中西文化差异.doc

内蒙古大学外国语学院英语专业学年论文分 类 号 -单位代码 学 号 密 级 本科学年论文 The Cultural Differences betweenChina and Western Countries中西文化差异院（系）名称 外国语学院 专业名称 英语语言文学 年 级 _ 2009级 学生姓名 _ _ 指导教师 _ 2012年8月25日中 文 摘 要东方人与西方人都是共同生活在一个地球上，但是，彼此的生活习惯、文化等却存在着很大的差异。中国悠久历史5000年，西方世界五六百年的社会历程。中国有灿烂丰富、博大精深的饮食文化；西方国家则有精巧专维、自成体系的饮食文明。这些差异不仅仅体现在历史之久远，而且在其他的各个方面都反映的淋漓尽致。改革开放以来，越来越多的中国人涌入西方国家， 不过他们的目的是什么，但是他们的初衷就是想和外国人相处的更好。然而，好大一部分中国人都不知道在外国要怎么表现才算得体。我觉得在去西方国家之前，应该做的第一件事情就是学习外国人的行为方式并且关注这些国家。如此一来，中西文化差异将在这篇论文里显示出来。 关键词：中西文化；文化差异；ABSTRACTEasterners and westerners are living together on one earth. However, they greatly differ from each other in habits, customs, culture, and every other aspect. China has a long history of 5000 years; while the western countries only go through five or six hundred years of social process. China has brightly rich, broad and profound diet culture; while western countries have exquisite and systematized diet civilization. These differences can not only be inflected by history, but also exposed vividly in other aspects. With the carrying out of Reform and Opening up Policy and the globalization of economy, an increasing number of Chinese swarm into western countries. No matter what their real purposes are, it is their hope that they can get along well with those foreigners. However, large amounts of Chinese have no idea about what they can exert themselves to. In my opinion, the first thing you need to do before your going to western countries is to learn how westerners behave and what you should pay attention to in those countries. Therefore, some differences in social communication between western countries and China will be shown in this paper.Key words: Chinese and western culture; cultural differences; Table of ContentsINTRODUCTION.1Chapter AN INTRODUCTION TO CHINESE CULTURE AND A DREAM OF RED MANSIONS.31.1 Chinese culture.31.2 A Dream of Red Mansions.4Chapter TEA CULTURE.62.1The position of tea in Chinese culture.6 2.2Tea cultures in A Dream of Red Mansions .7Chapter SPIRITS CULTURE.93.1 Chinese spirits culture.93.2 Spirits culture in A Dream of Red Mansions.10CONCLUSION. 12NOTES.13BIBLIOGRAPHY.14The Cultural Differences betweenChina and Western CountriesINTRODUCTIONChina, as one of the four ancient civilizations, has the ancient vicissitudes of history. On this piece of land, Chinese people have been living from generation to generation, inheriting and carrying forward the excellent traditional culture. As Chinese and western communication are more and more frequent, the two culture with different backgrounds unavoidably produce some collision, and also in these collisions, they greatly influence each other.With the continuous development of science and technology, the communication between human is becoming increasingly frequent, which brings the globalization of economy, production, culture, and other aspects. China has joined the WTO, and won the host country of 2008 Olympic Games. These facts undoubtedly will further deepen the exchange of Chinese and western culture. Chinese culture, with 5000 years civilization, comes into contact with the foreign culture, and there must be some collision and impact, which are embodied in various aspects: from daily life to customs, from the speech manners to the way of thinking. In this changing age, only by knowing the difference between Chinese and western culture, students can lay the solid foundation for the further cultural exchange, and can better adapt to the development of the society. The teacher ought to teach knowledge, at the same time, they should timely guide students to understand all kinds of cultural backgrounds of western countries, making students combine language knowledge, language skills and cultural knowledge together, so as to cultivate the students to have good ability of cross-cultural communication in the language communication. The dissimilarities in social communication between western countries and China mainly exist in such aspects as addressing, greeting, praising, visiting, parting, and giving a present. And all aspects of these differences will be expounded respectively in the following paragraphs.Chapter DIFFERENCES1.1 Differences in Addressing and Names There are too many differences between the names of westerners and Chinese. In the process of international interaction, we must learn the differences of Chinese and western culture in names and addressing, so as to promote the success of cross-culture business. It takes no effort to find these obvious differences.In western countries, children usually call their elders directly using their name. For example, one may address adults including the father, mother, or even the grandparents by their given names. However, in the eyes of Chinese, there is no doubt that this kind of appellation should be fervently condemned as a result of its violation of the so-called filial duty, which has been dominant in the minds of Chinese for thousands of years.Another point is that the names of westerners differ from that of Chinese. Although both of them are mainly made up of two parts, the order of the two parts is just on the contrary. For example, Carlos Solis and Ann Read, Solis and Read are family names, which are put behind the given names; while Chinese name is not like this. Family name is always before given names, such as Han Meimei. Han is the family name, which is followed by Meimei, given name.1.2 Differences in Way of ModestyIt is well-known that modesty has been our conventional virtue from the very beginning of our ancestors, so we Chinese seldom agree to