中西文化差异2.doc

二.
Different cultural factors may result in cultural differences, and consequently,
the acknowledgment of the factors that affect the cultural differences will facilitate the understanding of such differences, part of which will vie discuss in
the followings. Since it is impossible to cover all of the factors in this thesis, the factors discussed here are some important ones.
Factors affect cultural differences1. Cultural Background
One of the cultural different reasons between China and western is cultural background. In Spring and Autumn and Warring s periods of China emerged Confucianism, Taoism and other ideologies .As different ideologies developed and combated each other, the basic framework of Chinese civilization was established. And then
Confucianism became the foundation stone of Chinese philosophy system. Confucianism's central doctrine is that of the virtue of Ren. What is Ren? Ren is translated variously as goodness, benevolence, humanity and human-heartedness. In short, Ren means affection and love. For more than 2 thousand years it has molded and shaped the civilization of China and exerted a profound influence upon almost
one fourth of human race. Just as DR. Sun-Yat-Sen said:” Therefore the old morals of loyalty and piety, affection, and love, faithfulness and righteousness, are superior to those of the foreign countries Let alone that peace and harmony. These high standards of morals are our national spirit. "
Different from China, Christianity plays an important role in western. The English speaking countries are generally considered as Christian countries where many
people believe in Christianity. Christianity is the region based on the life and teaching of Jesus Christ. He is the founder of Christianity. According to the
doctrine of Christianity, the Trinity is the union of the three forms of God, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ the son of the God, and the holy book of
Christianity is the Bible, which consists of the Old Testament and the New Testament. However, the power of the church cannot compare with the past time, it still influence many aspects of people 's daily life. For example, there are a few
important festivals in the western is concern with Jesus Christ. Christmas day
is a festival in celebration of the birth of the Jesus Christ on Dec.25.Virgin Birth refers to the birth of Christ, which Christians believe to have been caused
by God rather than by ordinary sexual union.
2. Different valuesAnother cultural different reasons between China and western is different value
The concept of Chinese values is often consciously or unconsciously placed in opposition with Western values. Therefore, it is necessary to determine how people
define Western values. Some have stated that the modern Western value system originated in Victorian England, and describe it as social norms and behaviors common in European people during that time. The core of Western values is individualism. David Hitchcock described Western values from a Chinese perspective. He said that, from the Chinese viewpoint, Western values have three levels: 1) physical level – science, technology, business, public administration, and modern capitalist economics; 2) conceptual level – equal opportunity, the role of law; and time management; and 3) core values – open debate, equality, balance of power
; free speech, and democracy. The core of the Chinese value has some relationship with the Confucianism. The ethnic principle of Confucianism is its discovery of the ultimate in the moral character of human relationships in which Confucius
offered the solution for the ills and evils of his days. That is the well-known
Five Relationships: ruler-minister, father-son, husband-wife, elder-younger brother and friend-friend. This was explained as“There should be affection between
father and son , righteous sense of duty between ruler and minister, division of
function between man and wife, stratification between old and young, and good faith between friends.”During the more than two thousand years of the feudal period, the ruling class arrange every thing by this relationships, and then formed a class society. In this kind of society, a minister owes loyalty to his ruler
, and a child filial respect to his parent. The result is the humanity is neglected and people have no equality.
Different from China, in the Renaissance period of England, people began to emphasize the dignity of human beings and the importance of the present life, they voiced their beliefs that man did not only have the right to enjoy the beauty of
their life, but also have the ability to perfect themselves and perform wonders.
This is the rudiment of Humanism. People became respect the humanity from then
on. And then develop into the ideas of what we always said freedom, democracy. Today, take Americans for instance; the top personal values were self-reliance, hard work, and a tie between achieving success in life, personal achievement, and
helping others. Hard work, respect for learning, honesty, and self-reliance were most valued among Chinese people. In terms of social values, the top six for Americans were freedom of expression, personal freedom, rights of the individual,
open debate; thinking for oneself, and official accountability. The top six social values for Asian people were maintenance of an orderly society, harmony, accountability of public officials, openness to new ideas, freedom of expression, and respect for authority. This study finds that unlike Americans, East Asians are generally more respectful of authority and prize an orderly society, however in concurrence with the West, Asians honor new ideas, official accountability, and free expression.
3.Individualism and Collectivism
Individualism refers to the doctrine that the rights of the individual are the
most important ones in a society. Most westerners believe that each person has
his own separate identity and personality, which should be recognized and reinforced. Therefore, one cannot comprehensive western and its people without understanding individualism. Only with the cognition of individualism can we understand
how westerners conceptualize family, friendships, and privacy. The core of individualism is the pursuit of personal and achievements. It is highly valued, earnestly believes and well appreciated as a fundamental social virtue. In Christianity traditions, individuals are important not only to each other, but also to the society and God. Individualism has been handed down from their ancestors. Therefore, to westerners, individualism is not selfishness but rather virtue. They emphasize individualism so much that they believe that there must be something wrong with someone who fails to demonstrate individualism. That likes the sentence
“God helps those who help themselves.”However to Chinese people , the word“individualism”is related to the derogatory meaning as egoism, with represents selfishness in quality and looseness in discipline. In traditional Chinese beliefs, esp. in Confucianism, collectivism is appreciated. It emphasizes cooperation
among group members and individual success is due to the collective effort of the staff in a unit, an organization or a community. The sacrifice of individual interest for that of the collective is a noble quality eulogized so much by Chinese people that being modest and thoughtful of others are highly praised.
