How to correctly understand the relationship between modern economic development and national customs and culture

International market development and new topics of folklore

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"vegetarian event"

On the third day of 200 1, most Japanese people are still enjoying the New Year holiday. Many Japanese newspapers have reported an overseas news one after another: The Ministry of Health of the Indonesian government accused the products of the Indonesian branch of a Japanese vegetarian company of violating Islamic creed and ordered it to take back all listed products within three weeks. Subsequently, the Japanese president of the company and several Japanese personnel were arrested and the factory was temporarily suspended (note 1).

It is reported that the company used an American-made enzyme in the production process from 1998, which was extracted from pig viscera. 80%~90% of Indonesian nationals with a population of nearly 200 million are Muslims, so the food sold in the Indonesian market must be labeled as edible by Muslims. In September 2000, when the company applied for the food label again, it was pointed out that it used illegal enzymes and was suggested by the authorities to recycle the illegal products listed. However, the company only changed the enzyme in the production process and did not take action in the circulation process, so that it was publicly accused and publicly demanded to recycle its products. A few days later, the Indonesian President and professors from local universities expressed their opinions one after another, believing that there was no problem with the final product. The president and others were released, and the factory restarted after replacing the enzyme. On the surface, the incident seems to have been solved.

However, various phenomena show that the serious consequences caused by this incident are far from over: vegetarian products quickly disappeared from supermarkets and shops, including street shops; After hearing the broadcast, some citizens threw away the miso they bought as garbage. In Jakarta, Indonesia, some angry people held a protest March and burned vegetarian food bags in front of the temple (note 2). It is reported that the annual output of the company's four products is about 40,000 tons, and 90% of them are consumed locally. In this way, even if the sales are stopped for a short time, it can be inferred that the loss is quite serious. In addition, the sales of Su Wei products in other Islamic countries are also affected. In Tokyo Stock Market, the share price of Japanese Su Wei Company also plummeted after the incident (Note 3).

Japanese Su Wei Company has many branches all over the world. 1969 entered the Indonesian market, and its products ranked first in the Indonesian seasoning market. Indonesian production of Su Wei products accounts for about one tenth of Su Wei's global production. However, why do companies with long-term experience in production, sales and operation in other countries still have such problems? After the incident, various conjectures have been put forward, and there is no intention to distinguish them here. As indirect operators, what we need is not to worry about specific management policies or countermeasures in the future, but to re-understand the problems that should be paid attention to when developing economic markets and conducting cross-cultural exchanges in different cultural countries from the background of this incident.

What does this incident tell us?

In today's world, people interact every day, and various cultures are in contact every day. In particular, economic exchanges are almost as common and frequent as three meals a day. People will describe the beliefs or customs held by other countries as "exotic customs", but how many people who call themselves civilized countries and advanced countries regard these customs and beliefs as the culture owned by the same member of the earth and truly respect them equally? If you treat the cultures of other countries unequally and try to approach or enter this culture, when you carry out economic activities in these different cultural atmospheres, you will encounter huge potential reefs in the exchange of different cultures.

Because I didn't have the opportunity to visit the local area, I can't know the market situation in Indonesia today, the daily catering and family dining tables of Indonesian citizens, and when vegetarian products will make a comeback, rebuild people's trust in their products and revive the glory of that year. However, according to the perception of cultural researchers, it can be pointed out that it is a long way to go to make a comeback. Because the company did not simply violate the living habits of the country, its mistake was to violate the beliefs of its citizens and hurt the trust of consumers of different cultures in its products and the culture behind them, which was fatal.

This incident shows that Japanese companies do not fully understand the foreign society they entered, and one of the reasons is that they overestimate their ability to understand the local culture. Enterprises use their own standards to measure their understanding of different cultures. The culture of this region is also measured by its own cultural scale, and the evaluation of Japanese enterprises' understanding of different cultures is unqualified, which is the worst form of economic problems caused by cultural conflicts. Different understanding of different cultures will lead to the failure of economic communication, which is undoubtedly a great lesson for enterprises, countries and nations who want to develop the economic market of different cultures or prepare for the exchange of different cultures in the 2 1 century.

Modern civilization, which started from Europe and America, always measures other cultures by its own culture, thus holding a sense of superiority. The owners of other cultures often use their own culture as a benchmark to measure the culture of others. Even a country or nation that recognizes advanced European and American civilizations, actively introduces its culture or tries to keep up with it may not completely abandon its original culture and national self-esteem. Nowadays, many existing cultures in the world want to get living space on the earth in the 2 1 century, and emphasizing and paying attention to cultural individuality will be a feature of the 2 1 century culture. Therefore, enterprises in any country only enter the different cultural fields of another country or nation with economic goals and economic minds, without knowing the culture there as much as possible in advance, so they will not only fail to carry out economic activities smoothly and obtain economic benefits, but also encounter thick walls of different cultures and get involved in the whirlpool of misunderstandings or disputes arising from cultures, which will eventually lead to economic losses and even cause major social problems between the two cultures.

