On Different Values of Individualism in Chinese and American Cultures
On Different Values of Individualism in Chinese and American Cultures
1. Introduction Everyone, every social class and every country have their own unique values. It is the fact that value is the core of cross-culture communication and the differences of culture among countries depend on different values. Value exerts great influence on everyone’s daily life. Scores of people rely on value to obtain knowledge, master the basic skills and foster correct world outlook. China and America are two opposite countries in terms of different values. It exists in many different fields in China and America such as politics, literature and family structure. The essence of these differences actually reflects the cultural differences. The word individualism also shows us two entirely different values. Due to the different understanding and comprehension, it is quite important to research on the topic on different values of individualism in Chinese and American Cultures. People need to find out other cultures through the core value rather than measure other cultures by native values. Foreign language learners should strive to overcome cultural differences and avoid mistakes in communication after we understand different meanings of individualism between China and America. In The Contemporary Chinese Dictionary(1997), People who just care about themselves put individual interests above collective interests and that is a wrong thought, which means some people only mind his own business instead of other people’s feeling. The pattern of Chinese culture focuses on inner world and embodies in introspection and wisdom. Nevertheless, American culture keeps a watchful eye on outside world. Only in this way, they can express their feeling outwardly. American life also shows the epitome of driving force in these modern societies（Adams, 1938）. It advocates each person should have rights to acquire maximum property (Yuan Yan, 2001). Wang Jintang (1997), who ever compiled the famous
1. Introduction Everyone, every social class and every country have their own unique values. It is the fact that value is the core of cross-culture communication and the differences of culture among countries depend on different values. Value exerts great influence on everyone’s daily life. Scores of people rely on value to obtain knowledge, master the basic skills and foster correct world outlook. China and America are two opposite countries in terms of different values. It exists in many different fields in China and America such as politics, literature and family structure. The essence of these differences actually reflects the cultural differences. The word individualism also shows us two entirely different values. Due to the different understanding and comprehension, it is quite important to research on the topic on different values of individualism in Chinese and American Cultures. People need to find out other cultures through the core value rather than measure other cultures by native values. Foreign language learners should strive to overcome cultural differences and avoid mistakes in communication after we understand different meanings of individualism between China and America. In The Contemporary Chinese Dictionary(1997), People who just care about themselves put individual interests above collective interests and that is a wrong thought, which means some people only mind his own business instead of other people’s feeling. The pattern of Chinese culture focuses on inner world and embodies in introspection and wisdom. Nevertheless, American culture keeps a watchful eye on outside world. Only in this way, they can express their feeling outwardly. American life also shows the epitome of driving force in these modern societies（Adams, 1938）. It advocates each person should have rights to acquire maximum property (Yuan Yan, 2001). Wang Jintang (1997), who ever compiled the famous