Why do we need to compare Chinese and Western cultures

I. Differences between Chinese and Western cultures 1. Differences and similarities in thinking modes The Chinese like to think at a higher level of life, think outside the realm of reality, and attach importance to the thinking of life, and have a deep thought on the relationship between human beings, between human beings and the natural world, and between the human spirit and the physical body. Westerners favor logical thinking or rational thinking; Chinese people belong to abstract thinking or emotional thinking. Westerners are more focused on starting from the material world, to explore and seek to prove the origin of the problem.

2, the treatment of individual interests and collective interests, national interests of the similarities and differences Chinese people attach more importance to the collective interests, including family interests, national interests, advocating the control of their own desires, opposed to extreme individualism and heroism, and often the individual interests and collective interests, national interests are linked together, rich in patriotism and dedication. And Westerners pay more attention to individual interests, the pursuit of human rights, advocating freedom, that if even individual interests can not be guaranteed, let alone the collective interests, it is this ideological understanding, and ultimately promote the development of Western democratic politics;

3, the similarities and differences in the concept of democracy The Chinese focus on the freedom of the spirit, the freedom, democracy as the monarchs and powerful people as a reward. So our people are always longing for the blue sky, hoping for the emergence of good officials for the benefit of the people. And the western democratic politics that the government out of the people, all the power is only the people to grant, let the government to exercise a kind of public power.

4, the similarities and differences in the concept of science Chinese people believe more in the experience of ancestors and authority, believe in the ancients and even more than believe in the present, superstitious authority, lack of innovation and spirit of exploration. Westerners, on the other hand, emphasize practice and theory, are rich in the spirit of adventure, and advocate rational thinking. Through the formal college-style education on the popularization and promotion of scientific achievements, greatly promote the development of science, but also ultimately established a complete scientific system;

5, the Chinese and Western moral outlook is very different The West emphasizes the individual-based, while the Chinese advocate group-based. The difference between the Chinese and Western ethical views, so that the ethical system and moral norms of China and the West have different characteristics: the West focuses on the contract, China focuses on human relationships; the West focuses on reason, China focuses on human feelings; the Western ethical focus on competition, China favors mediocrity and harmony; the Western ethical and moral is the human nature as the point of departure, emphasizing the moral education of the individual, the Chinese Confucianism is the human nature is good from the point of view, emphasizing the individual's moral cultivation.

6, the similarities and differences in the concept of the rule of law Chinese people advocate the use of rituals, morality to constrain, through the teachings of the sages and learning to improve their own cultivation, and pay attention to self-criticism, which led to defects in the personality, the loss of independence of character; and the Westerners believe that the original desire of the human being is not to be suppressed, the norms of the community and the individual, advocating the use of "legal system ", through the system, such as the separation of powers organization, political institutions to restrain constraints, morality is in a subordinate position.

7, the similarities and differences in dealing with people in the world Chinese introverted, introspective, like the "daily introspection", in order to be in the way of the late king, the cultivation of the body and mind is very important, the promotion of mediocrity, leading to the conservative thinking, the lack of innovation and pioneering spirit. Westerners are more enthusiastic about public welfare, to serve the community as their duty.