the compliment on ourselves. Virtually, modesty is also seen among westerners, too. However, their way of expressing modesty differs dramatically from ours. I heard a story told about an American and a young Chinese lady. You look beautiful today. said the American. Where, where, answered the young lady in an extremely humble tone. It was fortune that the American replied artfully by Everywhere. which avoided the ladys possible awkwardness. Usually, the ladys proper answer had better be Thank you! or Thank you for saying so!”In our daily life, such stories take place every day. We hardly admit others praises on ourselves. But this phenomenon sometimes may confuse westerners. They dont know what we are talking about, thus the atmosphere may become embarrassing when carrying a conversation. But if a Chinese people say you are beautiful, and you answer by “Thank you!”, you will be thought to be as proud as a peacock. This is a result of the cultural differences. They differ from each other in the way of modesty.1.3 Differences in Way of Greeting Greeting is also an important part of culture. Chinese people usually greet each other by shaking hands or nodding heads, however, westerners are likely to kiss each other on the face to show their welcome, which is not accepted among Chinese. In our minds, kiss usually shows love, and people never use it to greet people. It is appropriate to ask how westerners greet to each other when they meet each other. When coming face to face, Chinese usually adopt greeting words like Where are you going? or Have you eaten yet? But if you greet westerners in the same way, most of them will definitely feel puzzled and be likely to misunderstand you. For instance, when hearing the question Have you eaten yet? westerners will regard it as an invitation to dinner in all likelihood. And it is not safe to say Where are you going? which will probably displease them because they are under the impression that you intend to encroach their privacy. Apart from this, addressing can be regarded as a way of greeting by Chinese. For example, if one Chinese student happens to meet his or her teacher on campus, he or she may greet that teacher by using Teacher! to show respect to the teacher. However, it is quite different in English-speaking countries like America and Britain. In those countries, if you greet the teacher in this way, the teacher will think that you want to talk with him or her. So we can see, the way of Chinese greeting is more or less conventional, while that of westerners is somewhat open.1.4 Differences in Visiting In China, we usually make arrangements spontaneously. Today you want to see your grandma. No problem! Go to grandmas place now. Nobody will mind, besides, grandma will be very happy to see your visit. No time limit, you dont need to afraid of being late. In English-speaking countries, you had better make an appointment before paying a visit to whoever it is. Otherwise, the host will feel unpleasant in that your unexpected visit disorders their arrangements .Though you have made an appointment, you should master the time properly. Thats to say, youd better arrive at the hosts house on time. But Americans are accustomed to arrive 3 to 5 minutes in advance or 10 minutes late in order to give the hostess enough time for make-up or dressing. When its time to say farewell to the host, the manner and rhythm vary distinguishably from one culture to another. It is common that Chinese say Go slowly, walk slowly, come again. to show appropriate feeling that they are expecting the guests next visit though sometimes it is not the hosts true feeling. Compared with Chinese, westerners will indicate to the host their idea to leave 10 to 20 minutes earlier. For example, the guest may say I guess I must be going soon. I have to pick up my children. Then they will continue to talk for another 10 or more minutes before the guest really leaves. And they prefer to say See you later. or Goodbye! to each other.1.5 Differences in Giving a Present It is greatly appreciated that courtesy demands reciprocity in China. And Chinese regard the value of the gift as a criterion to measure your respect toward the gift receiver. However, the westerners, especially Americans, pay much more attention to the meaning of the gift rather than the mundane value. I remember my friend Sun received a birthday present, which is just a common card from our foreign teacher. At that time, I held that Americans were so mean. But now I realize how stupid my thought was. The attitudes toward the present also differ between westerners and Chinese. Chinese will pretend to decline the present in front of the person who gives it. But in English culture, people will unfold the present immediately and express their appreciation to others. Otherwise, the other side will be probably under the impression that you do not value his or her present at all.In English culture, people are accustomed to give flowers as present. The number and color of flowers are very essential to them. It is universally acknowledged among western people that white flowers or even numbers of flowers will bring them misfortune. Besides, its inappropriate to give flowers mixed with white and red to patients as a present.1.6 Differences in marriage and wedding Chinese marriage is full of Chinese traditional color. It will take several steps. First, the man needs to find a matchmaker to propose a marriage. If the woman is willing to permit, the man should prepare some presents to propose. After the proposal, the matchmaker will