A Comparison ofCulture Between China and America

魏彩宏

This paper aims at arousing people to be interested in different cultures between China and America and to improve peoples capabilities of intercultural communication and of dealing with the various affairs by introducing to the differences of culture between China and America.

【Key Words】Culture，Comparison，Chinese，American， Difference

Introduction

What is “culture”？ There are many definitions. Some would define it as art， literature， and music of a people， and their architecture， history， religion， and traditions. Others might focus on the customs and specific behavior of a people. I have chosen to use a sociological definition of culture as the way of life of a group of people， which was developed over time and passed down from generation to generation. This broad definition includes every aspect of human life and interaction. However， it would be impossible to cover every facet of American and Chinese cultures. I have， therefore， adopted a valuable approach to my discussion， focusing on the ways of communication and life and value between China and America.

Some people in China put dogs in their kennel， but people in the United States put them on their couches and beds. Why？ People in Tabriz or Tehran sit on the floor and pray five times each day， but people in Las Vegas stand up all night in front of slot machines. Why？ Some people speak Tagalog； others speak English. Why？ Some people paint and decorate their faces. Why？ Some people talk to God， but others have God talk to them. And still others say there is no God. Why？ The general answer to the questions is the same. People learn to think， feel， believe， and act as they do because of the messages that have been communicated to them， and those messages all bear the stamp of culture. This omnipresent quality of culture leads Hallto conclude that “there is not one aspect of human life that is not touched and altered by culture.” In many ways， Hall is correct： culture is everything and everywhere. And more important， at least for our purposes， culture governs and defines the conditions and circumstances under which various messages may or may not be sent， noticed， or interpreted. Remember， we are not born knowing how to dress， what toys to play with， what to eat， which gods to worship， or how to spend our money and our time. Culture is both teacher and textbook. From how much eye contact we employ in conversations to explanations of why we get sick， culture plays a dominant role in our lives.

America is regarded as the most outstanding representative of neoteric Western world， especially after its industrial revolution. In this time frame， Westerners went through colonization and invasion depending on their advanced productivity which had been developed in industrial revolution and reaped their maximum benefit. After World War I and II， America became the strongest nation in the world. It began to develop the aggressive spirit， and it got benefits from the aggressive policy. The success leads to a common awareness in American people： the best way to live is to live aggressively. So do the parents teach their children.

China is regarded as one of the most ancient civilizations in the world. In its long history， the progress of productivity went forward very slowly， and its resources were plenty also. In such an environment， aggression caused slaughter， and peaceful cooperation brought development. Confucianism and Daoism were propagated widely.These ideologies blazoned peaceful cooperation and win-win behavior， canonized the amalgamation but not conflict. Most people in China lived in these ways. But now， they are influenced by those so-called "high productivity and efficient civilization" deeper and deeper. People， especially youth， admire and learnfrom this civilization. The whole nation is changing profoundly.

In a word， American culture represents the history of soaring productivity development based on great scientific discoveries and great geographical discovery in recent several hundred years， while Chinese culture represents the ancient but developing civilizations.

Experts summarized that we， as Chinese， prefer to think in a spiral， casualway， while American people， more often than not， are fond of a linear， business-is-business way. Here are some excerpts.

Firstly， it is about lining up. If you are in China， it is not rare to see that a crowdof people throng into the supermarket， trying to get service first. People in China do line up， but they prefer to line up in a horizontal way.

In contrast， in western countries， say， in America， people always line up， either in a big bank or in a small grocery. And they take it for granted. Lining up has long become part of their life that they scarcely doubt it or grow impatient while doing it.

Secondly， first come， first served. Though in word it is a normal principle here in China， its mostly not the case in reality. Take an example of what usually happens in a bank. Here when we are in a middle-sized bank， and suppose we are talking with the cashier， it always tends to have someone butt in， claiming that his or her request takes only one second.

But in western countries， it never applies. It is always rude that you butt in while the cashier is serving his customer. No matter how little time your request costs， the cashier， more often than not， is likely to turn you down. Only one customer at a time is his principle.

So American people are prone to lack flexibility while doing their work. Then how about us in their eyes？ They think we Chinese have a tendency to make things complicate.

A personal space is very important in American education system.But China is different， it emphasizes collectivism，stressing the importance of thinking of others. These have brought all kinds of differences in life.

