浅谈中美文化差异论文

10 Major Cultural Differences Between China and the United States of AmericaIt is always interesting to study other cultures, and it is extremely important to do just that if you are going to have interactions with them. You don’t want to insult someone, embarrass yourself, and your own culture. Sincere study of a culture is the only way to truly appreciate the differences.These differences do not make either culture better or worse than the other one. It just shows their differences which has been created through centuries of history and development. China can trace their traditions and customs for thousands of years. America is still a nation that has had very few traditions of its own, but has become such a melting pot of cultures that there is almost no specific American culture. This makes both cultures unique, worthy of study, and respect.So, being an American what do I see as the 10 biggest cultural differences between the two countries? American culture used to be much more concerned with moral behavior, respect, and reputation. Unfortunately, we have fallen far from what we once were.1. Social Structure – In China the social structure is formal and hierarchical(分等级的）. You know where you fit in the structure and you abide by the rules there. There is no crossing into other areas. In America, it is much more loose and informal. It is not uncommon to see those of various social levels socializing and knowing each other. There are very few lines that socially are not allowed to be crossed. This can cause problems in business relationships if the visiting culture is unaware of it.2. Confrontation/Conflict– If you are planning on conducting business in China or expecting an extended stay, it might be useful to know that the direct way that most Americans approach issues is not the way to go in China. Direct conflict or confrontation（对质） over issues is highly frowned upon. Doesn’t matter that the “truth” needs to be spoken, respect and honor to each person supersedes that. To prove a point and show yourself in the right even over business issues is considered shameful and should be avoided.3. Self –The Chinese looks more at the group collective than at individualism. America has become known for its push of individualism which has been a source of conflict with other cultures that look collectively. A person from China is more prone to look at how their acts affect the whole instead of how it affects them personally. They are more willing to give up and sacrifice for the greater good. America’s individualism has been its backbone and the reason for its success as a world power, but when visiting China it needs to be reined in.4. Face/Reputation– Reputation of the individual is very important in China. If an action will humiliate someone or ruin a reputation, it is avoided. When shame occurs, the person sacrifices their job or whatever it is that will heal the shame. In America, reputations come and go overnight and in the end usually does not matter. The end result is more of the focus. A person is more likely to overlook a reputation to get the job done.5. Business Relations – When doing business in China, be prepared for much socializing. Business becomes secondary as the parties get to know each better. If it delays a contract, that is perfectly acceptable as long as the correct social time is allotted for. In America, business associates are usually more aloof. There might be some social gathering but the business is more important and the socializing will be sacrificed to get the job done if needed. Though there seems to be shift in America regarding this. The recognition of networking is becoming more pronounced.6. Morals –Chinese society places high values on the morals of their people. Marriage is not encouraged until the late twenties. In fact, dating is discouraged early in a young adult’s life and proprieties are expected to be held up. The American culture is much more relaxed and some could even argue that there needs to be more moral emphasize.7. Recognition of the Dead – One of the time honored traditions of the Chinese is the recognition of the dead. Once a year, all members of a family visit the gravesites of each ancestor and pay their respects. Honoring ancestors is very important in Chinese culture. This is in direct contrast to most Americans who rarely know where the majority of their ancestors are laid to rest. This might be due to the fact that most Americans are immigrants who either have lost the information on grave locations or the locations are in foreign countries. China’s culture is much older and the percentage of immigration is far less.8. Humility –Humility is a revered virtue in Chinese culture. The success of one’s business or personal life is downplayed while in America the successes are lauded. Most Americans in the fast business world consider humility a sign of weakness. This can be an issue that hurts inter-cultural relations. Be very sensitive to comments and actions in the presence of another culture.9. Time Sensitivity – Crossing cultures for business can be frustrating when it interferes with getting the job done. Most Americans are very time sensitive when it comes to meetings and deadlines. If the meeting was to commence at 2:00, then all parties are to be present at that time. The Chinese do not view time as an absolute but more as a suggestion. Concern is not expressed for a meeting starting late or ending at a different time. The same can be applied to deadlines. If a report is due on Friday, an American would be waiting for that report to be received before end of business day. The Chinese would not worry if it showed up several days later.10. Respect –Being sensitive to another person’s needs is very important in Chinese culture. It is expected that you will respect the other person and treat them well.

