The Flow of Gifts: Reciprocity and Social Networks in a Chinese Village [Paperback]

Yunxiang Yan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1996

Gift-giving is a classic topic in anthropology, where on-going debates involve the principle of reciprocity, the spirit of the gift, and the relationship between gifts and commodities. But the topic has been surprisingly little studied in the Chinese context except for the form of instrumental exchange known as networking or guanxi.

--This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 278 pages
• Publisher: Stanford Univ Pr (May 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0804726957
• ISBN-13: 978-0804726955
• Product Dimensions: 3.5 x 1.6 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #538,762 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent view of another culture!, August 1, 2010

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L. Landry (Virginia) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Flow of Gifts: Reciprocity and Social Networks in a Chinese Village (Hardcover)

I really enjoyed this close-up view of various aspects of gift-giving in another culture. It was a fact-packed book with much to teach.

4 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not much of a read, June 21, 2000

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"sloss" - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Flow of Gifts: Reciprocity and Social Networks in a Chinese Village (Paperback)

I had a number of problems with this book. The good parts were that it contained much information on the regulation of gifts in a small community over a certain period of time. This is the kind of contextualization that really should be apllied to any anthropological work. Unfortunately, an eye towards the readers is something I also believe should be included. Specifically, I don't think there should be much line between literature and science in a field that cannot possibly hope to perform like a physical science. Trying to gauge human interaction on a scale does not work in my opinion. Since that's what this book attempts to do, it bugs me. As a piece of anthropology concerning gift giving in rural China, it is actually quite good. But only if that's your bag.