China Perspective Issues
Louis Augustin-jean
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Pierre Trolliet : La diaspora chinoise
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Digitalising Chinese New Year Red Packets: Changing Practices and Meanings
ABSTRACT: The hongbao is a monetary gift given during Chinese New Year and other occasions. In 2015, WeChat introduced its electronic version in China. This has altered its original and ritualistic meaning, which is linked to a conception of the world characterised by filial piety, benevolence, and social harmony. Here the red packet is seen as a connector linking the generations, and also the individual to the community. The money inserted in the red packet symbolises these relationships, as well as the debt of life that can never be reimbursed. Hence, the amount is symbolic. The time-space compression that allowed for the introduction of the e-hongbao has changed this meaning, and the WeChat app can be analysed as a mediator that links the sender and the receiver. This blurs the meaning of the hongbao, linking it to economic practices and highlighting the individualisation of Chinese society. KEYWORDS: hongbao, rituals, WeChat, Chinese New Year, individualisation, connectors, mediators, gifts, digitalisation, money.