Chinese and Western cultural differences in the performance of every aspect of daily life from the greeting 、 term diet and cultural differences in the way of thinking in the abstract, such as differences everywhere, from the West focus on the following colors to express the difference between Chinese and Western cultural differences in areas such as a wedding set. First, in the West to express the color difference Different colors in different languages is not expressed in the same way. The representative of China in a sense, the West has a meaning that even the "color" to understand the meaning of the contrary. (A) red (red) Whether in China or in the English-speaking countries, often in red and festive celebrations or day-related. Calendar, red font used these days, therefore, red letter day: refers to the "Day" or "happy occasion." It also refers to the red "liabilities" or "loss" because people are always negative in red to register. So there are these phrases: red figure deficit in the red loss In common with the Chinese "red" words, translated into English, may not necessarily use the "red" for example: brown sugar brown sugar red wine red wine (B) yellow Yellow in English and Chinese in the extended meaning of the differences are considerable. In English, yellow can be said that the "timid, cowardly, despicable," meaning, for example: a yellow dog despicable, cowardly people a yellow livered coward Chinese yellow symbol of the term is sometimes vulgar, vulgar and obscene, indecent indecency means, such as yellow film, erotica, yellow CD, and so on. These in the name of "yellow" in English and "yellow" has nothing to do. However, in another English word blue is the color used to indicate the kind of meaning in Chinese, such as the blue jokes (dirty joke), blue films (yellow film). Second, the cultural differences in Western wedding First of all, in Western wedding culture and the first in the West in thinking about the differences: the Chinese people more conservative, like excitement, more old-fashioned thinking, so in the history of China for thousands of years the entire wedding customs did not change much. The thinking in the West is more open to the requirements of the wedding will be lower, they will be the climax of the wedding in the church: the sacred as the "wedding march" into the red carpet, Jiao Mei's father, the bride linked hands Rose walked slowly to the groom, the bride's father, daughter to the groom's hand on hand, her daughter's life will be entrusted to the groom, all eyes followed the couple, filled with well-being in their face. Second, the result of cultural differences wedding in the West because the West in a different religion. China is mainly Buddhist, but the West is mainly Christian. Therefore, the Western wedding is to be held in the church and the priest is Zhuhun Ren. China's traditional customs of the most important part of the Bai Tiandi is, the worship heaven and earth even after the ceremony has become.