4. FamilyWestern families advocate equality. The husband and the wife usually have an equality voice in decision-making, and on certain matters, the children, too, have
a vote. Family members are regarded as friend and they should treated equality in daily life. In the western, most old people do not live with their children or
relatives. If they have enough money they will buy house or apartments in places where other old people live .If they do not healthy and strong enough to live
alone, they would rather live in nursing houses for old people than be taken by
their children. Therefore they want to stay young because youth stands for hope
and energy, which can help them make some positive changes in life. Moreover, they do not like to grow old because they will not gain honor, respect or attention as old people. Case are different in China, where most Chinese family members
tend to live together and the young are supposed to show respect and obedience to old people. Generally, old people receive honor, privilege and satisfaction since people believe that an old person is a wise man full of experience. The typical example is that the oldest person is the most respected not only in the family but also in the neighborhood. Just as Confucianism shows in Five Relations, the young should filial love, obedience and duty to the old in a family, esp. in
the relationship between children and parents. For example, the Chinese who have
moved abroad usually continue to send money back to their parents as a token of
their filial piety. Moreover, many young people still try to live near their parents whenever possible even after they are marriage. Westerners stress individualism in families while Chinese stress coalition, which makes the Chinese family
extremely cohesive. Family members depend on each other for support and they are required to show loyalty to the family and bring demonstrated virtuous behavior, then the whole family loses face. The meaning of “face” should view in relation to the gain or loss of the social status of the family, not just of the individual. That is to say that Chinese culture emphasizes the collective quality in the nature of individual’s life and behavior. Generally speaking, the Chinese
have a stronger sense of family honor than westerners.
5.Nationalism
The fifth reason is the nationalism. Since the ancient China, the nation form of China is based solely on the Han nationality. What we said social etiquette standards are also based solely on The Han nationality. The Han nationality developed their privities in the language expression and social contact during the common life and work of their forefathers in the history. Just a subtle facial expression or a slight action can express some meanings. People can understand what
you want to say when you say half of you comment or just say a little things .So
people do not need to say all their intention when they express their own feelings. While in western, take the America for instance; America is a immigrant country which has more than 2 hundred years history. However, people in America still cannot reach privities. They must express clearly what they thought, want. Only by this way can the others understand very well. So their language must speak
out what they have to say.
三.
How to Learn Western Culture1. Establish a right attitude toward cultural differencesAttitude is a manner of feeling and behaving. It can form a part of one’s perception of self, of others, and of the culture in which one is living. A foreign language learner should set up a right attitude toward different culture. i.e., to be open-minded to them. Prejudice should be avoided. Prejudice in culture refers to an intolerant, unfair or biased attitude toward another culture. Regardless of the existence of Prejudice, cross-cultural communication may become difficult because it stands in the way of acquired knowledge in it. When facing a new culture, people should be flexible and able to adapt themselves to the new situation.“Do as the Romans do is an effective way for those who are experiencing cultural differences. Therefore., being open-minded to cultural difference is a prerequisite to a successful communication with native speakers.
2. Reading extensively for cultural informationHaving the successful communication is the main purpose of English. The cultural
information that the students need in authentic communication greatly exceeds that covered in any courses. To developed people’s communication competence, people should read authentic materials such as foreign newspapers, advertisements,
journals, short stories, novels, plays and other types of literature works. Literary works are of great significance to foreign language learners. In many cultures, particularly those whose languages are widely taught, literature performs an important role in society. They can reflect a culture, help readers gain deeper insights into the target society, enable them to have a better understanding go the national character of the people who produce the literature, and of the values they cherish. If we regard literature as a treasures house, then paying a visit to it will enable us to absorb cultural information stored in it. Informative works relevant to national character studier are another source of cultural information. Historians, sociologists and anthropologists, who engage themselves
in the study of the target society, usually write these books. Foreign language
learners can benefit a lot from these books since the books provide them with a
detailed explanation of the people’s character in the target culture. There are
some other reading materials, which are related closely to our daily life, such
as newspapers and magazines. Because most contents of these materials are authentic, they expose to us various cultural backgrounds, ranging from geography, history, customs, religion and philosophy, to entertainment, fashion and tourism.
This kind of reading materials will help foreign learners get a better understanding of the target culture and keep a keen eye on it.
3.Learn culture through TV and moviesIt is even more so for western culture learners because they come to know the truth of native speakers’ behaviors on the screen. Foreign language learners can
get a vivid picture of what the people’s life is like in the target culture. With the popularity of TV, they can obtain news all over the world, watch and enjoy movies in original versions of the target language at home. Such movies help foreign language learners with their vocabulary, listening ability as well as their awareness of cultural differences. Form the observation through the media, the features of everyday situations will impress them, such as, sightseeing, telephoning, shopping, or asking directions. What they have learned from books can be
verified by the performance of the native speakers. While enjoying the attractive performance, language learners have to observe details of everyday situations
, in case of greeting, farewell, compliment, apology, requirement, etc. Though the media people can learn the polite behavior, etiquette, means to solve conflicts, techniques of negotiation, debates, ways of show love, dating and so on. Movies can also improve cross-cultural communication by conveying the important values, communication styles and so on. After watching movies, foreign language learners may take notes of their observations, and supplem