中美家庭观对比概要(英汉对照)

中美家庭观对比概要

Lorand B. Szalay

赵丽译

家庭形象。美国人对家庭形象的理解体现于人们的归属感，其中包括扮演个体角色（例如，母亲、父亲），及受到爱与友情约束的人们。对其而言，家庭是生活准则，是家，是受其潜质评判以满足个体、心理及物质需求的社会环境。

而中国人认为，家庭更像是一个群体，服务于人们的共同目的和共享目标。中国人更注重教育目标及孩子的培养方案，从而使孩子能够维持适当的人际关系。中国人尤为强调和谐与相互间的责任。与群体期望相比，个体成员的个人渴望通常不受重视。就此方面，大陆人与美国人最为不同。而台湾人更为西化，与美国人的观点也更为相似，对个体情感、差异和冲突更为重视。

家庭成员。美国人倾向于关心个体角色，例如，母亲、父亲、女儿与儿子。而中国人，尤其是台湾人，从更广泛的集体范围，而非个体角色方面关心家庭成员。例如，中国人倾向于考虑父母，而非父亲或母亲，考虑兄弟姐妹，而非哥哥、弟弟或姐姐、妹妹。

美国人和中国人都极为赞同亲戚包括姑母、叔父、堂兄妹等。然而，其显著区别在于美国人视家长（父亲、母亲）和孩子也为亲戚，而中国人却很少如此提及。而且，谈及朋友和同学时，中国人视其同为亲戚，但很少视为“家人”。大陆人和台湾人关心与亲戚温暖、亲密的人际关系，并愿与其分享。另一方面，美国人更加在意偶尔拜访和团圆。中美主要差异之一是中国大陆具有更强的责任感。台湾人却对此忧喜参半，表现出否决和疏远的批判性态度和情感。大陆人高度尊敬应对亲戚履行的责任和义务，并对此持有积极态度。

相反，美国人对亲戚的态度是以个体和谐为特征，而个体和谐又是以个人情感，而非普遍义务为基础。与其维持和谐关系的亲戚，美国人能感受到爱与友情。事实上，在美国，人们并没有关系不和谐的亲戚。但是，即使对其相爱并视为朋友的亲戚，美国人也无义务可言。然而，对大陆人而言，此种对亲戚的普遍义务得到了广泛接受。而对台湾人来讲，他们不仅能感受到此种义务，并且经常对其怀有憎恶感。

家庭组织。美国人关心个体角色及其情感纽带。然而对中国人而言，家庭更是一个借以服务共同目的的社会单元。人们认为美国家庭是建立在爱，特别是父母情感纽带之上的。任何环境中，美国人对父母关系的提及都最为强烈。而此种

来源于Lorand B. Szalay, American and Chinese perceptions and belief systems, New York : Plenum Press, 1994, 54-56

关系并不受台湾人重视，台湾人关心家庭环境及其目标，和对其存在极为重要的行为和义务。在美国人对家庭形象的理解中，母亲处于核心地位。母亲在任何环境中几乎都最受重视。但对中国人来说，这种倾向并不重要，有时，大陆人更加重视父亲的地位。这些差异受到美国人更加重视性别角色差异性的影响，同时也受到在家庭环境中，相比男性，美国人更加关注女性的影响。相反，中国人，尤其是大陆人，更加强调男性角色（在中国，人们认为男性比女性更为强壮）。

家长与孩子的关系。美国人更多是以父母个体，父亲或母亲作为思考对象，而中国人倾向于整体考虑。同样，美国学生谈到父母时，会想到爱、关心和得到的帮助，而中国学生更强调依循传统价值观，诸如，尊重、尊敬和孝道服从，对父母持有适当的态度。在孩子的问题上，大陆人也强调此种态度，并遵循上述价值观教育孩子。而美国人更强调儿童的年龄，并通过儿童嬉戏、玩玩具、及其可爱和纯真，使其得到每个特定年龄段的快乐。

关于父母，大陆人和台湾人都强调依循传统价值观，诸如，尊重、尊敬和孝道服从，对其持有适当的态度。美国人更关注儿童的特定年龄特征。大陆人和台湾人更在意父母的年龄，并表达对其父母身体健康、安宁及和谐幸福的关心。上述传统趋势在台湾更为强烈，但不包括大陆人对其祖父母或某亲戚的关心。关于孩子，上述传统价值观在大陆和台湾都具有相似的统治地位，但不同的是，大陆学生对孩子更有兴趣，并传达了更强的愿望，希望未来拥有孩子，而台湾人对此却不赞同，其更关心随之而来的负担和不便。而且，大陆人更重视传统价值观，诸如，顺从、尊敬、孝道、及孩子照顾父母的义务。

附原文

Summary of Trends in the Family Domain

Lorand B. Szalay

Image of Family.The Americans’image of family involves the togetherness of people who assume individual roles (e.g., mother, father) and who are bound by affective ties of love and friendship. Family is for them a framework for life, a home, a social setting judged by its potential to meet their individual, psychological, and physical needs.

