試從跨文化角度分析中美文化中面子觀的差異

摘 要： 面子對于人們有著重要的意義，但不同文化背景下的人們對于面子有著不同的理解。對于如何準確定義面子至今仍存在爭議。筆者以Goffman和Helen Spencer-Oatey的面子理論為依據，從跨文化角度分析了中美文化中面子觀的不同，并進一步分析了產生這種差異的原因。

關鍵詞： 跨文化角度 中美文化 面子觀 差異

1.引言

Face is a concept that is intuitively meaningful to people，but one that is difficult to define precisely.It is concerned with people’s sense of worth，dignity and identity，and is associated with issues such as respect，honor，status，reputation and competence（cf.Ting-Toomey and Kurogi，1998）.

2.面子理論

Goffman defined face as “the positive social value a person effectively claims for himself by the line others assume he has taken during a particular contact. Face is an image of self delineated in terms of approved social attributes”（Goffman，1955）.Brown and Levinson（1987），in their seminal work on politeness，propose that face is the key motivating force for politeness，and they maintain that it consists of two related aspects，negative face and positive face. In their model，negative face is a person’s want to be unimpeded by others，the desire to be free to act as she/he chooses and not be imposed upon；and positive face is a person’s want to be appreciated and approved of by selected others，in terms of personality，desires，behaviour，values，and so on.In other words，negative face represents a desire for autonomy，and positive face represents a desire for approval.

Helen Spencer-Oatey follows Goffman’s definition of face.Furthermore，she suggests that face has the following two interrelated aspects：

Quality face：we have a fundamental desire for people to evaluate us positively in terms of our personal qualities，e.g.our competence，abilities，appearance etc.Quality face is concerned with the value that we effectively claim for ourselves in terms of such personal qualities as these，and so is closely associated with our sense of personal self-esteem.

Identity face：we have a fundamental desire for people to acknowledge and uphold our social identities or roles，e.g.as group leader，valued customer，close friend. Identity face is concerned with the value that we effectively claim for ourselves in terms of social or group roles，and is closely associated with our sense of public worth.（Helen Spencer-Oatey，2000）

3.中美文化中面子觀的差異

Face is a universal phenomenon：Everyone has the same fundamental face concerns.However，culture can affect the relative sensitivity of different aspects of people’s face，as well as which strategies are most appropriate for managing face（cf.Ting-Toomey and Kurogi，1998；Gudykunst）.

Goffman’s allusion shows that the differences among cultures are not in the variety of components of face，but in varying emphasis on the components（Goffman，1967）.Prestige，honor，status，dignity，and authority are all attributes given by others.The difference is whether one thinks those attributes belong to the individual or to the interface between the individual and the others.

In China’s collectivistic culture，where people are supposed to have a thick layer of “social self”（Mead，1934） or “interdependent mutual self”（Morisaki Gudykunst，1994），they tend to ascribe these attributes to “social self” or “interdependent mutual self”.On the other hand，in U.S.American individualistic culture，people tend to ascribe these attributes to individual self and consider them to be their own prestige，honor，status，dignity，and authority.

4.分析中美文化面子觀存在差異的原因

4.1儒家思想一直是中國傳統哲學體系的基石，兩千多年來，它塑造了中國文明，并對中國人的思想觀念產生了深遠的影響，其影響已深深烙印在中國人的民族性格中。儒家思想的核心是“三綱”、“五常”。“三綱”是指“君為臣綱，父為子綱，夫為妻綱”，要求為臣、為子、為妻的必須絕對服從于君、父、夫，同時也要求君、父、夫為臣、子、妻作出表率。它反映了封建社會中君臣、父子、夫婦之間的一種特殊的道德關系。“五常”即仁、義、禮、智、信，是用以調整、規范君臣、父子、兄弟、夫婦、朋友等人倫關系的行為準則。“五倫”即“父子有親，君臣有義，夫婦有別，長幼有序，朋友有信”。儒家思想為封建階級統治和等級秩序的神圣性和合理性而辯護，成為中國封建專制主義統治的基本理論，從某種程度上說，它使人文主義和人與人之間平等的觀念長期以來受到了忽視，對中國文化中面子觀的形成和根植大眾產生了很大的影響。正如周永新提到的：中國文化里的人是倫常關系中的一員，一個人是否快樂要看他在這種關系中能否達到和諧的狀況。此外，中國的家族制度也是“面子”形成的重要動力。中國有著深厚的“崇祖”觀念，每個家庭都是家族延續的脈絡上的一個單位，而每個人都是某個單位中的一份子。因此個人的行為及成就就不僅關系到他自己，還關系到家族的期待和面子，這其中還包含了光宗耀祖的責任。

For example，the Chinese who have moved abroad usually continue to send money back to their parents as a token of their filial piety.What’s more，many young people still try to live near their parents whenever possible even after their marriage.Family members depend on each other for support and they are required to show loyalty to the family and bring demonstrated virtuous behavior to the whole family.Therefore，the meaning of “face” should view in relation to the gain or loss of the social status of the family，not just of the individual.

