中美家庭价值观对比-英文版

Differences of Family Values Between China and America

Abstract :This paper tries to make a comparis on of differe nt family values betwee n China and US, which appeared in many fields, for instanee, the American emphasis the in dividualism but Chin ese focus on the collectivism, the relati on ship betwee n family members and their attitudes to each otheare also quite different, the life style in flue need by family values are varied. Reas on sfor these differe nces are complex, in clud ing differe nt customs, cultures and social backgro unds and so on.

Key words: family values, life styles, cultures, differe nces.

I」ntroduction

Family is the most basic unit of all human society. It reflects the ethical values of a society, its cultural characteristics and the unique features of a n ati on. People beg in to lear n anything about the world and their culture through the family they are brought up in. What you think, how you act, eve n your Ian guage, are all tran smitted through the family from the wider cultural con text.

Family values are the core in the research of cultural values, and it has a huge in flue nee on people ' s thoughts and behaviors. So if we want to get a glimpse of the cultures of two different countries, it is necessary to know their different family values. In this paper we will analyze family values from different aspects, including the decisive family values, the attitude to the family members and their relationships, and the in flue nces of family values.

n .The differences of family values.

A. The individualism VS. the collectivism

The America n emphasize the pers onal in depe nden ce, while Chin ese emphasize on the whole family, not any in dividual member. Childre n in America have more freedom tha n that in Chi na. Their pare nts rarely in terfere with their private affairs, and usually try to enhance children a lls-around abilities when they are young. They

han die their own affairs themselves and try to get support from their colleagues or experts who work in the releva nt field, and their family members only give suggestions to them. The key point

of its society is freedom. Obviously, we Chinese pay more atte nti on to the in terest of whole family tha n that of any in dividual Ins.

China, children usually live with their parents even after they are grown-up, since Chin ese people want a more un ited family and closer relati on ship betwee n family members. The living style in China is different compared with that in America. Chinese people like to live with their parents and they think this kind of living style may help them have more opport unity to un dersta nd other family members. This ki nd of liv ing style can n arrow the gap betwee n family members and whe n an ybody faces with a problem, the others can help him effectively and efficiently. The living style also reflects that Chin ese people ma in ly emphasize the whole family but not the in dividuals, which is quite differe nt from America ns.

B. The attitude to the family members and their relationships in China and America.

Chin ese people have a big family with variety of relatives, which may be easy to cause competition and suspicion. So in order to maintain order and family harmony, they particularly advocate show ing respect to their seni ority in the light of the theory of law and discipline rite of Confucius. And 'Act you role well' is the key to a harm onious family relati on ship. All the family members should be ran ked strictly and according to their position in the family hierarchy they would be treated separately and be required to do what they should do. So in traditi onal Chin ese family, the elder is highly respected. Pare nts bring up their childre n, the n after pare nts are gett ing old, it is their children re s ponsibility and duty to care for them and give them both

material and spiritual support. In the traditional Chinese family, father was always the cen tre. It is not because the feudal con cept that man is superior to woma n, but also for what man has earned is the main source of family ' s incoming and usually man earns more money tha n woma n. And woma n is resp on sible for the family house worki ng. Though most household affairs are solved and decided by mother, the most importa nt thing related to the whole family are determined by father. Between parents and childre n, pare nts are give n more privilege and right to con trol their childre n. To most Chin ese pare nts, a good child means to be obedie nt and docile. It is no rmal for pare nts to arrange everythi ng for their childre n.

To America ns, it is no rmal that pare nts and childre n are separate; re union is abno rmal. Pare nts bring up childre n and the childre n con ti nue to raise the offspri ng, so the aged is expelled to the society. For the attitude to bring up the children, American parents consider that

they have the legal liability, but in a sense, the childre n should take resp on sibility for their behaviors. America ns sniff at the con cept of filial piety and think it restrains their self-awareness and ego-development. Parents and their childre n don't n eed depe ndency relati on ship. In con trast, they should establish a ki nd of allowa nce system so as to in still the basic con cept of self-dig nity and self-love into their childre n. As a result, although childre n would be grateful for their pare nts' favors, they do not think they have the obligati on to pay back. In America, if the parents still live together with their adult children, they should pay board wages and accommodation fee to children. And the same to their adult children who still live with their pare nts.

The primary purpose of an America n family is to adva nce the happ in ess, the equality and the freedom of every family member. America ns praise self-ce ntered and deal with the family members and family affairs rati on ally. For the sake of themselves, they deem that family should make sacrifice. Family ' honor and unity are less importa nt tha n that in Chin ese society .In an America n family, the democratic idea of equality is prevale nt. Father and mother have equal right to make decisi on on family affairs and their childre n are give n right to vote.

C. Comparison of life style influenced by family values

1. Different Financial Style

In Chi na, family members are finan cially depe ndent that is to say all of the family members should help each other, especially when he or she meets the financial problems, which seems that people have the responsibility for helping their family members to overcome the difficulties. During the daily life , children should take care of their old parents financially even parents have the possibility to rely on themselves. In America, family members are finan cially in depe ndent. America ns appreciate the individuality which requires them at first to get an independent financial freedom. That means they do not rely on their parents or family members when they grow up. Sometimes American thinks it is a kind of shame to be supported by their kind red members. That is the reas on why in the case the father and the son felt at ease whe n they bought tickets for each other.

2. Different Life Style

In China , a stable life style is much appreciated by people. As it has already been discussed above, the strong family tie in China has been taken its shape for thousand years long. Family members and relatives prefer to live together in terms of convenience which could reflect the

Chinese “ guanxi vividly. Even after the implementation of Open Policy from 1980s, though the traditional lifestyle is in flue nces a lot, people still want to live as close as possible to their family members relatives and friends. However, in America , there is no such a strong family tie as same as that in China therefore, their life style are very mobile. Meanwhile, this life style is also in flue need by their pers onal values, such as self-relia ncehard work, and a tie between achieving success in life personal achievement etc which encourage America ns to work all of the world for achiev ing their career goals and success.

3. Different Public Festivals

There are several festivals which come of family unity in Chin ese official holidays, such as Spring FestivaJ Tomb-sweeping Day, Qixi Jie and Mid-autumn Festival. The most important festival is the Spring Festival existing in the history for almost over 2000 years long. During this festival, all family and relatives get together, which is the very precious cha nee for people to enl arge and stre ngthe n family ties. In America, Chiristmas Day , Hallow-mas , Saint Vale nti ne's Day Than ksgi ving Day are the most important holidays coming of Christianity. The most significant festival is the Christmas Day. Before the festival , all America ns also come back from their works for this big day; however , this festival is much more religious for the family members eve n though they do have the activities of family reunion.

川.Conclusion

The cultural differe nces betwee n Chi na and America are reflected in almost all aspects of family life. The prese nt study focuses on various major aspects such as the differe nt family decisive values , differe nt family relati on ship and attitudes, and in flue nces caused by family values. It 'not just simply listi ng some phe nomena and an alyz ing the cultural expla nati on . The in ten ti on of the study is to promote a better un dersta nding betwee n Chin ese and America n people by compari ng the family values. We would like to say if we want to live peacefully and harm onio usly un der the same roof, the best thi ng we must do is to make an un dersta nding betwee n Chin ese people and America n people. Mean while, a good un dersta nding of the differe nee will surely facilitate the cross-cultural com muni cati on of two peoples.

【Refere nces

[1] HALL, E, F. The Hidden Dimension[M]. New York: double-day. 1996.

[2] Sta nley, Haverwas. A Commu nity of Character[M]. Cambridge, 1984.