Lies That Bind: Chinese Truth, Other Truths

Susan D. Blum

Hardcover

Regular price$126.00With free membership trial$101.0050% off your first book(max discount $25)+ Free shipping

In Stock– Ships within one business day

Do you recommend this book?

Yes!

This provocative book explores the ideology of truth and deception in China, offering a nuanced perspective on social interaction in different cultural settings. Drawing on decades of fieldwork in China, Susan D. Blum examines rules, expectations, and beliefs regarding lying and honesty. She argues that public lying is evaluated within Chinese society by culturally specific moral values. Chinese, for example, might emphasize the consequences of speech, Americans the absolute truthfulness. But many Americans also excel in manipulation of language, yet find a simultaneous moral absolutism opposed to lying in any form. Blum considers Japanese and Jewish traditions as well, which similarly struggle to control the boundaries of honesty.

Book Details

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Publish Date: Jan 19th, 2007
Pages: 242
Language: English
Edition: undefined - undefined
Dimensions: 9.00in - 6.00in - 0.90in - 1.05lb
EAN: 9780742554047
Categories: • Anthropology - Cultural & Social• Interpersonal Relations• Sociology - General

About the Author

Susan D. Blum is associate professor of anthropology at the University of Notre Dame.

Praise for this book

Blum's charming and thoughtful Lies That Bind [takes] up the challenge to explain differences in behavior without saying that Chinese are just peculiar. Blum studies the expectations and beliefs regarding lying and honesty not only in China but everywhere.

Lies That Bind is an insightful book, which explores the complex ideology of truth, lies and deception in China and beyond. . . . Overall, this is a very enjoyable book to read, and could be used in courses on reality and fiction in Chinese literature, society and history.

Charming and thoughtful.

A fascinating book that takes a comparative look at the social meanings and implications of various kinds of truths and untruths in China. . . . Blum's arguments are convincingly illustrated with a plethora of rich, insightful examples. . . . Lies That Bind is a groundbreaking book that should be of interest to anyone interested in Chinese culture, sociolinguistics, or the nature of human discourse. It is also well-written, engaging, and very enjoyable to read.

Kant claimed that lying was always immoral. George Washington, according to Parson Weems (who may not have been telling the truth), said, 'I cannot tell a lie.' Jesus of Nazareth promised that 'Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.' What happens when this primordial moral value (often skirted in real everyday practice, of course) encounters a different set of cultural precepts? With acute observation, wit, and subtle comparisons, Susan Blum explores the difficult zone between what is and what ought to be in journeys across ambiguous cultural territory. Lies That Bind records the 'experiments with truth' that make up the anthropologist's education.