The difference between Chinese and Western culture

吳銅

With the advent of economic globalization， further expand of Chinas opening， more and more people go abroad to participate in cross-cultural communication， we all need to learn the differences between Chinese and Western culture. I will do a simple discussion here.

Diet.

The first is cooking method.

There are many cooking methods in China， such as stir-frying， pan-frying， quick-frying， deep-frying， boiling， steaming， etc. Chinese always try their best to use these cooking methods to make the food better， they pay attention to form. In addition， Rise is Chinese main food.

Westerners cooking method is very simple， boiling is the regular method. Keep the foods nutrition value is the most important for them， so they do not pay attention to many methods， they focus on content. Bread is Westerners main food， and fast food is very popular in their countries..

The second is tableware.

Chinese use chopsticks. We all know that its impossible for us to meal by one piece chopstick， but its very easy by a pair of chopsticks. This phenomenon reflects the coordination and unity.

Westerner use knife and fork， knife is in right hand， and fork is in left hand. It reflects independence.

The third is dining mode.

Chinese family often sit together at the table， eating all the food there， so Chinese people have a overall concept.

While Westerners put the food into small pieces in advance， and one piece each one， you can see that westerners have individual consciousness.

The last is drinking.

Chinese like drinking tea， because it can refresh， eliminate fatigue， and improve endurance. With the development of society， improvement of peoples living standard， there are more and more tea house was built， and you can feel Chinese tea culture from their decorative styles.

Westerners like drinking coffee， coffee comes from the Greek “Kaweh”. It means power and passion.

Etiquette Culture.

Etiquette is the rule of communication between people， it is also a language and a tool. Because of the differences in national history， so the etiquette culture is different.

Calling Names.

For Chinese name， first is the family name， and then is the given name.

For Western name， first is the given name， and then is the family name.

Greeting.

In China， we always say “ Have you eaten yet？ ”， or “ What are you going to do？ ”.

In Western countries， they often say “ Good morning/afternoon/evening.”， or “ Fine day， isnt it？ ”.

Asking Personal Affairs

When people ask you some personal affairs， for example， name、age、wages、personal life、etc. Chinese will think people care about them， its concern. For Westerners opinion， people break their right of privacy， they will not happy when they meet these questions.

Thought.

In China， when our friend tell me he is sick， we always tell him many suggestions， such as “go to see a doctor、drink more water、take pills、put on more cloth、have a good rest.”I heard a story before， when a Chinese person gave these suggestions to his sick Western country friend， his friend was surprised and asked him “ You are not my mother， are you？ ”. In Western countries， they always say “ I am sorry to hear that， and I hope youll be all right very soon. ”

In a word， Chinese always show too much care to everyone， but personal independence is very important in Westerners， and if you give them much care， they think you treat them as weak. They do not allow people to underestimate their abilities.

Family.

Chinese have strong sense of family， especially for kinship. Even if the children grow up and marry， the parents always still take care of them.

In Western countries， when the children reach 18 years old， they must be independent， parent will not take care of them. They must go to do part time job to earn money for their life even during their study in school.

Festivals

Chinese traditional festivals are Spring Festival， Mid-Autumn Festival， and Dragon Boat Festival.

Western popular festivals are Christmas， Thanksgiving， April Fools Day， and Easter.

Color and Number.

For Chinese， Red is the symbol of joy， peace， and success， and Chinese national flag is red. White means death， failure， and surrender.

For Westerners， Red means alert and danger. White means elegance， purity， and honesty.

In China， the lucky numbers are 6 and 8. 6 means safety and smooth， 8 means luck， fortune， and happy. The unlucky number is 4， it means death.

In Western countries， the lucky number is 7， it means good luck. The unlucky number is 13， it means the most unlucky one， there is no 13 in the elevators.

There are differences in many aspects in different countries， we must pay more attention to these differences， and continue learning to promote Chinese cultural innovation.