For enterprises, overseas economic markets are very attractive. However, if enterprises going in and out of overseas countries only have an economic vision, they will fall into the invisible trap of different cultures. In the development of the international economic market, we should be alert to the reefs of different cultural exchanges that accompany economic activities. This is a lesson from the vegetarian incident.

Understanding the scale of three different cultures: taking Chinese and Japanese cultures as examples

China and Japan face each other across the sea. There is a long historical relationship between the two countries, which can be found in writing, diet, life and dress customs. Due to this cultural background, there is a vague, unwritten but deep-rooted consciousness between the two countries: mutual cultural understanding seems to have reached a fairly high level, and there is no problem of cultural re-understanding between them. Japanese culture was introduced from China, and the two cultures are very similar. It seems that there are not a few people who hold this illusion in Japan and China. The narrative of Chinese and Japanese cultures also stays in describing the same and similar phenomena that can be seen in front of us. In fact, various "small incidents" that lead to misunderstandings between China and Japan due to different cultural awareness and customs still occur frequently today. The frequent occurrence and accumulation of such misunderstanding "events" will hurt the communication between individuals, affect the economic operation of intermediate enterprises, damage the national image, and even cause great barriers between ethnic groups. Limited by time, this paper does not make theoretical analysis. The following are just some examples of living customs.

Color-There are differences in Japanese and China's understanding of color. In Japan, red and white are used for festive occasions, black clothes are regarded as formal dresses, and white represents sacredness and cleanliness. Therefore, gifts decorated with red and white ribbons will be used when celebrating birthdays or recovering from illness, getting promoted, pursuing further studies and getting married. You will also see many people wearing black suits, white ties or black kimonos at weddings.

If you wear black clothes to attend a wedding in China, or decorate a wedding gift with red and white, you can imagine the feelings of the recipient or the wedding party without knowing anything about Japanese culture. Of course, if the recipient is an important business partner or an important customer, then the subsequent transaction may be worrying.

Numbers-China has the saying "slow and steady" and "40-60% in pairs", four sets of appliances. Japan, on the other hand, avoids it because it is homophonic with "death". A teacup, teacup or rice bowl is a set of five. When tuber vegetables or fruits meet the number of four to six, they are usually changed into a box of five or a bag. Give a Japanese friend a set of 4 gifts, maybe he will be a little surprised; If the products are sold to the Japanese market, the domestic programs of Channel 4 also need to be changed.

In Japan, 9 is not very popular because its pronunciation is the same as "bitter". In addition, at the wedding, it is necessary to celebrate that two people's marriage is a "one" family and form a "one" * * * identical body, so try to avoid the appearance of "2", thinking that this means that two people will break up. Even if the amount of the gift is 20,000 yen, three banknotes with face value of 10000 yen and 5,000 yen should be prepared. If according to the custom in China, couples are sent in pairs, or the amount of gifts is specially set as "99", "499" and "999" in order to congratulate the newlyweds, it may run aground in another culture. Of course, the sales of celebration products associated with numbers 4 and 9 in Japanese cultural atmosphere also need brains.

Others-Since the fifth year of Meiji, Japan has integrated the lunar calendar, and traditional festivals are basically held according to the solar calendar (some of them have been delayed for one month). Most calendars used in Japan now only print the solar calendar. However, China still maintains the dual-axis operation mode of lunar calendar and solar calendar. Japanese college students who don't understand this difference came to China to see the first month of China on the "first month" of the Japanese New Year in the solar calendar, but the result was disappointing. On July 7th in the solar calendar, I specially greeted the overseas students in China: "Today is Qixi, ..." The unexpected answer was "Today is the anniversary of the July 7th Incident!" Of course, the expected dialogue on customs has also stopped. Of course, Japanese-made calendars printed only with solar calendars have limited sales in the China market.

In addition, China people avoid "sending bells" at weddings, housewarming, new homes and birthdays. Sending turtles or owls is not suitable for the cultural atmosphere in China.

Japanese citizens give daily necessities to each other, so as not to make the recipients feel that they have accepted what they have abandoned, but dried noodles or small pickles are not among the gifts in China; Tiny items can make people feel "small favors" or "stingy"; People who accept towels or washing powder as "gifts" in China will ask, "Do you think we are dirty?"

In Japan, according to the custom of China, caring too much about others is sometimes considered as interference with privacy; In China, according to Japanese custom, keeping a distance out of respect for others' privacy is sometimes considered as indifference. ……

If we don't understand the cultural differences between China and Japan, the performance in the details of daily life, and the matters needing attention in the communication between the two cultures, the above-mentioned cultural conflicts will occur. The above examples are only related to life consciousness and customs, and belong to the surface of cultural conflict. If we touch on issues such as national self-esteem, national beliefs and cultural taboos, we will not be dissatisfied or puzzled overnight, and all aspects, including the economy, will inevitably be affected. This also puts forward a topic for Chinese and Japanese folklore researchers: how to restore the research results to the society and provide correct knowledge for the exchange of folk culture between the two countries.

