Abstract: Cultural differences between China and the West have always been an important factor restricting the communication between China people and English-speaking countries. If you know little about the cultural differences between China and the West or lack the necessary understanding, you will encounter many problems in the process of communication, causing misunderstanding or embarrassment. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the manifestations of cultural differences and find out the deep-seated reasons to avoid cultural conflicts. This paper mainly analyzes and compares the differences between Chinese and western cultures and the main reasons for the differences.

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In recent years, the study of cultural differences has attracted extensive attention from experts, scholars and educators in general language and culture. This reflects the changes and requirements of the times. The basic purpose of the study of cultural differences is to cultivate people's positive understanding attitude towards cultural differences and cultivate people's adaptability and cultural communication ability when they are in contact with different cultures. With the advent of economic globalization, China's opening to the outside world has been further expanded. Especially after China's accession to the WTO, more and more people have gone abroad or stayed at home to participate in cross-cultural exchanges. When dealing with people from different cultural backgrounds, they all need to learn and master practical skills. Based on this, this paper briefly discusses and compares the main manifestations of cultural differences between China and the West and the reasons for the differences.

First, the performance of cultural differences between China and the West

1. Similarities and differences in thinking patterns

China people like to think from a higher place in life, jump out of reality and attach importance to thinking about life. They have deep thoughts on the relationship between people, people and nature, and people's spirit and body. Westerners pay attention to logical thinking or rational thinking; China people belong to abstract thinking or perceptual thinking. Westerners pay more attention to exploring and verifying the origin of problems from the material world.

2. Similarities and differences between individual interests and collective interests and national interests.

China people pay more attention to collective interests, including family interests and national interests, advocate controlling their own desires and oppose extreme individualism and heroism. They often associate individual interests with collective interests and national interests, and are full of patriotism and dedication. Westerners pay more attention to individual interests, pursue human rights and advocate freedom. They think that if individual interests cannot be guaranteed, let alone collective interests, it is this kind of ideological understanding that finally promotes the development of western democratic politics.

3. Similarities and differences of the concept of democracy.

China people pay attention to spiritual freedom and regard freedom and democracy as a reward for the monarch. Therefore, our people always yearn for the sky and hope that good faculties will appear to benefit the people. In western democratic politics, politics comes from the people, and all political power is just a kind of public power granted by the people to the government.

4. Similarities and differences of scientific views.

China people trust the experience and authority of their ancestors more, believing that the ancients even surpassed the present, superstitious about authority and lacking the spirit of innovation and exploration. Westerners attach importance to practice and theory, are adventurous and advocate rational thinking. Popularizing and popularizing scientific achievements through formal university education greatly promoted the development of science and finally established a complete scientific system;

5. The moral values of China and the West are very different.

The west emphasizes individual standard, while China advocates group standard. The different moral concepts between China and the West make the ethical system and moral norms of China and the West have different characteristics: the West values contract, while China values human feelings; The West attaches importance to reason, while China attaches importance to human feelings; Western ethics is more important than competition, and China emphasizes the golden mean and harmony. Western ethics emphasizes individual moral education on the basis of evil human nature, while China Confucianism emphasizes individual moral cultivation on the basis of good human nature.

6. Similarities and differences of legal concepts

People in China advocate that they should be bound by etiquette and morality, improve their self-cultivation through the teaching and learning of sages, and pay attention to self-denial and self-respect, which leads to the defect of personality and the loss of independent personality, while westerners believe that people's original desires should not be suppressed and advocate social and personal norms? Legal system? Morality is in a subordinate position through institutions, such as decentralized organizations and political institutions.

7. Similarities and differences in dealing with people.

China people are introspective, like it? Three times a day? In order to come down in one continuous line with Wang Zhidao, he attached great importance to the cultivation of body and mind, and advocated the golden mean, which led to conservative thinking and lack of innovation and pioneering spirit. Westerners are more keen on public welfare undertakings and take serving the society as their own responsibility.

Second, the reasons for cultural differences between China and the West

From the geographical and cultural point of view, the world can be divided into two regions: the East and the West. There are many reasons for their cultural differences, which can be summarized as follows:

1, influenced by the economic system.

China's traditional economy is a typical self-sufficient natural economy. People are quieter and more conservative. Because they can live on a piece of land all their lives, their culture is introverted. Moreover, the ancient civilization of China, which originated in the great river basin, belongs to agricultural civilization. Agricultural civilization character? It has created orientals to pay attention to ethics and seek common ground while reserving differences for stability. Harmony is more important, forbearance is more important? For the principle of life.

Western ancient Greek civilization, which originated from the Aegean coast, belongs to marine civilization. Moreover, European farming was far less important than China farming in ancient society, so Europeans like to explore abroad and their culture is more extroverted. Moreover, western countries entered the era of industrial economy very early after the industrial revolution. Industrial civilization character? It has brought up westerners with a strong spirit of struggle and a legal awareness of safeguarding their own interests, taking independence, freedom and equality as their life criteria.

2. Affected by geographical environment.

The closed geographical environment of the mainland makes China people's thinking confined to the mainland, and they are good at summing up the experience and lessons of their predecessors. Do you like it? Take history as a mirror? Weak sense of space. This introverted thinking leads China people to pursue stability and tranquility, lacking curiosity about new things and interest in the unknown.

Most western countries are in an open marine geographical environment with developed industry, commerce and navigation. Since ancient Greece, there has been a tradition of paying attention to studying natural objects and exploring natural mysteries. At the same time, the mountain wind, tsunami and the turbulence of the marine environment also constitute the personality of western nations that pay attention to space expansion and military conquest.

Third, the conclusion

The differences between different cultures are due to the differences in cultural and historical background and aesthetic psychology of their respective nationalities, which are established in the development of society and the precipitation of history and are a permanent cultural phenomenon. It is necessary to understand the cultural background knowledge and social customs of different regions and nationalities. With the rapid development of information technology, the world people live in is getting smaller and smaller, and there are more and more exchanges between people with different cultural backgrounds. It is of great significance for modern people to understand different cultural differences and improve their cultural adaptability. Learning to understand the differences between Chinese and western cultures is conducive to our essential leap from perceptual to rational, eliminating the influence of negative transfer of oriental thinking, and then making our cross-cultural communication more effective and smooth.

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