Americans and the Chinese people have the same emphasis on diet， but Americans believe that the meal is only a family activity， but in China， eating is often associated with social activity.Americans have four meals a day， but not three. They have breakfast， midday lunch， afternoon tea and the evening meal.The American people never miss their afternoon tea， no mater what important things they have to do， sorry， please wait for a moment， because this is Tea Time. At that time， they stop their work， have a cup of tea or a cup of coffee， usually eat some dessert and have a chat. They can relax themselves during this time.The dinner is always very sumptuous. At about 8 o clock， all the family sit together， and enjoy their food. In their eyes，evening meals are an important element in family life rather than formal affairs.They do not usually share them with outsiders. Visiting at the meal time， or asking someone if he has his meal is impolite.

In China， people usually invite colleagues， relatives， or supervisors to a dinner at home or in a restaurant.They make it as a good opportunity to exchange ideas. And at the dinner table， there is particular about the seats.The host usually sits nearest the kitchen or service door.Wine in general is indispensable in a dinner， and the host will persuade the guests to drink a lot，which shows respect for the guests or a friendly expression. Many cases prove that it is true facts that many economic contracts in the wine table are indeed completed.But the American people never urge anyone to drink， and never drink strong drink. Wine is just an ornament of the dinner. Different wines have different meanings， but they never drink a lot of wine at the table. Beer is their favorite one， but never too much. To them， the etiquette is more important than the beer. In reverse， if a person drinks too much during the dinner， it is impolite. These have brought all kinds of differences in life.

In a word， a person`s associations with others are critical to the Chinese， so key relationships receive intense attention and commitment. Due to this， the difference between relationships with in-group members and merely casual relationships is big. It may seem to Americans that the Chinese are indifferent to strangers and casual acquaintances， ignoring their welfare. But the Chinese simply focusalmost all of their energy on close relatives or intimate friends or those with whom they have established relationship in comparison with Americans， who put at least some effort into treating everyone， or almost everyone， more or less equally. In sociological terms， particularism is characteristic of the Chinese while universalism is characteristic of Americans.

Compliment is to praise the speaker`s virtues， ability， behavior， appearance， clothing， personality， and belongings. Appropriate compliments can serve as effective supplementary means in inter-personal communication. American and Chinese cultures are in opposition to each other about compliment.Americans value their family very much， as Max Lerner4 said： ”The American has fashioned anew the features of his family institutions， as he does everything else about him.”An American hostess， if she is complimented for her cooking skill， is likely to say.” “Oh， I am so glad that you like it. I cook it especially for you.” Not so is a Chinese hostess， who will instead apologize for giving you “Nothing”. She will say， “I just made some dishes casually and they are not very tasty”. Perhaps the foreigner will think， “Why do you invite me to your family and have tasteless food？ You don't respect me”. Americans are more active to praise others than Chinese people. For example， Americans are “straightforward”， and the Chinese take pride in “modesty”. That modesty has left many a Chinese hungry at an American table， for Chinese politeness calls for three refusals before one accepts an offer and the American hosts take ”no ” to mean “no ”， whether it is the first， second or third time. Still bigger differences exist in peoples attitude towards compliments. The Chinese tend to effacethemselves in words or refuse it， although they do feel comfortable about the compliments.

Conclusion

Different countries have different rules for culture， that is， when people touch， how close they stand when they are speaking to one another， how close they sit， how they behave on elevators， etc. The rules for personal space sometimes differ according to how well people know each other. They are usually not consciously aware of these rules， but they may become very uncomfortable if the rules are broken and their personal space is restricted. This is culture although you are not aware of it. Culture plays a very important part in one`s life. This is the writer`s purpose to write this thesis. We should know our culture and those of other nations.

References：

[1]Larry A. Samovar， Richard E. Porter. and Lisa A. Stefani， “Communication between Cultures”， Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press， Brooks/Cole/Thomson Learning Asin， 2000.

[2]潘寶明，朱安平等.中国旅游文化[M].中国旅游出版社，2001.

[3]苏立昌.美国社会与文化[M].南开大学出版社，2006.

[4][美]玛丽安娜·卡尼·戴特斯曼，乔安·克兰德尔，爱得德华·N·卡尼.美国文化背景[M].世界图书出版社，2007.