Cultural Differences between China and the West Part I: On Cultural Differences between China and the West Abstract: From the historical and cultural point of view, the pattern of Chinese and Western cultures from germination to now is undoubtedly unique. A theory that emphasizes group relationship and overall function and advocates big family; One emphasizes personal ability and heroism and advocates long live freedom. Under the opposition of the two cultural concepts, we must integrate their differences in consciousness and find the place of * * * at the cultural level itself, so as to facilitate the development of the whole human culture.
Keywords: difference; Values; culture
Introduction to 0
Today, Chinese and western cultures are like two irregular lines, sometimes glued and sometimes separated. They have a long history and are equally profound. Self-contained and blended with each other. However, at any time, the two are never parallel. Therefore, in the study of world culture, it is impossible to study the single culture of China and the West, but to study the Chinese and Western cultures comprehensively and systematically.
1 About Chinese and Western cultures
1. 1 definition of culture The famous anthropologist Edward Burnett Tylor defined culture as follows: "Culture or civilization is a complex whole acquired by people as members of society, including knowledge, beliefs, art, moral principles, laws, customs and other abilities and habits." This definition is quite authoritative. Here, we define culture as the sum of spiritual and material achievements produced by the interaction between human beings and the environment. This sum can include lifestyle, values, knowledge, scientific and technological achievements, and all material objects with unique humanistic characteristics that have been transformed and understood by people.
1.2 China culture definition China culture generally refers to Chinese traditional culture, which is formed by the Chinese nation in the long-term historical development and the crystallization of the collective wisdom of people of all ethnic groups in China. Han nationality is the backbone of the Chinese nation and has played an important role in the formation and development of Chinese culture. Other ethnic minorities have also made indelible contributions to China culture.
1.3 definition of western culture western culture, like eastern culture, has a long history and is full of weather. Generally speaking, it refers to a cultural system that originated in ancient Greece and Rome, was influenced by the tradition of _ _ _ _ _ in the Middle Ages, flourished during the Renaissance and the Reformation, was finally established through the Enlightenment, and flourished in Western Europe and North America in recent hundreds of years.
2 the characteristics of Chinese and Western cultures
Both Chinese and western cultures have a long history and are full of weather, and both civilizations have gone through thousands of years of development and evolution before they were formed. Up to now, countless scholars have divided various periods or eras in order to better study the two civilizations, thus dividing history into various organic and unified whole to study. Here, the author refers to the authoritative point of view, combined with his own point of view, on the basis of authoritative theory, on the premise of stage, briefly describes the respective characteristics of Chinese and western cultures, in order to better study the subject.
2. 1 Characteristics of China culture China culture created the matrix form of Chinese civilization in the Western Zhou Dynasty. During this period, the autocratic monarchy thought of "one person and many people" was established, the thought of respecting morality and valuing people began to sprout, and the patriarchal society and culture of China began to take shape in the Western Zhou Dynasty, which had a far-reaching impact on the evolution of cultural context and ideological trend in China in later generations. During the Warring States period, the concept of civilians began to rise, with Confucius, Mencius, Mozi, Laozi and Han Feizi as outstanding representatives. A hundred schools of thought contend in China. Confucianism with benevolence as the core has become the center of China culture. At the same time, Legalists and Taoists coexist. Up to now, in the course of thousands of years' development, China has formed a cultural thought view with modesty, courtesy, honesty, sensitivity and wisdom as its core and a cultural value view with "learning to be an excellent official" as its core. Generally speaking, China culture is a cultural model in which details serve the whole and highlight the overall effect.
2.2 The characteristics of western culture After the long-term rule of _ _ _ _ _ culture in the Middle Ages and the integration of Arab culture, with the emergence of the capitalist economy, there was a far-reaching Renaissance and religious reform. After the scientific revolution in17th century and the Enlightenment in18th century, modern western culture reached maturity in19th century and spread to the whole world. In the 20th century, western culture faced many challenges from both inside and outside. Modernism and postmodernism only reflect one aspect of modern western culture, showing their restless emotions, far from summarizing their whole picture. In the course of thousands of years' development, western culture has formed a cultural thought view centered on "contention" and a cultural development view centered on natural science and scientific research. Generally speaking, western culture is a cultural model that emphasizes details and individual effects.
