[摘要]:
如果我们想了解一个国家的文化,首先要了解其国家的价值观。价值观是文化形态的象征。文化的最深层次是价值观。一切文化的不同，最根本的是价值观的不同。中国和西方的价值观，有很大的差别，从而形成了各自特有的文化。下面将从七个最基本的价值观，来分析中西方不同的观念。即“人的本质”，“与自然界的关系”，“时间观念”，“人的活动”，“社会关系”。

[关键词]:比较;价值;文化;不同








Values are the valuative components of our belief, value, and attitude systems. Valuative qualities include usefulness, goodness , aesthetics , ability to satisfy needs , and ability to produce pleasure. Values are broad , abstract concepts which provide the foundation that underlies a people’s entire way of life .they are reflected in many aspects.Values have more characteristics: first, as part of the culture ,values are learned form people around :family ,school, mass media , and so on. Second , values are hidden. Third , each of us has a unique set of individual values, but there also are values that tend to permeate a culture. Fourth , values can be compared on a continuum rather than one of only two possible choices. Fifth , values are interrelated .Finally ,values of a culture change just as cultures do .

★Human nature

In Western country ,human nature is: mixture of good and evil , as follows: separate good from evil; identify strengths and weaknesses ;reward the good in people and punish the bad.
The traditional western belief about human nature is that humans are basically evil. We see this in the Bible story of Adam and Eve. God throws them out of the Garden of Eden because they ate the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge . From that time on ,according to Christian teaching ,all humans have been born with original sin .That means they do evil as part of their nature and can only be saved from evil by God. As a result of the rise of humanism in the West ,this basic belief has changed to one of seeing humans as a mixture of good and evil. The original belief continues to flourish alongside the more modern belief . For instance ,Westerners who are called fundamentalist Christians, those who follow the Bible as a guide to daily life ,still believe that humans are basically evil and must be saved, that is , must accept God to become good .The traditional view has also been incorporated into Western institutions in various ways .The distrust of human nature can be seen in American political institutions with their checks and balances. The legislative branch of government and media journalists should keep an eye on the president ,state governors and other government officials to make sure they do not do anything evil. If some wrongdoing is discovered ,the person should be punished ,usually by being removed from office.

In China , human nature is basically good , as follows: protect people’s virtue; reward good behavior; find the most virtuous people.
In China ,as in other Asian societies that have accepted the teachings of Confucius, people are believed to be basically good. As we said ,children are believed to be pure and innocent but may become corrupt as they grow older and have more contact with society . The direction of moral change is more likely to be from good to bad ,rather than from bad to good as it is in the West. Because of this danger, it is the responsibility of those in authority , such as parents, teachers and political leaders ,to protect the morality of those under their care and to be models of virtue themselves. Chinese people share with Westerners a belief that education should be a good moral influence on people . In fact, Chinese expect schools and universities to be places of virtue.

★      Relationship and humans to nature

In Western country , relationship and humans to nature is :humans control nature . as follows: make life comfortable and convenient ;problems can be solved once we know the facts ;be objective.
The Western experience of human life being separate from nature can be found in the Bible story of creation .When God creates Adam ,he is given dominance over all of God’s creation. Adam and his human descendents stand apart from and above nature and are told to use the natural world to meet human needs. As masters of nature .humans are encouraged to control it and exploit it in any way they choose.to master the natural world ,people need to study and explore it to figure out how it works ,much as you might figure out how a machine works before you use it .This attitude of looking at the natural world as an object contributed to the development of Western science.

In China , relationship and humans to nature is: harmony with nature, as follows: live according to the rhythms of nature ;everything has its own character; be balanced.
Chinese traditional medicine shows the cultural value of harmony with nature. In Chinese medicine the human body is part of nature and needs to be brought back into balance. Medicine should work with the body’s own resources.It should be integrated with the body.

★      Sense of time

In Western country , sense of time is :future orientation, as follows :control the future by planning for it ;what is past is past and not important ;the young know what is happening ;study history to shape the future .
In their mind, each of us has such a bank. Its name is time . Every morning ,it credits you with 86,400 seconds .Every night it writes off. As lost , whatever of this you have failed to invest to good purpose. It carries over no balance. It allows no overdraft . Each day it opens a new account for you. Each night it burns the remains of the day.If you fail to use the day’s deposits,the loss if yours. There is no going back . There is no drawing against the “tomorrow” .You must live in the present on today’s deposits . Invest it so as to get from it the utmost in heath, happiness, and success! The clock is running . Make the most of today. And remember that time waits for no one.    

