Chinese culture and its influence on female prisoner behavior in the prisoner–guard relationship
| Date | 01 March 2018 |
| Author | Liu Liu,Wing Hong Chui |
| Published date | 01 March 2018 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0004865816679685 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Article
Australian & New Zealand
Journal of Criminology
2018, Vol. 51(1) 117–134
Chinese culture and its
! The Author(s) 2016
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DOI: 10.1177/0004865816679685
behavior in the prisoner–guard
journals.sagepub.com/home/anj
relationship
Liu Liu
School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Nanjing University, China
Wing Hong Chui
Department of Applied Social Sciences, City University of Hong Kong,
Hong Kong
Abstract
Although scholars have shown continuing interest in studying prisoner behavior, relatively few
studies focus on Chinese female prisoners’ behavior in the prisoner–guard relationship. In this
study, 65 semi-structured interviews were conducted with both female prisoners and guards
to document Chinese culture’s influence on female prisoners’ behavior. According to the
findings, female prisoners mainly choose to maintain good guanxi (interpersonal relationships)
with guards, in order to pragmatically maximize the benefits of these relationships. In addition
to this, based on personalism and pragmatism, they usually act in an individualistic manner,
instead of forming prisoner sub-cultures. These findings suggest that Chinese female pris-
oners use multiple strategies to manage their relationships with guards, tending to employ
methods centered on the notion of guanxi.
Keywords
Chinese culture, female prisoner, guanxi, prisoner–guard relationship, prisoner behavior
Date received: 16 February 2016; accepted: 26 October 2016
Introduction
People’s experiences of incarceration are usually hidden from society. Prison systems
and life inside prisons are not fully understood by the average citizen. Prisoners are
isolated behind bars and are under continuous supervision by authority figures.
Incarceration has tremendous implications for prisoners in how they interact with
both authority figures and one another (Haney, 2001).
Corresponding author:
Liu Liu, School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Nanjing University, Xianlin Campus, Room 409, Heren Building, 163
Xianlin Avenue, Qixia District, Nanjing, China.
Email: liuliu@nju.edu.cn
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Australian & New Zealand Journal of Criminology 51(1)
Scholars have shown continuing interest in studying prisoners’ behavior. Previous
research on this topic has mainly focused on: the prison environment and prisoners’
behavior (Camp & Gaes, 2005); rewards/punishments caused by good/bad behavior
(Polinsky, 2015); methods to improve prisoners’ good behavior (Bilderbeck, Farias,
Brazil, Jakobowitz, & Wikholm, 2013; Cochran & Mears, 2013); prison misconduct or
bully behaviors (Cochran, 2012; Ireland, Archer, & Power, 2007); prisoners’ self-injury
or suicide (Smith & Kaminski, 2010); and prisoners’ behavior and prison adjustment
(Toman, Cochran, Cochran, & Bales, 2015). Studies on Chinese prisoners’ behavior
have similar focuses as those mentioned above. They mainly discuss prisoner behavior
management and rehabilitation (Fang & Liu, 2007) and specific behaviors, such as self-
injury and suicide (Ou, 2010). Prisoner–guard interactions have not been the main focus
in previous studies.
There has also been research on prisoners’ sub-cultures (Einat & Einat, 2000; Liebling
& Arnold, 2012; Skarbek, 2012). However, previous research on a particular cultural
phenomenon and its role in the instrumentalism of prisoner behavior is rare. Prison is
not a vacuum (Thomas, 2003), but reflects cultural backgrounds. When explaining pris-
oner behavior, deprivation theory mostly relies on institutional factors (Sykes, 1958),
while importation theory emphasizes individual backgrounds (Glaser, 1964; Irwin &
Cressey, 1962; Schrag, 1954). However, both of these models fail to highlight the import-
ance of cultural backgrounds, and the ways in which culture influences prisoners’ behav-
ior. Considering the uniqueness of Chinese culture, it would be significant for a study to
examine how Chinese socio-cultural values influence prisoners’ behavior.