3 Cultural differences between China and the West
3. 1 The development trend of western culture is different from that of China. Generally speaking, it belongs to a static culture and a national culture. Because of the superior geographical environment in China, people can live and produce for a long time. Therefore, this condition of living in the same place for a long time makes the family develop rapidly, and it is easy to promote the development of static cultural patterns. Family reproduction, handed down from generation to generation, family ties are becoming more and more complicated, and the phenomenon of respecting the elderly and offering sacrifices to ancestors is bound to happen under such a development model, and family concepts and patriarchal clan system are gradually formed and deeply rooted in people's hearts. So, why is China called the mother country? Because, home is a country, country is a country, and home and country are only differences in scale. Here, this static culture and home country culture directly contributed to the golden mean thought with benevolence, filial piety, courtesy and faithfulness as the core among the noble monks in China.
Western culture belongs to a dynamic culture and a culture of struggle. The three origins of western culture (ancient Greek civilization, Roman civilization and _ _ _ _) all originated from the Mediterranean coast, and the geographical environment and climate in the west contributed to a highly mobile culture. However, it is the driving force for the development of western culture to directly promote the relatively weak family concept of westerners, the development and inheritance of values such as individualism and liberalism, and the resulting sense of competition and struggle culture.
3.2 The ethical concepts in Chinese and Western cultures are different. China culture advocates family ethics standard, while western culture advocates individual standard. As mentioned above, China takes nationalism culture as the core ideology and culture, and family as the standard, so the family has the order of seniority, and the husband and wife have points. Family members should live in harmony and fulfill their obligations, that is, "from each according to his ability"! Mencius believes that saints are "human beings", and the core of human relations is "absolute obedience". The youngest son serves the dragon and the wife serves the husband. One of the reasons why family has become so important is "filial piety", which is the root and quintessence of China. China has a culture of filial piety since ancient times, and it is said that "filial piety governs the world". Affection and filial piety originally had great rational significance, but due to excessive emphasis, they eventually became an excessive sense of affection, ignoring the development of individual freedom and "preserving justice and destroying human desires."
The geographical environment and various social relations in the west lead to the rise of individualism and the relative relaxation of family and family ties. The meaning of "everyone is equal before God" fully illustrates the characteristics of western culture's pursuit of personality independence, from which chivalry and heroism prevail. No one can infringe on individual rights. They believe in individual standard and are self-centered, which makes the boundaries between relatives very clear. The AA system emphasizes children's independent life and likes to talk about their income. In his book "Italian Renaissance Culture", Burckhardt believes that only when individuals are fully developed can society be fully developed. Existentialism pushes this basic concept to the extreme, advocating that "man is absolutely free" and "others are my hell". 3.3 Chinese and Western cultures have different basic views on man and nature. Professor Du Weimin believes that "the object of China culture is people". The relationship between people is the core and basic problem of China culture. During the Warring States Period, China formed Confucianism with "benevolence" as the core, so political ethics was quite developed. Western culture pays more attention to nature, and the relationship between man and nature is the central topic of ancient Greece, from which rationality and technology are derived.
China's philosophy is a philosophy of life. Confucianism emphasizes that people should do something in society, Taoism pursues longevity, and Buddhism emphasizes people's consciousness. At the same time, a set of ethical relations between people, such as monarch and minister, father and son, has been established, and learning to be an excellent official has become the mainstream thought in China society. However, the inquiry behavior that scientific research can discover the laws of nature has not been paid attention to. In dealing with the relationship between man and nature, China culture emphasizes "harmony between man and nature" and "harmony with nature". Personalize nature and pursue the harmonious development between man and nature.
Starting from Thales' natural philosophy in ancient Greece, exploring the mysteries of nature and developing and utilizing natural resources to serve mankind have become the mainstream of European thought. The origin of western science and the exploration and study of nature have long produced scientists with eternal reputation like Pythagoras and Archimedes. On the relationship between man and nature, western culture thinks that man and nature are in a state of opposition, which leads to a different attitude towards nature from China culture, that is, man can conquer and control nature. West Renye Fang talked about the relationship between people, but the first concern was not ethics but competition, so the law of "survival of the fittest" appeared.
Chinese and western cultures have different cultural values and cultural structures.
