What are the characteristics of China culture and western culture?

First, the characteristics of China culture

1. The ideological tradition of valuing people over the sky. The so-called "heaven" generally refers to the origin and laws of the universe, heaven and earth, and nature, while "man" is the truth about human society and man himself. I ching said: "look at astronomy and observe the changes of time;" Look at humanity and turn it into the world. " It means: observe the law of the operation of heaven to understand the changes of seasons. Pay attention to personnel ethics to educate and popularize the world. Different from the western concept of the separation of heaven and man, spirit and flesh, China culture emphasizes the unity and harmony between heaven and man. In the eyes of ancient China people, heaven, heaven and human nature are similar, interlinked and can achieve internal unity.

2. Political tradition of valuing ceremony over the rule of law. The fundamental feature of China culture belongs to ethical culture, and the pursuit of human relations runs through all aspects of China culture, which naturally dominates the ancient political ideas of China. "Book of Rites" said: "Moral benevolence and righteousness are indecent; Lessons are common, and indecent assault is unprepared; Disputes and disputes, indecent assault; Monarch, up and down, father and son, brother, indecent assault. " Here, ceremony is not only a social hierarchy, but also a code of conduct that people follow, which can be said to be the highest moral and political category to adjust social relations. The Analects of Confucius said: "At the time of hearing the lawsuit, I was still a human being. It will not file a lawsuit! " Confucius advocated "no litigation", that is, he did not advocate that everyone solve disputes through litigation. If there is a dispute, it should be coordinated through ceremony, not litigation. For more than two thousand years, this concept has been deeply imprinted in the hearts of China people. Since the Qin and Han Dynasties, in the legal style and its implementation process, the Confucian concept of attaching importance to ceremony, morality and human feelings has been basically followed. This is the so-called etiquette tradition of "auxiliary ceremony into law, law into custom".

3. Pay attention to groups and ignore individual ethical traditions. In the long historical development process, China has formed a social and cultural system based on individual agricultural economy, with patriarchal clan system as the background and Confucian ethics as the core. Contrary to the western cultural tradition of emphasizing the individual and respecting the development of personality, China's ethical tradition is: attaching importance to the family, ignoring the individual, attaching importance to the group and ignoring the individual. Under the patriarchal concept, individuals are surrounded by groups. "Three cardinal guides and five permanent members" is an important thought in China's Confucian ethical culture, which is extremely strict with individuals. The three cardinal principles are: "the monarch is the minister's cardinal principle, the father is the child's cardinal principle, and the husband is the wife's cardinal principle." The three cardinal guides are subordinate to each other at all levels, and each has its own obligations, such as being good to father, filial to son, good to brothers and friends, and respecting younger brother. The "five permanents" are: benevolence, righteousness, courtesy, wisdom and faith. "Five Principles" is actually the embodiment of "Three Cardinals". "Three cardinal guides and five permanent members" has been enduring since it was put forward in the Han Dynasty. It is not only the concentrated embodiment of the ruling order, but also the code of conduct of people's daily life.

4. Attach importance to intuition and ignore the cognitive tradition of rational thinking. China's traditional thinking regards experience as a main way of understanding noumenon higher than rational speculation, which is essentially intuitive thinking. Both Confucianism and Taoism in the pre-Qin period were good at intuitive dialectical thinking, while Mohists and famous artists (Hui Shi and Gongsun Long) in the later period developed rational logical thinking and put forward a series of logical propositions full of speculative spirit. However, from the Han Dynasty to the Wei and Jin Dynasties, Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism complemented each other and became the mainstream of China culture. All three advocated intuitive grasp of the universe and life. The moral intuition of Confucianism, the artistic intuition of Taoism and the religious intuition of Buddhism all push the subjective experience and intuitive knowledge to the extreme, holding that the universe itself can only be grasped by intuition and epiphany, but not by the cognitive methods of language, concept and logical reasoning.

Second, the characteristics of Western culture

1. Emphasize the opposition between man and nature. Because China's civilization developed inland, it did not expand to the sea, which led to its closure or contraction. At the same time, China culture emphasizes "the unity of heaven and man", that is, the harmony and unity of heaven and man, rather than the opposition between heaven and man. Generally speaking, there is no lack of subjectivity as the philosophical basis in China's cultural tradition. If heaven and man are completely integrated, the concept of heaven and man is not necessary to exist independently. In fact, it is the most reasonable content to believe in human power and that the subject can grasp the object.

2. Emphasize personal standards. There are great differences between eastern and western cultures in the relationship between individuals and groups. Although China culture recognizes that each individual is unique and has independent personality, dignity, interests and values; However, it is particularly emphasized that individuals are also members of family, unit, nation, human, country and world group life, and people are regarded as a member of the whole social relationship and a member of the group. The fate and interests of individuals depend on the group, and the value of individuals can only be reflected through the recognition of the group, and the existence of individuals can only be revealed to the society through being responsible for the group. Western culture regards people as independent individuals with free will and exists in social relations. As an individual, everyone is responsible for his own survival and destiny, and his personal value is obtained through his own struggle.

3. Emphasize hedonism. Ancient Greek and Roman culture is characterized by secular spirit, while medieval Hebrew culture is centered on religious ideals. Modern western culture is a real and mature culture in the west, or a mainstream culture in the west. Its cultural spirit can be called "secular idealism", which is the product of the mutual infiltration and integration of ancient secular spirit and medieval religious ideal. The mainstream of western modern culture, namely "secular idealism", regards the creation of "paradise on earth" as the end of history, or as the ideal goal of the concept of "historical progress". Although there are many tributaries of modern culture, people's ideas and viewpoints even conflict with each other, it is the mainstream to understand life and history as a creative process, and there are contradictions and conflicts only in how to create a "paradise on earth" and what kind of "paradise on earth" should be created.