The study of female prisoners has generally been subordinate to the study of male
prisoners. Since females are much less likely than males to be arrested, charged,
and detained in prisons (Blanchette & Brown, 2006), people have tended to ignore
the uniqueness of female prisoners. Compared with their male counterparts, female
prisoners are much more marginalized and attract less attention within the academic
community; there are especially few studies that focus on Chinese female prisoners’
behavior. There have been some previous studies on Chinese male prisoners’ behav-
ior, such as their sub-cultures (Di, 2001), but not on female prisoners. Female pris-
oners should not be merely studied as a reference group but rather for their own
unique qualities as well, because female behaviors are very different to male behav-
iors. Thus, this study tries to fill this gap by focusing on Chinese female prisoners’
behavior.
Through this study, Chinese culture and its influence on the behavior patterns
between Chinese female prisoners and guards are revealed; this will be new to the
academic community. The examination of prisoners’ sub-cultures in the context of a
Chinese prison also makes a contribution to the literature.
Chinese prison system
Chinese prisons are operated according to the Prison Law of the People’s Republic of
China (1994). The core characteristic of the Chinese prison system is the use of labor as
the main correctional method, in order to transform offenders into law-abiding citizens,
with an emphasis on ideological reform (Du, 2004). Chinese Marxists believe that labor
has an impact on how people perceive both the world and themselves, which further
Liu and Chui
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affects their moral characters and life skills (Xin, 2006). This recognition of labor in
Marxist ideology has ascribed labor as the only taken-for-granted method with which to
correct and punish offenders in socialist regimes. Offenders who commit crimes are
assumed to lack labor experience and possess a derivatively incorrect worldview. In
order to transform offenders into new social beings, labor needs to be intimately com-
bined with rehabilitation and punishment systems. Chinese prisoners are expected to
learn labor skills and cultivate good labor habits, through which they could earn the
ability to live independently and no longer be considered lazy upon release. They are also
expected to develop a positive worldview, so as to line up the reformation of their
thoughts with official ideological stances.
There are two main programs in Chinese prisons for both male and female prisoners:
labor reform and ideological reform. Labor reform involves reforming offenders through
assigned labor tasks, generally in prison-run industries. Labor is used as a form of
compensation for their crimes to both the victims and society (Du, 2004). It also has
two other effects: cultivating prisoners’ work ethic and helping them to learn labor skills.
Ideological reform consists of three parts: moral, cultural, and technical or skills
education. Prisoners are required to attend classes on the law, current national and
international politics, traditional Chinese culture, and professional and trade skills,
to name a few. They are also expected to participate in group discussions and write
personal reports on the knowledge they have acquired in class.
The average Chinese prison holds approximately 2000 prisoners (Wu, 2003). The
Chinese prison system does not separate prisoners according to how dangerous they
are perceived to be; there are not ‘‘maximum security prisons,’’ ‘‘medium security
prisons,’’ or ‘‘minimum security prisons’’ in the People’s Republic of China. Each
prison contains different kinds of prisoners. Prisoners live in dormitories, which contain
several people per room. There are hardly any single cells. Only prisoners who are
considered to be dangerous are locked up separately in single cells. Prison guards are
not classified into different types; they are usually responsible for multiple duties. Guards
are mostly graduates of public security colleges or police institutes.
Chinese culture and the socio-cultural approach
Different contexts in politics, economics, and society have shaped people’s conceptions
of culture (Buckley, Clegg, & Tan, 2006), which is defined as shared norms, values, and
assumptions (Schein, 1996). There are several pieces of literature on Chinese culture
(e.g., Lovett, Simmons, & Kali, 1999; Luo, 1997; Tsang, 1998; Vanhonacker, 2004;
Xin & Pearce, 1996). From this literature, guanxi is identified as the most prominent
cultural characteristic in Chinese culture and has strong implications for interpersonal
dynamics (Buckley et al., 2006). The term guanxi refers to the concept of drawing upon
connections in order to secure favors in interpersonal relationships (Luo, 1997). It places
a great deal of value on trust, commitment, favor, mutuality, reciprocity, and long-term
benefits, thus describing a strong social network (Shin, Ishman, & Sanders, 2007).
Guanxi is more than an interpersonal relationship or friendship. Several previous studies
illustrate the connotations of guanxi, such as particularistic ties (Jacobs, 1979), friend-
ships with continuing exchanges of favor (Pye, 1982), power relationships (Gold, 1985;
Osland, 1990), and social capital (Gold, Guthrie, & Wank, 2002). It has very
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Australian & New Zealand Journal of Criminology 51(1)
complicated implications and even Chinese natives find it difficult to explain its meaning.
To establish a concise...
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