China culture emphasizes the cultural values and overall synthesis of "expressing ambition through poetry", "expressing Tao through writing" and "the unity of man and nature". China culture pays attention to the benefits to the society and the education to the people. The majority of scholars in China studied the knowledge of Confucius and Mencius sages, and learned to be an official, in order to rule the country and level the world. "Expressing ambition by supporting things" and "expressing ambition by poetry" have become the characteristics of most of China's literary works. At the same time, it is also "characteristic of China". Modern western culture advocates "art for art's sake" and diverse cultural views. Since Kant put forward that "beauty is just a form", the statement that pure aesthetic feeling should not permeate into any desire, need or will has become the dominant trend of thought in modern western aesthetics. Croce advocates that intuition is art, and there is only one standard to measure art, and that is the artistic standard. The multicultural view in western culture includes two aspects: one is the diversity of cultural forms; The second is the diversity of cultural composition.
In terms of cultural structure, China is good at overall synthesis and emphasizes the role of the whole; The west is good at detail analysis and highlights the role of individuals. For example, in the writing order of time and address, China is used to writing by year, month and day, and the country, province and city are from the whole to the part, while the west is just the opposite. In the arrangement of surnames, Chinese surnames are clan, generation and name, with clan as the whole; In the west, surnames first come from one's own name, and then from one's father's name to one's family name, with individuals being the most prominent.
Among the important forms of Chinese and Western culture, Western culture advocates individual honor, self-centeredness, innovative spirit and individual freedom, while China culture is a group culture, advocating modesty, caring for others, helping others, selfless dedication, the golden mean and unity and cooperation.
It is worth noting that the above is not to say that China culture is immutable compared with western culture, but a closed culture. China culture emphasizes "peace and stability"; But this does not mean that it is unchangeable and closed. China's philosophy emphasizes "the unity of man and nature"; To achieve this state, we must have the mind of "all rivers run into the sea" and the development vision of "all rivers run into the sea". Therefore, the intellectuals in ancient China always emphasized the concepts of "compatibility" and "mobility". Over time, it has formed a unique inclusive and ever-changing cultural view of China &; Mdash& ampmdash "The benevolent enjoys water and the wise enjoys Leshan" is the concrete embodiment of this view.
References:
[1] Marvin &; Middot Harris. Cultural people are natural &; Mdash Introduction to General Anthropology [M]. Zhejiang People's Publishing House, 1992.
[2] Xie Xialing. History of China's political thought [M]. Higher Education Press, 2003.
[3] Gu. Comparison between Chinese and western cultures. Extensive reading, 200 1.2
[4] Feng,,, Yu. The essence of western culture [M]. Huazhong University of Science and Technology Press, 1998
Cultural Differences between China and the West Part II: On the Influence of Cultural Differences between China and the West on Etiquette Whether politically or economically, a country's understanding of the etiquette habits of the other country will be beneficial to the communication between countries. A person's understanding of each other's etiquette and folk customs is respect for each other, which can leave a good impression on each other and make the communication go smoothly.
With the continuous development of eastern and western cultures, eastern and western etiquette is merging with each other. Westerners gradually accept the reasonable factors such as attaching importance to emotion in eastern culture, and Oriental Renye Fang gradually accepts the etiquette and communication methods of advanced civilization in western culture. However, in real life, due to the cultural differences between the East and the West, there are still many influences on etiquette. Therefore, I will specifically discuss the influence of cultural differences between the East and the West on etiquette from the following aspects:
First, the influence of social differences on etiquette
Both eastern and western cultures attach great importance to interpersonal communication, but there are obvious differences in the concept and way of communication. For example, China people are hospitable and full of enthusiasm in interpersonal communication. It seems that they have nothing to keep, and take it for granted that they know age, occupation, income, marital status, children and other issues. In western countries, special attention is paid to each other's right to privacy. Personal privacy mainly includes: personal status (age, work, income, marriage, children, etc. ), political ideas (which side to support or oppose), religious beliefs (what religion to believe in), personal behavior tendencies (where to go, who to associate with, correspondence) and so on. Anyone who involves personal privacy can't ask directly. Westerners are generally unwilling to interfere in other people's private lives and personal privacy, and they are unwilling to be interfered by others. For example, many people in China will directly ask others about the price of their goods. Because in the eyes of China people, the price of an item can only explain the quality of the item.