Second, the reasons for the cultural differences between the East and the West

From a geographical and cultural point of view, the world can be divided into two regions, the East and the West. There are many reasons for their cultural differences, which are mainly summarized in this paper as three aspects: 1. Influenced by the economic system. China's traditional economy is a typical self-sufficient natural economy. People are more peaceful and conservative. Because they rely on a piece of land can live a lifetime, the culture is more introverted. And China's ancient civilization, originated in the Great River Basin, belongs to the agricultural civilization, "agricultural civilization character" created the Oriental people pay attention to ethics and morality, seek common ground and stability, "and for the noble, tolerance for high" as the principle of life. Ancient Greek civilization in the West, originated in the Aegean Sea coast, belongs to the marine civilization, and European farming is far less important than Chinese farming in ancient times, so Europeans like to explore the outside world, the culture is more extroverted. And the western countries after the industrial revolution very early into the industrial economy, "industrial civilization character" created the western people have a strong spirit of struggle and protect their own interests of the legal consciousness, to independence, freedom, equality as the principle of the world. 2, by the geographical environment. Closed continental geographic environment so that the Chinese people's thinking is limited to the local, good at summarizing the lessons of the past, like "history as a mirror", and spatial awareness is weak. This inward-looking thinking has led to the Chinese people's stable and quiet character, lack of curiosity about new things and lack of interest in the unknown. Most of the Western countries are in the open ocean-type geographic environment, industry, commerce, navigation industry is developed, since the ancient Greek period has focused on the study of natural objects, explore the mystery of nature's tradition. At the same time, the ocean environment of mountain winds and tsunamis, turbulence, also constitutes the personality of the western nation focusing on spatial expansion and force conquest.

Third, the conclusion of the differences between different cultures is due to the cultural and historical background of their respective ethnic groups, aesthetic psychology of the different, is in the development of society, the precipitation of history agreed upon, is a permanent cultural phenomenon. We should understand the cultural background knowledge of different regions and nationalities as well as social customs. In today's rapid development of information technology, the world in which people live is becoming smaller and smaller, and people from different cultural backgrounds are communicating more and more. Understanding different cultural differences and improving cultural adaptability are of great importance to modern people. Learning to understand the differences between Chinese and Western cultures is conducive to realizing the leap from sensibility to rationality, eliminating the influence of the negative migration of Eastern thinking, and thus making our cross-cultural communication more effective and smoother.

Attachment: 1, Chinese and Western cultural differences and reasons

Chinese cultural thought in the end, the key lies in a sentence of Confucius' "humble, respectful, trustworthy, sensitive, wise. The Western culture, on the other hand, is characterized by the word "competition", which puts oneself first in dealing with personnel.

The formation of cultural differences between the West and the East took place in two important periods:

First, in 221 BC, the powerful state of Qin finally unified the land of China through the "Changing Laws of the Shang Harness," kicking off a 2000-year-long feudal dictatorship in China. This unification not only laid the foundation for the formation of a unified Chinese culture, but also marked the beginning of the formation of the Chinese nation. At this time, the Western countries (here mainly refers to the European countries) are still only slave system of the state city countries. Since then, China's self-sufficient feudal natural economy dominated, and with the development of the farming economy, both the common people and the princes and nobles hoped to have a relatively peaceful production environment in order to maintain the development of the farming economy. Therefore, Confucianism, which advocates "non-aggression and respect for virtue", became the ruling ideology in China, and therefore, there was more "harmony" and less "strife" in Chinese culture. On the other hand, in the western countries, with the development of the manor economy, the nomadic economy has been developed rapidly, and the expansion of the nomadic economy is also more and more prominent. Under this mode of production, "competition" inevitably became the key to their culture. Thus, the Chinese and Western cultures began to "go their separate ways".

Second, the differences between Chinese and Western cultures continued to widen in the 16th and 17th centuries, when Western countries, especially those in Western Europe, were experiencing an unprecedented political and ideological change.

1, in the ideological aspect, the "Renaissance" this ideological liberation movement on the later Western culture had a decisive impact, the spread of "humanism" thinking on the one hand, the human mind from theological liberation, on the other hand, it also makes the self-self-interest over-inflated. On the one hand, the spread of "humanistic" ideas liberated the human mind from theology; on the other hand, it also led to the over-inflated desire for self-interest, which deepened the "controversy" of Western culture. In the political aspect, the early bourgeois revolution led to the formation of the capitalist system. The aggressiveness of capitalism and the primitive accumulation of bloody capital also made the "competition" in its culture more and more prominent.