The Chinese think of family more as a group that serves a common purpose and shared objectives. The Chinese place more weight on the educational goals, the task of raising children, to train them for maintaining proper interpersonal relations. They place special emphasis on harmony and mutual obligations. The personal aspirations of the individual members receive less attention, compared to the group as a whole. The PRC group appears in this respect the strongest contrast to the Americans. The Taiwanese, more westernized, are more similar to the Americans, paying more attention to individual feelings, differences, and conflicts.

Family Members. Americans tend to think of individual roles such as mother, father, daughter, and son. The Chinese, particularly the Taiwanese, think of family members in broader, collective categories rather than in individual roles. For example, they tend to think of parents rather than father or mother, and of siblings rather than brother or sister.

There is an essential agreement between the Americans and the Chinese that relatives include aunts, uncles, cousins, etc. However, there is a remarkable difference in that Americans include parents, father, mother, and children as relatives, while the Chinese barely mention them. Furthermore, the Chinese mention friends and classmates with relatives, but rarely “family”. Both Chinese groups think of warm, intimate interpersonal relationships with relatives and sharing with them. Americans, on the other hand, think more of occasional visits and reunions. One main difference is that the Chinese feel a stronger sense of obligation. The Taiwanese are highly ambivalent

about it, showing critical attitudes and sentiments of rejection and alienation. The Mainland Chinese express predominantly positive attitudes, more readiness to honor obligations and responsibilities regarding relatives.

In contrast, the American attitudes toward relatives are characterized much more by individual rapport based on personal feelings rather than by a sense of universal obligation. Toward those relatives whom Americans maintain rapport with, they feel love and friendship. Relatives with whom such rapport is lacking are virtually non-existent. But even toward relatives who are loved and considered as friends, just being a relative does not imply obligation. However, in the case of the Mainland Chinese, it does, and this universal obligation toward relatives is generally accepted. In the case of the Taiwanese, this sense of obligation is felt, yet is frequently resented.

Family Organization.Americans focus on individual roles and their affective ties, while for the Chinese, family is more a social unit which serves a common purpose. The American family is seen as built on love, particularly on the affective ties between father and mother. References to father-mother relations are in every context the strongest by Americans; these references are negligible by the Taiwanese, who concentrate their attention on the climate of the family and its goals and activities essential to its existence and obligations. In the American image of family, the role of the mother is the most central. The mother receives the most attention in practically all contexts. This tendency is less heavy in the Chinese groups; in a few instances, the Mainlanders place more weight on the father. These differences are influenced by the general American tendency to pay stronger attention to sex-role differences and focus more on females than males in the context of family. A contrasting tendency is observable among the Chinese, particularly the Mainlanders, who emphasize more male roles (males are supposedly stronger than females in China).

Parent-Child Relationship. While Americans think more in terms of the individual parent, father and mother, the Chinese tend to think of parents collectively. Also the American students think of parents more in terms of love, care and help received, and the Chinese stress more the proper attitudes toward parents along such traditional values as esteem, respect, and filial obedience. These same attitudes are emphasized by the Mainland Chinese also in the context of children, thinking more of their upbringing along these values. The Americans’view of children centers more on

young age, age-specific entertainment through play and toys, their cuteness and innocence.

In regard to parents, both Chinese groups think of the proper attitudes with focus on such traditional values as esteem, respect, filial obedience. While Americans think more of the special age characteristics of young children, the two Chinese groups show more awareness of the age of the parents and express concern with their health, well-being, and their harmonious and happy social climate. These traditional trends are stronger among the Taiwanese, except that the Mainlanders show more concern with the grandparents and certain relatives. With regard to children, the above traditional values show similar dominance in the case of both Chinese groups, except that the Mainlander students appear to show stronger interest in children and convey a stronger motivation to have children, while the Taiwanese appear less favorable, more concerned with the associated burden and inconvenience. The Mainlanders think also more of such traditional values as obedience, respect, filial duty, and the obligation of children to take care of their parents.