In the eyes of westerners, if you directly ask others about the price of shopping, you may be asking about their economic conditions. Therefore, this is also the privacy of westerners, and it is not appropriate to ask directly. If you want to know the price of an item, you can only praise it euphemistically. In this case, westerners generally only tell you the price of the goods, and generally don't tell you the exact price. People in China like to ask, "Where are you going?" This is a way of greeting. In America, if you ask your friend where he is going, it may embarrass him, because it belongs to the other person's privacy and you shouldn't ask. In addition, the spatial distance of interpersonal communication can be divided into four types: intimate distance, personal distance, social distance and public distance. People in China are close in space. We can often see two China girls walking down the street arm in arm, but it is rare in the west. Westerners think that China people are too close, while China people will think that westerners are too cold, arrogant and distant, which is unfriendly. If China people find a thread on the clothes of their communication partners, they will naturally help them take it off. In the eyes of westerners, this is impolite. When Chinese people see a friend wearing a very beautiful dress, they will touch it and ask about the price or texture. Westerners don't. They are more envious and praise directly. In a word, this is all caused by the differences in cultural concepts between the East and the West. Orientals attach importance to righteousness and affection, while westerners advocate individual independence.
Second, the influence of personal outlook on life on etiquette
(1) Personal Honor and Modesty Westerners worship personal struggle, especially take pride in personal achievements, and never hide their confidence, sense of honor and ecstasy after their achievements. On the contrary, China culture does not advocate showing off personal honor, but advocating modesty and prudence. Generally speaking, most people in China object to or despise the boasting of the old woman selling melons, but the modesty or self-denial of China people often makes westerners feel dissatisfied. For example, "Your English is good" and "No, no, my English is poor"; "You did a good job." "No, I don't think so. This is the result of joint efforts. " This is of course a modest statement in the eyes of China people, but in the eyes of westerners, it denies not only oneself but also the appreciation of editors. It can be seen that this kind of Chinese modesty will not work in the competitive market of western capitalism.
(2) Self-centeredness and selfless dedication Westerners have a strong sense of self-centeredness and independence, mainly in: 1 Take responsibility for yourself. In the law of the jungle society, everyone's lifestyle and quality of life depend on their own abilities, so everyone should strive for themselves and put personal interests first; I am not used to caring and helping others, but asking others. It is precisely because of the above two points that it is often embarrassing to take the initiative to help others or accept help from others in the West. Because accepting help can only prove your incompetence, and taking the initiative to help others will be considered as interfering in other people's private affairs. China people's code of conduct is "whether I am useful to others and society", and personal value is reflected in dedication. China culture advocates a noble sentiment & mdash& ampmdash& ampmdash; selfless dedication. In China, it is a virtue to take the initiative to care for others and give them meticulous consideration. Therefore, China people are willing to take the initiative to care about their family affairs and private affairs, regardless of other people's major events, which will be considered as "meddling" in the West.
(3) The spirit of innovation and the golden mean Western culture encourages people to innovate and do something extraordinary that has never been done before. However, the traditional culture of China requires people to be impartial and mean. China people are good at predicting future dangers and are more willing to maintain the status quo and harmony. Of course, in recent years, China has also vigorously advocated innovation and reform, but the pragmatic and steady mentality is still everywhere. The spirit of adventure is still incomparable to westerners. (4) Freedom of personality, unity and cooperation Westerners cherish personal freedom very much, like to do whatever they want and go it alone, and don't want to be restricted. China culture emphasizes collectivism, advocates that individual interests are subordinate to collective interests, and advocates sharing weal and woe, unity and cooperation, and keeping pace.
Third, the influence of different legal concepts on etiquette.
Oriental culture is represented by Confucianism, which values righteousness over profit. For the friendship between brothers and friends, we can be lenient, even at all costs, and the result is often excessive behavior and loss of more due benefits. For example, people in China value human feelings and have strong human feelings. There is an old saying: "Blood is thicker than water", "Kiss or not, hometown people, beauty or not, hometown water." These words mean that human feelings affect judgment, and human feelings are more important than morality. "Water", even if it is not beautiful, is beautiful as long as it is domestic water. This is a manifestation that emotion is more important than reason. Sometimes emotion is even more important than law, which is mainly because China has always had an emotional influence on the legal system space, that is to say, in China, we stress rationality first, and then legitimacy.