ask for the womens birth date to make a marriage divination. After some time, the good news of marriage divination will spread to the woman; along with the news, the mans bride price will be sent to the womans home. Then they will choose an auspicious day to hold a wedding.The wedding is usually held at the mans place. Every place is decorated by red cloth, red flowers. The bride and bridegroom are dressed in red, too. The whole atmosphere is burst with happiness. The bride and the bridegroom need to kowtow three times, besides, they should serve tea for elders.While in western countries, marriages are not so complicated as this. They just fall in love freely and have a satisfying marriage. Weddings in western countries are very serious and romantic. The bride and bridegroom dont need to be dressed in red. The bride wears suit, and the bridegroom wears beautiful wedding dress. Extremely marvelous! Whats more, the wedding is held in church, not at home. 1.7 Differences in diet customs Usually, Chinese people have a meal with others in a manner of sharing. They share all the table dishes. This is probably originated from a kind of collective thought, which emphasizes”together”. Westerners dont like sharing food. Each person order his or her own dishes. It shows the respect of the otherspersonality. After serving, each person has a plate. They eat separately. Besides, they never pay the bills emulatively like Chinese, instead, they go dutch. In addition to what we mentioned above, we can also easily notice that the tableware of Chinese and westerners are of greatly difference. Chinese like using chopsticks, while westerners are fond of knives and folks. Chinese people eat at round tables, which show the warmth of getting together, while westerners like square tables. Different culture brings about different habits.Chinese table manners reflect a spirit of modesty. At the party, everyone will wait for the master. Only when the master asks guests to eat dinner, the party begins. When new dishes come, please let the master, honoree and seniors to eat first to show respect. Western-style food dining shows the spirit of beauty. It demands the whole dining process not only delicious to the taste, pleasing to the eyes, but also pleasant. First of all, not only should properly dress, but also required to wear dress, and to have dignified posture. Besides, never make noises while eating. If you want to speak to someone, just whisper to each other instead of talking loudly.Chapter THE REASONS OF DIFFERENCESThe differences in social communication mainly derive from various factors. Therefore, it does good to acknowledge these factors. Following are these factors:2.1 Conventional ConceptThe most important factor is the conventional concept which leads to the differences in social communication (Zhang Yan, 2009:6) by assertion:“Confucianism, whose core is mercy and modesty, has been the dominant thought in China since ancient times. While condemned by many critics, it is still deep-rooted in the minds of Chinese. Different from Chinese culture, Christianity plays a very important role in western countries. Westerners widely believe that all of them are sons of the Father, and everyone is created equal.” Spontaneously, they deem that their appellations should be equal, too. Chinese people like to think problems in a quite conventional way. They dont want to take any risk. They can not get rid of the conventional concept. Thus, their way of thinking has changed. Gradually, the way of doing things has become a safe and conventional trace. At last, differences became obvious. 2.2 Education In China, students are educated to act in a fixed way. For instance, only after they raise their hands can they answer the questions given by the teacher because thats a regulation in class. To be entirely different, western students are freer in their class. There is no need for them to raise hands or stand up to answer questions at all. Naturally, the conception of regulation goes deep into the minds of Chinese students day by day; on the contrary, the idea of freedom gets ingrained in the minds of western students progressively. There are many differences in education between China and the western developed countries, and these differences are reflected in various forms. Now we can make a comparison of advanced education and vocational education between China and western countries.American university the carry out the credit system, the student can sign up the courses according to their interests, different courses have different credits. As long as the credits reach demands, students can get diplomas and degrees. Previously, we see from the newspapers that the college students in United States had already made a few degree at a young age.We even dont believe it. Now we just understand that the system of American university is very flexible, during school, college students can study a few professional courses at the same time. As long as they get enough credits, they are able to obtain the professional degree. In China, the professional direction is fixed in universities. Students may be engaged in one profession for a whole lifetime, so that the potential of other aspects may be ignored. Also, in China, students are often ranked according to their grades, but in the United States, they think its very impolite, and it is regarded as a kind of discrimination.The differences are not just in school education, but also reflected in family education. In China, parents usually make decision for their children. They