Café, opened in Akihabara in 2001.Malaysia/Singapore · Music SubcultureMalay Heavy Metal Music Muzik Metal MelayuMalaysia and Singapore have had a lively heavy metal scene since the 1980s, with Malay-language bands mixing Western metal with local themes and, at times, clashing with religious authorities.Taiwan · Food Culture|Social GatheringNight Markets 夜市Night markets (夜市, yèshì) are Taiwan's open-air evening food streets, selling street snacks, games and cheap goods. Shilin, Raohe and Fengjia are the famous ones.Japan · FestivalPenis Procession かなまら祭りKanamara Matsuri (かなまら祭り) is a fertility festival at Kanayama Shrine in Kawasaki, held on the first Sunday of April with phallic portable shrines. Proceeds support HIV research.Japan · Social TrendPeople Disappearing 蒸発Jōhatsu (蒸発, 'evaporated people') are Japanese who deliberately vanish from their lives, often fleeing debt or shame, sometimes helped by 'night-moving' (夜逃げ) companies.Japan · Social NormReading the Air 空気を読むKūki o yomu, 'reading the air', is the Japanese expectation that you sense what others think and want without it being said. Someone who fails is jokingly called 'KY'.Japan · Art/BDSMShibari / Kinbaku 緊縛Kinbaku (緊縛), often called shibari in the West, is Japanese decorative rope bondage that grew out of Edo-period hojōjutsu (restraint techniques) and 20th-century erotic art.Malaysia, Singapore (and Tamil Nadu) · FestivalThaipusam தைப்பூசம்Thaipusam (தைப்பூசம்) is a Tamil Hindu festival honouring Lord Murugan. In Malaysia, hundreds of thousands climb the 272 steps of Batu Caves, some carrying kavadi with skin piercings.Taiwan/China · Social NormThe Art of Queueing (or Not) 排隊 (排队)Queueing (排隊, páiduì) in Taiwan and China varies: Taipei metro platforms are famously orderly, while crowding still happens in some settings in mainland China. Habits have changed fast with urbanisation.China/East Asia · Social ConceptThe Concept of 'Face' 面子Face (面子, miànzi; also 臉 (脸), liǎn) is social reputation in Chinese culture. You can give it, save it or lose it, and it shapes business, family and even arguments.Taiwan/Vietnam · Transportation/LifestyleThe Scooter Life 機車 (机车)Scooters (機車, jīchē) are the default transport in Taiwan and Vietnam. Taiwan has around 14 million registered scooters for 23 million people, and Vietnam's cities run on motorbikes.Taiwan/Philippines/Japan · Social PracticeTyphoon Survival 颱風 (台风)In Taiwan, the Philippines and Japan, typhoons are a seasonal routine: people stock up on instant noodles, tape windows and wait to see whether the local government will declare a typhoon day off (颱風假).Indonesia/Malaysia · Performance ArtWayang Kulit ꦮꦪꦁꦏꦸꦭꦶꦠ꧀ (wayang kulit)Wayang kulit is Javanese and Balinese shadow puppetry with carved leather puppets, led by a single puppeteer (dalang) who voices every character, often all night, accompanied by gamelan.Japan · Social/CrimeYakuza Offices 暴力団事務所 (ヤクザ事務所)Japan's yakuza groups are not banned outright, so some syndicates have long kept known offices, sometimes with nameplates. Since the 2011 nationwide anti-organised-crime ordinances, membership has fallen sharply and many offices have closed.