If it is legal and unreasonable, it will be difficult to implement this law. If it is reasonable, there are rules to follow. Westerners are the opposite. Westerners value law, not human feelings. Law precedes reason, and reason precedes emotion. We often see father and son, husband and wife and friends in the west go to court. Some things are obviously unreasonable, but they are legal. Losers can only admit that they are unlucky, and onlookers can only tolerate them. But if something is illegal, even if it is reasonable, westerners will argue endlessly until it goes to court. In sensible China, there is a strong human touch, so you can do something, trust others and get along well. This is a natural insurance system, and it is easy for people to tide over difficulties in a difficult environment. So in China, human relations are extremely important, and life is full of family happiness. But it is also prone to injustice; In western countries with legal feelings, human feelings are like paper, which can be said to be "the voices of chickens and dogs hear each other and don't communicate with each other." If there is any contradiction, reason first, then go to court, simple and clear. Westerners are indifferent to human feelings, but fair and equal. Even a grassroots person can go to court with the Prime Minister as long as it is really reasonable and legal. Living in western countries is a bit like being rich and beautiful in the Guanghan Palace, but there is a general sense of coldness. Especially for the elderly, it is very pitiful for us in China to be lonely and walk alone.
Fourth, the influence of different social customs on etiquette.
In eastern culture, men are often highly respected, which is mainly influenced by the feudal concept that men are superior to women. In modern society, oriental culture also advocates equality between men and women, but in many cases, the status of men is still higher than that of women, and women are still discriminated against. In western countries such as Europe and America, respecting women is a traditional custom, and giving priority to women is one of the principles in communication in western countries. No matter what kind of public place, men should take care of women. For example, when shaking hands, women hold out their hands first, and then men can follow. When going to eat, the man should sit down with the woman first, and the woman should order first. When entering the door, the lady should go first. Get on and off the elevator, and the lady will wait in front. Now, with the deepening of cultural exchanges between the East and the West, the western principle of giving priority to women is also favored in the East. The blending of eastern and western cultures also makes eastern and western etiquette increasingly integrated, unified and more international.
For another example, the eastern countries, represented by China, pay special respect and filial piety to the elderly when dealing with the relationship between the old and the young. For example, in the eyes of many people in China, it is unfilial for the elderly to send their children to nursing homes or nursing homes when they get old. Children usually spend the Spring Festival with the elderly. In some rural areas of China, during the Spring Festival, the younger generation should bow to their elders. In western countries, due to the promotion of self-reliance, children have less and less contact with their parents when they are adults, which makes many old people often feel lonely and have a sense of desolation in their later years.
Fifth, the influence of grade differences on etiquette.
Oriental culture has a strong sense of hierarchy. No matter in the organization or in the family, it is unseemly to ignore rank and status. Although the hierarchy in the traditional etiquette system has been eliminated, the concept of hierarchy still has an impact on eastern culture. In China, the traditional hierarchical concept of monarch, minister and father is still deeply rooted. The father is the absolute authority in the eyes of his son, and the teacher is the absolute authority in the eyes of his students. Family background still plays an important role in people's growth. In addition, the family structure in China is more complicated, and the traditional happy family is four generations living under one roof. In such a family, the elderly help to look after the children, and the children and grandchildren help to support the elderly when they grow up. Family members depend on each other and help each other, which brings them closer to each other. In western countries, except for a few countries such as Britain, which have hereditary aristocracy and strict hierarchy, most western countries advocate the concept of equality.
Especially in America, people advocate equality. Few people are proud of their distinguished family background, and few people are ashamed of their poor family background, because they all know that as long as they work hard, they will succeed. As a popular American proverb says, "Cowboys can be presidents as long as they work hard." If you work hard, even a cowboy can be president. At home, Americans don't talk about hierarchy. Parents and children can call each other by their first names as long as they respect each other. Their family values are often weak and they are unwilling to make too many sacrifices for their families. Of course, there are still many etiquette differences caused by cultural differences between China and the West, such as dress etiquette and dining etiquette. Due to the limitation of space, it is impossible to discuss it in depth here. In a word, China and the West have their own cultural habits, which have also produced many different communication habits. Therefore, with the development of China's economy and the increasing foreign exchange and trade, we not only need to know the etiquette habits of other countries before interacting with foreigners or going to other countries, but also need to strengthen the cultivation of professional etiquette talents and improve the etiquette awareness of the whole people. This not only respects each other, but also brings convenience to oneself, which can not only avoid unnecessary troubles and misunderstandings, but also strive for initiative and obtain good results or benefits in the multi-party competition in modern society.
& gt& gt& gt More exciting "China people" are on the next page.