This is the place where the answers can be found for the manifestations of Chineseface culture, such as mian-zi , lian , you mian-zi , mei mian-zi , mei lian jian jiang dong fulao and so on.
Furthermore, face is related to another "deep down" quality-lf-cultivation. Thisis the essential means and process in pursuing the utmost goal of being what Confuciuscalled a "cultivated person". Self-cultivation can only be accomplished through ren（humanity） which is the deepest realization of ones inner morality. In other words,human beings are moral beings, but this does not mean that in an existential sense humansare loving in nature; native substance needs to be cultivated and disciplined in order toreach its optimum level, ren, which represents the most authentic and genuine humannature signifying the fullest manifestation of humanness. In the process of self-cultivation,a crucial inner-strength named zi zhi（self-restraint）needs to be fostered. In other words,self-indulgence（mainly to wine, anger, women, and money, according to Confucius）,should be inhibited. Some researchers have also further explored the characteristics of theChinese notion of "self-restraint" （Hsu, 1981; Lin Yutang, 1939）.Self-cultivation andself-restraint should result in "self-esteem", which is the sense of self-development throughthe affirmation and recognition of others based on li （the profound Chinese virtue. Thereare at least two Chinese characters for li, but the basic meaning is a set of conventionalsocial and cultural rules）. Some researchers have demonstrated that the Chinese give muchgreater weight to the response from others than do Americans in this regard （Yang,1981b; Snyder,1979）.One of the reasons, the author believes, is that "self-esteem" inChinese culture is closely related to the family, the ancestors and even descendants （WangGongwu,1975）（See the next section for an elaboration on this point）. This has furtherillustrated the aforementioned Chinese concepts of face.
Competence -face
"Competence-face" is concerned with a persons abilities and accomplishments, andthe consequent wealth associated with his or her competence. This is another importantaspect in Chinese face culture. Values such as "knowledgeable", "intelligent", "wise","thoughtful", "experienced", "rational", "well-informed", "erudite", "enlightened","sharp" and so on are highly appreciated. However, the claims of these values have littlemeaning until and unless they are approbated by other people. Thus, competence-faceresults in the requirement that ones abilities and accomplishments be respected andhonored.
Network -face
A person should not and cannot live in isolation, and the ability to establish areasonable personal network is thus very much encouraged and cherished in Chineseculture. The concept of "network-face" reflects a persons image, that is to what degreethey are worthy companions. It is concerned with the social aspect of a person, whichmeans how desirable a person is as a member of "social club" （even an invisible one）.Values such as "loyalty to friends", "accepted and loved", "cooperative", "affiliated","friendly", "alike", "agreeable" etc.
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