On the other hand, in China, the long feudal dictatorship was increasingly perfected and strengthened, and the ruling class was satisfied with the status quo, still dreaming of the "Heavenly Kingdom". They don't care or want to understand the world, let alone to "fight" for it. In addition, because of the feudalism, natural economy of the autistic, people are also satisfied with the status quo, and do not, and do not dare to go to the "thinking change".

3, the differences between Chinese and Western cultures are also centered on religious beliefs. In China, whether it is foreign Buddhism or native Taoism, the preaching is to be obedient, talking about the next life. And the teachings of the West, although it also emphasizes the afterlife, talking about suffering, but whether Christianity or Islam, but also very much a resistance to foreign oppression, resistance to infidels and so on, such as the Bible, many stories are depicted in the Euthyphro revolt and war.

The formation of this religious difference is also closely related to the social background of its formation: the introduction of Buddhism and Taoism was in the Eastern Han Dynasty, when China's feudal dictatorship was already in place, and the rulers were in dire need of a religion that could pacify and stabilize the minds of the people in order to bind them and thus maintain their rule.

In the West, on the other hand, most of the countries were loosely organized, and the rulers wanted to gain land and population through war. Therefore, the establishment of a unified state has become their urgent hope, and religious believers, in order to develop their own religion, to combat paganism, so with the ruling class collusion, according to the ruler's desire for aggression, the doctrine of the appropriate changes to become the tool of their domination, but also to make the development of their religion. For example, the "Reformation" in Europe.

4. The difference between Chinese and Western cultures is also reflected in the interpretation of "love". In Chinese culture, "love" is emphasized as "great love", and it is the great love for all beings. Love is a great love for all beings. In Western society, people emphasize more on themselves and their own feelings. Therefore, love in Western culture is mainly a small love for oneself, one's family or an individual

5. Roots of Cultural Differences The root cause of the differences between Chinese and Western cultures is that they have been created in a way that makes them different from each other. The root cause of the differences between Chinese and Western cultures is the different social backgrounds and times in which they were created and developed. Any culture carries the imprint of the era in which it was created, that is, the characteristics of the era. As we all know, the formation and development of Chinese culture was in the period of feudal society, therefore, Chinese culture is bound to be influenced by feudalism. In feudal society, in order to safeguard their own interests and to rule the people better, the rulers often instill in people through various ways such ideas as "genealogy of all beings", "the cycle of cause and effect" and so on. Therefore, people in order to be able to "become immortal" in the next life to do good in this world, so there is a "great love" for all beings. Throughout the history of Western culture, the capitalist culture began to take shape in the 16th century during the Renaissance, a cultural movement in which people preached "humanism," affirming the value of human beings, respecting their rights, and valuing their power. The culture born under such a background will inevitably be characterized by "humanism". The first thing that we need to do is to find a way to make sure that we have a good understanding of what is going on in the world.

In fact, culture is a ****same psychological quality formed by the long-term integration of people in a certain region, so there is no superiority or inferiority of culture since it has been formed.

2, cultural differences stem from the national (or ethnic) character

Westerners:

1, the general character of independent, extroverted, tough, and enterprising.

2, the culture of the individual will, the world, including nature and others (regardless of affinity) as a personal face, the need to conquer the object. They want to be respected and liked by others from the bottom of their hearts, which is considered a kind of "conquest".

3, highlighting the individual, less importance of interests and friendships, respect for the truth rather than authority and so on, are the result of this national nature.

Oriental people:

1, the character of the group, introverted, gentle, tend to smooth and stable,

2, the culture advocates the overall stability of the world, including nature and other people (composed of groups) as the object of the individual should be integrated into the object of the so-called "unity of man and nature". They are more concerned with being accepted (including superficial "respect" whether sincere or not) than with being respected or liked by others, which is a manifestation of "integration". The deeper reason for "showing" respect for authority, for valuing friendships that help each other (only in the lyrical celebration of "a gentleman's friendship is as light as water"), and for the ease of submitting to the collective or the centralization of power on behalf of the collective, etc., is all ethnicity.

