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1、Chinese and Western cultural differences What is the culture?As people said, it is the same custom, habits, minds and the way of thinking people would have in the same environment. So, culture is not the character of one person, but the product of many persons who have the same society experience, a
2、nd the same education. Different cultural factors may result in cultural differences, and consequently. With China entry the WTO and will hold the Olympic Games in 2008, the relationship between China and Western in politics, economy, culture will become more and more close.In the following, we will
3、 look at some cultural different between China and western. It is undoubtedly that the etiquette will play an important role in this question. To the definition of etiquette, China and Western have a different understanding. As Chinese thinks that the etiquette is the common behavior standards that
4、all the members must obey, and its purpose is to keep the normal living order of the society. We start with the language. There are fixed sayings to express thanks and sorry in both Chinese and English. Cultural differences exist between Chinese and western in how to express thanks and responses. “T
5、hank you” is widely used in English to show gratitude in such cases as being invited, helped, given a gift,and so on. In fact, “Thank you” is uttered in English for more than acknowledging favor or gratitude, and it is often a means to show politeness.On many occasions, the English use this utteranc
6、e while the Chinese may do not say a word at all but just smile or nod. We use thank you occasion for less than the Westerners, in particular, are very close friends and family members rarely say thank you. So in Chinese, “Thank you” not only shows politeness but also carries a persons grateful feel
7、ing for those who offer help. In the other hand, English speakers may respond to “Thank you ” by saying : You are welcome or its my pleasure/ Not at all/ Dont mention it/Thats all right. While Chinese people may say:“I should do it,which may tell westerners the message by mistake that the Chinese di
8、d not really want to do it, or that he did it only because it wall his duty.It is easy to cause misunderstanding. When people meet acquaintances or friends, people usually greet each other. The purpose of greeting is to establish or maintain social contact. In English, people often use the following
9、 expressions to greet each other “Good morning/evening/afternoon. “Fine day, isnt it? ”How is everything going?”etc. While in Chinese, we always say “Have you eaten the meal?”Where are you going ?”What are you going to do?”to show our consideration. But westerners treat them as real question. They w
10、ould think you would like to invite him to dinner, or to interfere in their personal lives, and give rise to misunderstanding. That extends an other problem-asking personal affairs. People from China do not regard it as asking personal affairs when they ask others name、year、marital status、wages、pers
11、onal life、belief and political points. It is regard as concerns. While the westerns will think you infringe their right of privacy.Both western and Chinese people have two kinds of personal names-a surname and a given name. But the order and the use of these names in the two languages are somewhat d
12、ifferent. In Chinese, the surname comes first and then the given name last. While westerners names are written and spoken with the given name first and the family name last. So Jenny Greens family name is Green, not Jenny. In our family, we call mother and father mom,dad to show our respect to them.
13、 Children call their parents surname to be close to them in west which is usually not allowed in our country.And there is an other difference in etiquette is food. In China, food is aimed at see,smell and taste good, but in west, people think more highly of the nutrition. Their fast food such as KFC
14、,Mcdonalds are also popular here because of their convenience and delicious taste. The difference of food result to the different catering culture. Before the meal, we sit around the table wait the cook to prepare the dishes. When it done, we can choose what we like, the dishes is not belong to anyo
15、ne present. We use the chopsticks to get the food when westerners use knifes and forks. We like to get together to talk about the interesting topic in lively and harmony environment when people in west like to be more quite and elegant. They sit separately and dont like to make any noise on the tabl
16、e.The cook will divide the food for everyone, and people only eat food in their own plate. Different cultures also result the difference in peoples thinking and the method of the education.The different Westerners, a strong sense of equality, whether rich or poor, everyone will respect themselves an
17、d not allow others to infringe upon their rights. At the same time, everyone can fully respect others. In the United States, few people in their own pride in a prominent family background, but also very few people came with their own poor ashamed of, because they know that, as long as our own effort
18、s, there will certainly be able to achieve success. As the United States a popular says: If working hard, even a cowboy can be president. Although the establishment of New China for nearly six decades, but the traditional ruler and subject, father and son the sense of hierarchy in China, is still de
19、eply rooted in peoples minds. In our primary and senior high school, we have little chance to debate with our teachers. The way we respect the elder is to follow their advise. American family structure is relatively simple: parents and minor children, called nuclear families. Once the children get m
20、arried, you have to move away from the economy also must be independent. Parents are no longer obliged to support their children. This approach to young people to provide maximum freedom and develop their ability to live independently, but also far away from the family relationship. Chinese-style fa
21、mily structure more complex, the traditional family is four generations living under one roof well-being. In such families, the elderly to help look after children, children and grandchildren grow up to help maintain the elderly, family members rely on each other and help each other, This is called
22、the boomerang kid phenomenon when it happens in west. In the other hand, this lifestyle is not conducive to nurturing young peoples independence. Chinese and Western cultural differences are also reflected in many other ways, not only in etiquette and education. Confucianism became the foundation st
23、one of Chinese philosophy system. Confucianisms central doctrine is that of the virtue of Ren. In short, Ren means affection and love,goodness, benevolence, humanity and human-heart. For more than 2 thousand years it has shaped the civilization of China.Different from China, Christianity plays an im
24、portant role in western. The English speaking countries are generally considered as Christian countries where many people believe in Christianity. Christianity is based on the life and teaching of Jesus Christ. He is the founder of Christianity.Their important festival Christmas dayis a festival in
25、celebration of the birth of the Jesus Christ on Dec.25. Ours is the Spring Festival. In the important days, either Chinese or westerners get together with their families and have a happy time. The cultural differences also reflected in the way of music, paintings and construction. Chinese music is m
26、ore towards the dancing vigor, and the westerners is towards harmony and so it is the construction. And west paintings are aimed at the space of the scenery, and they tend to be more stereo and realistic, and you will feel you are in the environment the painter create. But Chinese paintings take mor
27、e important in the feelings of people to the scenery. You must use your heart to taste the spirits of the painter. To sum up, Chinese and Western cultural differences reflected in the way of thinking is the difference between abstract and concrete, reflecting the attitude of life can be understood as Westerners seem to be more practical, the number of Chinese people attach more importance to a number of spiritual experience. So, being aware of the difference contributes to leap over the gap between Chinese and westerners.
