Differences between collectivist and individualist cultures

1. Differences between Chinese collectivism and Western individualism in the rule of law

When it comes to ruling the country, what the Chinese tradition emphasizes is rites and ethics. In China, especially in ancient times, those sages attached great importance to rituals and advocated that everyone should observe them. Therefore, in terms of interpersonal relationships, they formulated the Five Da Dao - ruler and subject, father and son, husband and wife, brother and friend, which were used to advocate people to maintain a kind personality and create a harmonious social atmosphere; in terms of social class management, they also used the Three Da Deities - wisdom, benevolence and In the management of social strata, they also use the three virtues - wisdom, benevolence and courage - to restrain people's behavior and advocate respect for "heaven and earth, ruler, parents and teachers"; in the governance of the country, they advocate the use of the four dimensions - rites, rituals, honesty and shame - to maintain the long-term peace and stability of the country, because, in their view, if the four dimensions are not open, then the country may face the possibility of extinction. might face extinction. In this way, when these traditional rites and customs pervade the whole society, the society is naturally enveloped under an invisible moral binding force.

In the West, on the other hand, the means by which the state rules is quite different. Because of the prevalence of individualism in the West, everyone wants to give full play to his or her uniqueness and wants to be able to fully enjoy the freedom and power they enjoy, so in order to maintain a normal social order, the Western rulers have to formulate stricter laws to constrain the behavior of the citizens, so that the whole society will not be hampered by the over-expansion of freedom of a certain individual. In order to avoid the conflict between the individual and the whole, and for the normal functioning of society, sophisticated laws are essential, so the magic weapon of their rule is the law.

2. Moral differences between Chinese collectivism and Western individualism

Chinese morality is based on "human relationships", and "honor and disgrace are related to each other". The basic spirit of this humanistic morality is "honor and disgrace and ****" and "solidarity". This is mainly reflected in the importance that Chinese society has always attached to ethical life. In addition, Chinese society emphasizes the interdependent relationship between people. All along, China has emphasized the idea of "harmony" and "great unity".

In Western countries, due to the influence of the idea of "natural human rights", the morality in their eyes is based on not infringing on the rights and interests of others. That is, as long as you do not infringe on the interests of others, even if you do not do anything wrong, there is no loss of morality to speak of, and there will be no one to restrain you with morality. In addition, because of the influence of the country's extreme popularity of individualism, they attach great importance to the rights and freedoms of the individual, and seize the opportunity to utilize their uniqueness as much as possible.

3. The Difference between Chinese Collectivism and Western Individualism in Ancient Education

In ancient times, the ****same goal of all schooling, whether in China or in the West, was to cultivate and select people to govern the country. Nonetheless, there were great differences between Chinese collectivism and Western individualism in ancient education.

First of all, the first difference is mainly reflected in the state's management of education. In ancient China, the education of the Xia, Shang and Zhou dynasties, which were in the slave society, was under the strict control of the state, and all the schools were run by the state, therefore, a situation of "learning in the government" was formed in the society. Later, with the development of society, private schools also flourished, but they did not develop freely. This was mainly because the rulers, in order to consolidate the rule of the state and maintain the feudal order, adopted a stricter control over education. With the development of feudal society, there were even specialized educational institutions and specialized officials to manage education. In the ancient times of the West, both public and private schools were once very prosperous, especially private schools. This was mainly because the rulers of the Western countries had never formulated a unified and relatively stable cultural and educational policy for the management of education. Schools were allowed to develop as they wished, adapting to the needs of society, so all kinds of public and private schools flourished.

Secondly, the second difference is mainly in the content of teaching. In China, the school always puts moral education, which is the "understanding of human relationships," at the center, while all other education serves moral education and is dispensable. As a result, the knowledge of Chinese students is relatively narrow and their comprehensive ability is not well developed. With the development of society, this situation not only did not change, but intensified. By the end of feudal society, school education was limited to a narrow range of subjects such as the Four Books and the Five Classics. In addition, the imperial examination system of that period became corrupt. Under such circumstances, school education became more and more empty, and became virtually non-existent. In short, the school education of the whole ancient Chinese society only emphasized on moral education mainly based on Confucianism, and neglected and excluded the education of natural sciences, which affected the all-round development of the students and the overall quality of Chinese nationals. In contrast, the ancient education in the West attached more importance to the overall development of morality, intellectuality and physical fitness, and thus the school had both humanities and subjects such as physical education and aesthetic education. 4, Chinese collectivism and Western individualism in the life of the differences

In China, no matter what feast, no matter for what purpose, there will only be one form - the reunion style. Reunion style means that the whole family and all the friends sit around the table and *** enjoy the table. At the same time, a round table is usually used at the feast. This, in part, creates a harmonious atmosphere of unity, courtesy, and **** fun. From another point of view, this reunion style is completely in line with the general cultural phenomenon of our country's "great unity", reflecting the influence of the Chinese social philosophy of "harmony" on China.

In Western countries, on the other hand, they emphasize the supremacy of personal values and the sense of achievement that comes from working hard to achieve self-fulfillment. So their family structures tend to be simpler. Because their children have to move out once they get married and must be financially independent, their parents are no longer obligated to finance them, avoiding "nibbling the old man", "second generation of the rich", "second generation of officials " and other parasites.