因此從這個意義上講，中國人的面子更多的是集體性的面子。在重視人際關系價值觀的背后，是傾向從群體價值取向為依歸。

4.2與中國不同的是，西方早在14世紀就出現了以人文主義為主導思想的文藝復興。它肯定人性和人的價值，要求享受人世的歡樂，追求人的個性解放和自由平等，推崇人的感性經驗和理性思維。文藝復興是追求人文主義的開始，此后，西方人越來越推崇人文主義，后來發展成為“自由”、“民主”思想。以美國為例，美國人推崇個人主義，個人主義的核心是“追求個人幸福和個人成就”。他們認為每個人都是一個獨立的個體，人活著就應該努力實現個人目標。美國人重視個人的權利和需要，更崇尚獨立和自我實現，正如那句諺語所說：God helps those who help themselves.他們堅信：社會給每個人的機會都是平等的，人應該自由追求個人目標，實現自我價值和個人成就。在美國家庭中，家庭成員之間是平等的朋友關系，在做決定時，妻子和丈夫有平等的發言權，在某些事情上，孩子也有發言權。夫婦、子女、兄弟姊妹均有獨立的權利，所得的社會照顧也是分開的，不會受其他家庭成員的影響。

For example，life in the U.S.is highly mobile today，and the composition of one’s community and friendship groups changes often during one’s lifetime，and even relatives can be left behind when somebody decides to search for opportunity elsewhere.Most old people do not live with their children or relatives.If they have enough money，they will buy houses or apartments in places where other old people live.If they aren’t healthy and strong enough to live alone，they would rather live in nursing houses for old people than be taken by their children.Therefore，they do not want to grow old，because they will not gain honor，respect or attention as old people.If someone does wrong，he will usually lose face of his own，not of the whole family.From this viewpoint，the meaning of “face” should view in relation to the gain or loss of the social status just of the individual，not of the family.

所以從這個意義上講，美國人的面子更多的是個體性的面子，在尊重個人價值觀的背后，是傾向從個人價值取向為依歸。

4.3中國有長達兩千年之久的封建社會歷史，封建社會主要是以人治為主，情大于法，社會財富的分配受很多人為因素的影響，所以面子就不僅僅是維持自尊的需要，在很多情況下，一個人的面子及其所帶來的影響力是與他的物質利益緊密相連的。正因為如此，封建統治下的中國人非常重視維護面子及在各種社會關系中最好地發揮面子的作用。盡管封建統治已經結束，但這種思維模式還在很大程度上影響著當今的中國人。因此中國文化在面子觀上更傾向于社會身份面子。

4.4美國是一個完全沒有封建統治歷史的國家，它從建國開始就是一個法制為主的資本主義國家，有著相對完善的法律體系，生活的各個方面（包括社會財富的分配）都有具體的法律條文來制約和保證。在中國人的眼中，美國人講法律幾乎到了不近人情的程度。自然，法律意識如此強的美國人一旦感覺自己的合法權益受到侵犯或者感覺自己受到了不公正的待遇，就會毫不猶豫地通過法律途徑解決問題。因此，社會關系和社會地位與個人的面子之間的相互影響和作用并不大，所以美國文化更側重于質的面子。

5.結語

Given its traditional-collectivistic values，Chinese culture would put more weight than American culture on generational rank，birth，blood or marriage ties，social connections，and formal title，position，rank.U.S.American culture，which champions individualism，would put the most weight on attributes that reflect personal effort or achievement and personal reputation（Ho，1994）.A permissible generalization is that Chinese culture tends to emphasize Identity face，whereas U.S.American culture tends to emphasize Quality face.

參考文獻：

［1］Helen Spencer-Oatey.Managing Rapport through Talk Across Cultures.上海：上海外語教育出版社，2007.

［2］Akio Yabuuchi.Face in Chinese，Japanese，and U.S.American cultures.Journal of Asian Pacific Communication，John Benjamins Publishing Company，2004.

［3］羅選民.英漢文化對比與跨文化交際.沈陽：遼寧人民出版社，2000.

［4］王軼楠，楊中芳.中西方面子研究綜述.心理科學，Psychological Science，2005，28（2）.

［5］李軍，宋燕妮.面子理論在漢文化中的考察.修辭學習，2004，（2）.