In China ,sense of time is :past orientation, as follows :tradition if the best teacher; what happened in the past is important today; the old are wise ; break with the past to change society.
In China ,time is more like the rhythm of the waves, the ebb and flow of hourly,daily annual and historical cycles. Pay attention to these rhythms and stay in tune with them . Each activity has its time. It is a pleasure to enjoy the strawberries when they come into season. They will only be available for a few weeks, so enjoy them and do not think about them when the time is not right.         They pay attention to the past . It is a cushion that softens the pressures of life . It is a reservoir of the wisdom of your ancestors . It is the precious life experience accumulated by your parents and grandparents who lovingly pass it on to you. It is where all our rich humanity , including virtue, can be found in the endless stories of heroes, leaders, scoundrels , enemies, lovers, and sages. Be thankful for them ,as they never fail to guide and help you.

★ Activity

In Western country , activity is doing –what you are doing. As follows :achieve specific goals; develop procedures and measure results; show the world what you can do; pay attention to actions.
Doing culture people often talk a lot and may not be especially physically active. If you ask such a person what they are doing with their talk, they might say that they are planning , problem-solving , gathering information or making decisions. These are important concepts for people from doing cultures because these are the mental activities that lead to action or are the equivalent of action. They consider these activities as well as their achievements to be important ,usually more important than their social status or position. When two person meet for the first time , one of the first questions asked is , “What do you do ?” The answer is usually a statement of activity –I design software –rather than a job or position title.

In China , activity is being-who you are, as follows: protect your dignity and the dignity of others; fulfill your role; show the world who you are ;pay attention to people.
In being cultures ,social statues and position may be more significant than what the person does. The Chinese in these situations are likely to be showing that they are friendly, virtuous, or sufficiently important to be worthy of the Westerner’s attention and relationship.The Chinese say things that a person of their status and character should say to show that they are educated, polite ,humble , high-ranking or hospitable.

★ Social relationships

In Western country , social relationships is individual, as follows: express your own feelings and ideas ;be as independent and self-reliant as possible; make your own decisions and choices.
In culture with individualist values each person is seen as autonomous and separate. In the United States and other individualistic societies, social relations are based on the autonomy of each person. That means that each person should be treated as an individual first and only secondarily as a member of a group or the occupant of a position in a hierarchy. In practice Americans often fail to act on their strong belief in equality . Class and race continue to be important factors in American society, even though most Americans will say they do not like hierarchies or that hierarchies are not so important. The frequent use of first names is one way they do this. People often address one another as individuals rather than as roles or positions. Those in high positions often send messages that say they are just like everyone else. In individualist cultures, people are more likely to express pride in themselves and their accomplishment rather than to express pride in their group, company, family ,or hometown. Because an individual’s position in life is seen to be the result of his own efforts and ability ,it is difficult for him to feel good when things are not going well.

In China , social relationships is hierarchy ,as follows: obey authority; know your place ;treat others according to their position ;look to leading figures to know what to think and do.
In a hierarchy people have clearly defined privileges and obligations according to their position. For instance ,an older brother is expected to protect and advise a younger brother, while the younger one is expected to listen to and serve the older one. Even in relationships ,which to people from other culture appear to be non-hierachical, Chinese people are aware of a hierarchy. It
May be based on age ,family social position ,academic achievement , or some other criterion . In both obvious and subtle ways people’s relationships with one another are influenced by where they perceive each other to be in a number of different hierarchies.


Conclusion: Any social group has its own particular culture and the values ; any social individual is the cultural product, which share their own social group's rules; the formation that is built in any community , as a result of approval of the social individual culture. Why are the Values between Western country and China so different? The reasons include: the different world view, historical perspective, politics, religious belief. manners in life, national system , education of the family and the school, influence of traditional ideas, condition of the economical development and so on .All these reasons cause the differences. So the Western country and China have their unique values and culture.






Reference :

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Stewart , Edward C. and Milton J. Bennett ,American Cultural Pattens: A Cross-Cultural Perspective, (Yarmouth ME: Intercultural Press,1991)

H.Wenzhong &C.L.Grove, Encountering the Chinese : A Guide to Americans (Yarmouth, ME: intercultural Press,1990)

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