中西方文化差异表现在方方面面，从日常生活的打招呼用语、饮食文化等差异到思维方式等抽象方面的差异无所不在，下面着重从中西方颜色表达的差异，中西方婚礼文化差异等方面阐述。 一、中西方颜色表达的差异 不同颜色在不同语言中表达的方式并不一样。在中国代表一种意义，在西方又表示一种涵义，甚至对“颜色”的涵义理解恰恰相反。（一）red（红色）无论是在英语国家还是在中国，红色往往与庆祝活动或喜庆日子有关。日历中，这些日子常用红色字体，因此，red letter day：指的是“纪念日”或“喜庆的日子”。红色还指“负债”或“亏损”，因为人们总是用红笔登记负数。于是就有了这些词组：red figure赤字 in the red亏损汉语中常用的带“红”字的词语，翻译成英语，可不一定用“red”例如：红糖brown sugar 红酒red wine （二） yellow黄色在英语和汉语中的引申含义差别比较大。英语中，yellow可以表示“胆小、卑怯、卑鄙”的意思，例如：a yellow dog 可鄙的人，卑鄙的人a yellow livered 胆小鬼汉语中黄色一词有时象征低级趣味、色情庸俗、下流猥亵的意思，如黄色电影、黄色书刊、黄色光碟等等。这些名称中的“黄”与英语中的“yellow”无关。然而，英语中另一个颜色词blue却常用来表示汉语中这类意思，如blue jokes（下流的玩笑）， blue films（黄色电影）等。 二、中西方婚礼文化差异 首先，中西方婚礼文化差异首先和中西方人在思维方面的差异有关：中国人比较保守，喜欢热闹，思维较古板，所以在中国历史几千年的时间里整个婚礼的习俗并没有多大的变化。而西方人的思想则比较开放，对于婚礼的要求也比较低，他们婚礼的高潮则是在教堂中：随着神圣的《婚礼进行曲》步入鲜红的地毯，娇美的新娘挽着父亲手捧玫瑰慢慢向新郎走去，新娘的父亲将女儿的手放在新郎的手上，将女儿的一生托付给新郎，所有人的目光注视着这对新人，幸福洋溢在他们的脸上。其次，造成中西方婚礼文化差异的原因是中西方不同的宗教。中国是以佛教为主，而西方则是基督教为主的。所以西方的婚礼是在教堂中举行而主婚人则是神甫。中方的传统婚俗中的最重要环节就是拜天地，拜了天地以后就算是礼成了。

一，对生命的态度oZg/Tg3q-l u6E%P#znGs 王国权：m8v9?!Gd B ]+|#o Oy:CE4xw$q*q't$~J 美国：生命是珍贵而可爱的，不论任何人的生命，甚至动物包括宠物和野生动物在内的生命都同样珍贵可爱。无论以多合理的口实消去一个生命都使一般人痛苦和难以接受。j[.Co7T&wrW t {_)TLL3o 中国：生命是廉价而无谓的，可以为某种崇高目的光荣牺牲。“人死如灯灭”。死一个好人固然可惜，死一个坏人就很痛快，死一个乞丐呢，可能无动于衷。动物的生命则基本上不算生命，野生动物也可以随意杀戮以享口福。fm ]dJ$^4LC9JqG;t二，对人的态度5X2p#b0A6Z7Uj1p P#P N1b4{(x4mNMT8v9T \美国：人本位，人是受尊敬的名词。只要有一个人站在道路中央，不论他是白人黑人高官百姓，所有过往车辆必须小心避让或停步。一个人攻击另一个人，不管是辱骂殴打或是诬陷暗算，即使受攻击的一方再无能再愚蠢再有错误，也都为舆论所不容，为法律所追究，哪怕你有钱有权势。民意始终受到尊重。]@e:KvMsE l^ Y$TT@5n 中国：官本位，官是受尊敬的名词。如果一个人站在道路中央，过往车辆将先搞清他官阶的大小，再决定自己礼让的尺度。礼让度可以随官位由高到低从有到无向下递减，从几条街外就交通管制递减到“撞死活该，谁让他违反交规”。如果一个人的名字前面没有官衔，其价值可以被视同草芥蝼蚁，无论他的建议多有道理都等于零。而他一旦有了官阶步步升高，即使说出再愚蠢的屁话，也正确高明。法律裁判向官员倾斜。t msX R$gXHp|s$cz@ 三，对生活的态度y,s1N/W;a rF nw P1h{P@BS/U 美国：生活是美丽的。人活着的乐趣就是领受大自然的馈赠。钱不在乎赚多赚少，当然多总好一点，可是生活则一定要快乐。钱是为我服务的而不是相反。钱借得越多越好。NEyAW1p#Lg X ]m B8E-\hg中国：生活是复杂的。人活着要应付各种各样的挑战，防备各种各样的陷井，千万不可头脑简单，轻信别人。如果当不上官的话，钱是一生中最重要的目标。钱存得越多越好。“人为财死，鸟为食亡”。0CA*] ` _9Bg%^f l?/?;H L+x%B6? 四，对后代的态度I2r%iO8G_ @0M {{PpB[ `(l 美国：子女是独立的。抚养子女是一种社会责任，不求任何回报。不管子女将来怎样，是他们自己的事情。孩子是我的朋友。不知何谓“孝道”。_(LG&sA2J? 7@X!oqi:[;RI8?~ 中国：子女是我的。抚养子女是一种投资，养儿防老。不惜一切代价要让子女成功，所谓成功也就是成为“人上人”。孩子必须尊我，不许不孝。n O^vqV({ ^1m(_ @MMb Of$H 四，对现在和将来的态度_ d/Fou5p9K!F _HOr.u)q0uv美国：无论明天会怎样，先把今天的事做好。明天是今天的延续，不管有多难解决，一定要在今天把该解决的问题解决掉。决不忍受不可忍受之苦。llbf$dS &t$Xy'ba中国：今天的事就算了，该怎么就怎么的，明天自然会好。哪怕问题可以解决，也留给下一代人去解决吧。随便多苦都可以忍受。