This study investigates politeness behavior patterns in present-day China with regard to actual language use in different settings. Existent politeness theories (Lakoff 1973, Brown and Levinson (1978) 1987, Leech 1983) were applied to examining speech data collected from official, business and family settings in China. The analyses show that Chinese politeness has its own distinctive nature. Based on the findings from the study, an addressee-oriented model of Chinese politeness behavior is proposed.; Examples from naturally occurring verbal interactions between superior-subordinate, buyer-seller and among family members are presented to illustrate the importance of social factors, such as age, gender, official rank and ingroup identity, in Chinese politeness behavior. Linguistic features examined are speech acts (orders, requests, invitations, and offers), topic control, conflict talk, decision-making process, opening/closing of an interaction, small talk, code-switching, opinions and suggestions, question-answer patterns and topic responses.; Major findings from the study are: (1) Different hierarchical relationships are recognized in different settings. In the official setting, superior-subordinate hierarchy is strictly observed, while in the family, gender and age hierarchies are acknowledged. In the business setting, a distinction of inside and outside relationship is made based on the personal connections between the seller and the buyer; (2) The power that the addressee possesses (from age, gender, rank position, or ingroup identity) calls for different politeness strategies from the speaker, who tends to modify his/her speech according to whom is being spoken to; (3) Formulaic polite expressions are mainly used in the formal setting. Under normal circumstances, it is discourse strategies, instead of lexical items, that indicate politeness in Chinese culture.; As an intensive analysis of Chinese politeness, the present study concludes that the underlying motivation for Chinese politeness lies in the recognition of mutual-dependence and hierarchical order between the interlocutors. The social attributes of the addressee constrain the use of politeness strategies.
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