The purpose of the above examples is to show that it is not easy to deeply understand two cultures that are far apart, and there are also problems of superficial understanding and real deep understanding between similar cultures. Self-judgment and frequent misunderstanding of different cultural understanding show the difficulty of truly understanding a culture and the danger of trusting the benchmark of self-judgment.

At the same time, it also shows that it takes a lot of time and manpower to understand a culture deeply, and there is room for folk science and technology to play.

The vegetarian event is not only a conflict between Japanese culture and Islamic belief, but we can't use the huge differences between the two cultures as a relief. There is no doubt that the activities of human groups have their cultural background. Attitudes and explanations of things show different beliefs. Too much faith in modern science and technology and one's own economic ability makes it easy to regard each other's behavior as superstitious and uncivilized. This biased cultural understanding scale is exactly where the economic exchange between different cultures fails. For people engaged in multicultural studies, this incident raises the question of how to determine the "scale of mutual understanding and understanding of cultures". This scale should be widely used. No matter how far apart countries are, whether cultures are related or not, we can measure each other and test ourselves according to the same scale, so as to ensure that we can look at others and ourselves with a more objective attitude. This scale should include some basic elements: not blindly following wrong beliefs and not easily drawing conclusions about other cultures; Abandon cultural superiority, overcome cultural prejudice and respect other cultures; Wait a minute.

To achieve in-depth understanding between different cultures, not only enterprises need to make conscious efforts, but also a considerable amount of correct interpretation and analysis of different cultures, which is an important mission that cultural researchers need to complete. For enterprises developing international economic market, what kind of understanding is the real understanding, that is, the objective measurement standard, and how to realize this real understanding, that is, the academic possibility of social science providing reference for economic circles, are all topics faced by cultural researchers.

The development of international economic market and the role of folk customs

Modern economy, international market and folklore seem to be far apart. However, the events that happened in economic circles at the beginning of 2 1 century pointed out a new activity space for folklore in 2 1 century.

If an enterprise wants to enter the international economic market, it must master the comprehensive information of politics, economy, history and society. The similarities and differences of cultural atmosphere are also factors that cannot be ignored. Taboos of national culture, similarities and differences of folk beliefs and living customs, etc. If it is not handled well, it will sometimes become the fuse to destroy the relationship of mutual trust.

There is an old saying in China that "when in Rome, do as the Romans do". But in today's society, we need to ask and understand its customs in advance, and then we can "do as the Romans do" smoothly after "going to the countryside". Enterprises are profit-making units, and their main goal is economic operation. Generally, it is impossible for small and medium-sized enterprises to place specialized personnel or set up departments specializing in studying different cultures. Studying the "customs" of each "township", that is, the subject of folklore with culture as the research object, can play a role in the economic circle of actively exploring the international market. The research results of folklore on the customs, beliefs and cultural characteristics of other countries and nationalities can become the staff of enterprises to develop new economic markets, promote the objective understanding of foreign cultures by economic circles, and help enterprises to predict their customs before entering their hometown, so as to carry out business operations smoothly.

Folklore not only traces the traditional heritage, describes the changes of rural customs, but also comprehensively and deeply grasps the cultural characteristics of various ethnic groups, which is an important reference for economic circles to understand different cultures and develop economic markets in different cultural areas. Can this be regarded as an urgent task of folklore in the 2 1 century? The economic effect of folklore research cannot be measured by calculating the turnover of folk goods stores or folk tourism. The development of an international economic market without understanding different cultures can only be a castle built on the beach. In order to develop and maintain the international economic market for a long time, it is necessary to lay a solid foundation for understanding local culture as economic development with the help of social science. The economic benefits of folklore research, one of the functions that folklore can play in modern society, can be reflected in the role of cultural consultants in economic circles. It doesn't mean directly entering the economic operation system, but it produces much greater economic benefits.

The economic circles that actively explore the international market provide folklore scholars with the necessity of folklore in modern society and academic space to display their talents. The new academic space also puts forward new requirements for folklore. Folklore research should aim at "knowing ourselves and ourselves" in culture, and expand the research field of vision to other national cultures in the same country, so as to understand and grasp the similarities and differences between ourselves and other cultures. If conditions permit, we should actively learn the national cultures of other countries, understand the cultural characteristics of other countries with the mirror of comparative study, and then reflect on our own national culture, so as to form a multi-angle and all-round understanding of our own culture.

Developing economy in different cultural areas requires a deep understanding of their cultures. Folklore is one of the social disciplines to help economic circles understand different cultures. This is the enlightenment of a transnational economic conflict.

Note: 1: See Asahi Shimbun 200 1, 65438+ 10.5, 65438+10.9, Yomiuri Shimbun 200 1, 65438+10. Because there is no chance to go to the local field investigation, I can only use newspaper reports and other written materials to explain here.

Note 2: See Asahi Shimbun 20065438+0 65438+10.9 and Yomiuri Shimbun 200 1 1.

Zhu 3: For the report on stocks, please refer to the report in June 65438+ 10/0 in Yomiuri Shimbun.