On Differences between Chinese and Western Privacy Views

Sun Gengmei　Sun Peng

【Abstract】With the emergence of globalization and China hosting 2022 winter Olympics，cross-cultural communication is being eagerly required to strengthen.Further understanding of different privacy views between China and the west is key to consciousness of privacy protection and smooth intercultural communication.

【Key words】Chinese； western； privacy； views； differences

Globalization and hosting 2022 winter Olympics may offer China more cultural communications with the world.Privacy is an inseparable part of culture and people are more and more aware of the importance of privacy protection.Different conceptions of privacy may be a cause of misunderstanding in cross-cultural communication.So different privacy views need to be comprehended and understood well.

1.General Conception of Privacy

The word“privacy”comes from Latin，meaning individuals try to get away from public life and resign from office.Generally speaking，privacy，a psychological concept，is the ability of an individual or group to seclude themselves or information about themselves and thereby reveal themselves selectively.According to the Modern Chinese dictionary，“privacy”means “the personal information that is intended not to tell others and just kept secret”.Along with the development of globalization，people are becoming more conscious of their right of privacy.Nowadays，privacy is a cultural phenomenon also a mental phenomena.Privacy has different meaning among countries with different values and customs.

2.Different Privacy Perceptions Between Chinese and Western Culture

Every nation has its unique cultural background，views of values，social customs and habits which cause different understanding of privacy and lead to different communication methods.Then people will obey different rules during the intercultural communication to minimize or avoid cultural conflict and achieve the goal of self-improvement.

2.1 Western Views on Privacy.Westerners attach a great deal of value to privacy.They think privacy is in relation to ones basic dignity and independence，losing privacy means losing a part of oneself.The sense of privacy in the west，which is based on the value of privatism，puts individualism in the first place.Individual-cored view of privacy covers broad senses，containing personal information （personal time and space，individual affairs ） and embodying the interests of individual values.In the west，maintenance of privacy is respect for humanity and human rights.The view of privacy gradually becomes a kind of social convention，so occidentals view paying a visit to others without telling the host ahead of time as a rude and inappropriate behavior，violating privacy of others.Occidentals have a strong sense of the boundaries，invisible space acts as a private sphere for them.They are space-sensitive，with special attention to protect their private property and private space so as not to be violated.They would never enter the others room easily without any permission.In other words，peoples nonpublic room is a part of privacy，which others can not come into arbitrarily.The strong sense of the boundaries embodies a part of westerners views of privacy.

2.2 ChineseViews on Privacy.Chinese traditional culture is a typical group culture，which has formed the group privacy view.Chinese privacy exists in between groups and communities.The aim of protecting privacy is for regulating the benefits between groups and maintaining social stability and harmony.Collectivism is the core of privacy view in China.Chinese think highly of the group privacy.The status of individual is less important.The group interests are the mainstream of Chinese values，people value group privacy much more than the individuals.This causes Chinese individual privacy to be violated every minute without being noticed.The conversation between two persons may involve their family，career，salary，marriage and some other personal information，which is seen as an impolite behavior and unrespect for others privacy in the west.This privacy view make some Chinese neglect the sense of the boundaries and personal time and space.A good example of lack of respect for privacy may be Chinese parents are easily accessible to their children room without permission.To learn the psychological status of their children，Chinese parents would read children personal diary arbitrarily.In addition，relatives and friends usually drop by peoples homes without telephoning ahead of time，which Chinese people consider an intimacy.Actually，the surprise visit not only violates others personal space，but also their private time.

With intentions of strengthening the cultural communication and reducing the barriers in cross-cultural communication as much as possible，discrepancies of senses of privacy between China and the west should be comprehended and understood well，then a smooth intercultural communication and successful Olympics can be achieved.

【基金項目】张家口市科学技术研究与发展计划项目（1411058I-2）

作者简介：孙耕梅（1966.8），女，河北北方学院副教授，硕士，研究方向：从事英语教学和英语语言文学研究。