3, the differences between Chinese and Western cultures For the Chinese and Western cultures, in specific cases, we can not help but find many differences, for example: others praise, the Chinese people modest Westerners thank you; cooking and doing things, the Westerners are always clear how many kilograms of a few hours and a few moments, the Chinese people more than a little, a few moments of such words; at the table, the Chinese people persuade the guests to eat more and more to drink, the Westerners are respecting the guests' personal rights and interests, not to urge, not forced; culinary, the Chinese people, the guests to eat more and drink more, Westerners are respecting the guests' personal rights and interests, not urging Do not force; cooking, the Chinese focus on color, flavor and other dishes in the form of beauty, Westerners pay more attention to the nutrition of the food; Chinese people eat around a table *** with food, Westerners will be divided into food each person a; art, Westerners seek truth, the Chinese seek God; and so on. The Chinese practice implies rationality, while the Westerner's rationality guides practice. The so-called rationality, refers to people with normal thinking about things to do after the choice, can be said that rationality is the application of logic in specific things. The summary of logic lies in our a priori thinking ability and the summary of experience. Practice is behavior and doing things in a broad sense. Roughly speaking, rationality guides practice and requires Westerners to take facts as the most important thing, logic as the criterion, concepts as the unit, a body as the basis; practice implies rationality and requires Chinese to take harmony as the most important thing, to the actual specifics of the situation prevail, and perceptual understanding as the beauty. Chinese people have obedience, Westerners value freedom and equality.

There is little difference between the primitive societies of the West and China, with small populations, low levels of productivity, communal ownership of the means of production, kinship relations, and control of society based on traditions and patriarchs. But later on, when the level of productivity increased, there was a surplus of products, a division between the rich and the poor and private ownership, and the relationship between **** and distribution and **** and labor was destroyed and replaced by a class society, there was a difference between the societies of the East and the West. Class societies were dominated by slave societies. The form of rule in slave states varied around the world. In the East, slave states practiced monarchy, with all state power formally vested in a hereditary monarch. In the West, Athens, Greece, practiced "direct democracy", where public officials were elected and drawn by lot by a "people's assembly" in which slaveholders and freedmen participated. Ancient Rome and Sparta practiced aristocracy, with the Senate (in ancient Rome) and the Council of Elders (in Sparta), composed of aristocrats, holding significant power. Or some other system. Thinking about the reasons for this difference in systems, we clearly see the role of geography in this.

Europe's ancient civilizations were located along the Mediterranean Sea, which is characterized by many islands, filling the coastline, and the labor products on the islands are easy to have geographical limitations, so people preferred to carry out primitive economic trade between the islands or peninsulas, the Mediterranean Sea's calm waters are conducive to the conduct of navigation. However, because of its many islands and peninsulas, various ethnic groups and tribes occupy one side, separated by water, occupy the island as the king, demarcation, so not conducive to the domination of a certain ethnic group encroachment, so all over the trade and exchange on an equal footing. The equality of trade depended on the equality of status of the people, the equality of their thinking, and in order to maintain the normal order of this social life, " thus arose the Athenian national law, which was universally applicable, and which overrode the customs of the laws of the individual tribes and clans" (Mann, Selected Works). Thus this way of being was conducive to the practice of democracy, and even if it had not been practiced, the idea of democracy would have been easily accepted. The Greek city-state system, which is the open source of European history, represents and is a true reflection of this way of life. Furthermore, "the practice of establishing universal laws as unshakeable standards in the city-state life made the Greeks develop a habit of thinking that abstract principles were more essential than sensual life" (History of Western Philosophy, Zhao Lin, Deng Xiaomang). From this we can see that geography influences the way of life, the way of life influences the habit of mind, and of course, the habit of mind in turn influences the culture.