Talking about the cultural differences between China and the United States

Cultural differences between China and America

China and the United States are deeply rooted in some cultural and social differences. Here are some examples I have observed. I want to emphasize here that these views are general, but there are still some special cases.

First, individualism

Americans are quite individualistic, while eastern societies (including China, of course) emphasize family and class levels. This is a very important and influential difference. There are many examples of Americans advocating personal characteristics, and parents rarely interfere with their children's development.

Second, the right to privacy.

Americans usually respect the privacy of others. Even close friends rarely ask others too "personal" questions, such as age, salary, marital status, etc. We should also talk less about the third party. Uninvited guests (including parents) are definitely not welcome.

Third, informal.

Americans are more casual in clothes and entertainment. Most importantly, the communication between people is relatively informal, even if the age or status of the two sides are very different. There are countless examples of this. For example, many students directly address professors, while the younger generation directly address the elderly by their first names. In the eyes of many orientals, this informal expression of "surpassing generation" and "surpassing identity" is considered impolite.

Fourth, openness and directness.

Americans are quite open and direct, especially in professional discussions, and there are often arguments of different opinions (note: arguments, not arguments of striking tables or smashing microphones). On the contrary, orientals often do not conflict directly, but mediate tactfully through a third party with higher status.

Verb (abbreviation for verb) independence and self-reliance

Americans usually don't like to rely on others, and even their parents may not be willing to accept their help. Parents also encourage their children to leave home early and live independently. Teenagers in our country are developing slowly in this respect. For international students, it should be noted that the guidance professor attaches great importance to the ability of graduate students to do research independently. For foreign students who are not fluent in English, if you are rejected when you borrow notes from Americans, it doesn't necessarily mean that they hate you. It is likely that they care about each other and think that you should be independent.

Competitiveness of intransitive verbs

The development of American society is driven by competition. "Work hard and have fun" is the style of most people. They all like to overwhelm their opponents in oral debates, and this "last word" style is of course a manifestation of competitiveness. Their spirit of competition and challenge is also fully displayed in sports competitions, and even when they call it "playing", they are quite serious. Ordinary Americans are crazy about a team, and they often use it to vent their emotions. For example, when the school team plays, the school police often have to check the audience who enter the stadium and prevent them from bringing wine into the stadium. During the game, the audience is noisy and often throws things around. Some entertainment performances are also a bit puzzling. For example, one trick is to throw a female cheerleader from the bottom of the audience, and the first-class person will throw her up again until the highest-class one is thrown down again; Accidents happen occasionally. I am also a fan, but I watch TV at home to avoid losing money at the scene. Moreover, it is necessary to count the time after the game and avoid walking on the road, because fans are happy to win (if they see the driver honking his horn, they don't have to listen to the report), but they are depressed and angry to lose. Both results are crazy. Some hot-blooded boys do more strange things. One thing to emphasize is that most Americans are very disciplined and don't harass others unless they are venting.

Seven, public etiquette.

Americans usually respect the peace of others. Needless to say, in the opera house, even in the theater, you can enjoy it silently. The conversation voice when eating in the restaurant is also quite low, which is quite different from the noise of boxing and drinking in China. The queue is very orderly, and it is absolutely rare to refuse to cut in line and rush to get on the bus. Drivers usually obey traffic rules, such as not running red lights when no one is around at night, respecting pedestrians and letting passers-by cross the road first. Students from countries that don't obey traffic rules should be especially careful when studying in the United States.

Eight, friend mode

The definition of "friend" in the American population is broad and different. For example, friends at work, friends who play ball, friends who go to school, friends who drink, and so on. In addition, the United States has a vast territory and a large population mobility, and friends rarely confide personal things, so friendship is relatively "warm". China people's friendship is usually "one hair pulls one hair and moves the whole body". If you disagree with each other, try to avoid meeting each other, which is more ups and downs. Borrowing money from friends is common in China, but it is rare in the United States.

Nine, the use of funds mode

China people usually make a conservative budget, while Americans are close to the "limit" and tend to spend beyond the budget (which is also related to the large use of credit cards in American society). Americans are very willing to buy things, especially buying a house and a car, and they are more "Jewish" in eating and drinking, especially treating guests; On the other hand, China people are willing to spend money to entertain guests.

X. world outlook

Perhaps because of the prosperity of the United States in recent years and the biased emphasis on education in some aspects, most Americans are "home-centered" and have a superficial understanding of other countries. Americans' ignorance of world geography is a very sad thing for the National Geographic Society. There is a joke in the United States: residents of a state in the northeast wrote to the state government to ask about the situation in New Mexico, and the answer was actually: We are not familiar with the situation in other countries and have no comment.

The source of China culture comes from the Confucian doctrine of the mean, which determines that China people attach great importance to face and dignity, and anything that hurts face and collective dignity is unforgivable. In other words, China people's code of conduct is somewhat modest and self-disciplined, which is permeated with the introverted meaning of "don't do to others what you don't want others to do to you". The essential contradiction and internal contradiction between Chinese and American cultures are the main reasons for the friction. The complementary economic interests between China and the United States attract the two countries together, leading to the compromise of cultural differences between the two sides. To solve the problems between China and the United States, cultural differences are not the reason for confrontation. On the contrary, China culture, which has been baptized by a long history of 5,000 years, is extremely resilient and inclusive. Therefore, there may be friction and discord on a series of issues in Sino-US relations in the future, but such friction and discord will not affect the long-term development of Sino-US relations. Looking back at history, the reasons for the confrontation between China and the United States are at least few, if not non-existent. I am afraid that the reason why Sino-US relations are so anxious to stumble is that with the advancement of globalization, the understanding between the two sides is lagging behind.