Temporal Orientation-Based Analysis on The Differences Between Chinese American Character

Abstract：Mindful value comparison becomes incrementally essential for us to understand people from diverse cultural backgrounds.Lauer（1981）once pointed out that time is a construction that people make in relation to one another through their interaction，in other words，time is a social construction.Our value and other elements of culture create our temporal orientation.（Karen Moustafa Leonard & Ujvala Rajadhyaksha & Olga Soler，2008）People’s attitudes in various social and cultural milieus differ from one another regarding time-concerned issues.This paper aims to present a brief analysis on the differences between Chinese and American character in terms of temporal orientation.

Key words：temporal orientation;Chinese;American;character

1. Mainstream Orientation

The temporal orientation asks this question：Is the temporal focus in the culture based on the past，present，or future？（Stella Ting-Toomey，1999）The Chinese are generally considered focusing more on the past than the American.Chinese people tend to advocate a return to the past when people were born.As Lock（1992）elaborated about the past-oriented time sense- an individual life cycle is predetermined by good and bad deeds from a previous life.Chinese Buddhist philosophy highlights the mystery of samsara，demonstrating that people can come to life again in another appearance after death and that what people possess at the moment gives credits to the “Shanguo” buried in the previous life.People in China attach much importance to Qingming Festival when many sacrifice rites are initiated.It is firmly believed that people will be blessed by their ancestors through these activities.In China，it is common address people with position-linked or occupation-linked title even after their retirement.Young people appreciate the senior’s achievements.And the senior enjoys being remembered by the other for the honorable past.

On the contrary，American tend to emphasize concern for the future.Original sin in the Bible preaches that a return to the past equals the regression to sin.Only keeping forward can people clean themselves.（Xiaohong Wei 2010）Hall（1959）categorized America as a nation of monochronicity，which is defined as sequential，linear time perceptions.（Karen Moustafa Leonard，& Ujvala Rajadhyaksha，& Olga Soler，2008）In accordance to Hall’s definition，there is no way back in American temporal conceptions except for one extending to the future.And what American people eager to do is nothing but plunging efforts to prepare for the future.Barack Obama’s election illustrates their concern for the future to some extent.As a mixed-race man elected the president of the U.S.A，he is highly praised for his blueprint for American in the future rather than denounced simply for his ethnic history.In the U.S culture，its view of the future is that the individual can control it by personal achievement and inner-directed accountability.（Stella Ting-Toomey，1999）The U.S.A，a country emphasizing individualism，encourages people to promote self-efficiency，individual responsibility，and personal autonomy which imparts American people the doctrine that they need to fulfill themselves to welcome the bright future.

2. Non-mainstream Orientation

One of the values cherished by the Confucianists is “huozaidangxia”，persuading people to enjoy the moment.So，some Chinese people choose to embrace present-oriented time sense，prioritizing people and activities in the present.At the end of the annual government report，the Chinese government is devoted to making plans for China’s integrated development，putting eyes on the future，which manifesting a future sense in Chinese underlying character.

Many Mexican American，in contrast，prefer to experience life and people around them at the moment.For many African Americans，people and activities in the present assume a higher priority than an external clock schedule.（Stella Ting-Toomey，1999）Americans cherish history as well.Thanks-giving day was first celebrated to express their gratefulness to the native people when the persecuted Puritans set foot on this continent.

3. Conclusion

Knowledge of temporal orientation facilitates cross-cultural communication considerably.Though each culture has a relatively stable pattern of temporal orientation，the pattern cannot always pertain to everyone in that the whole world is changeable，and culture is a complex system.For the sake of efficient cross-cultural communications，no communicator is supposed to formulate a fixed outlook on all people in a specific culture even though an overall cognition is needed.

References

[1]Karen M.L.，& Ujvala R.，& Olga S.（2008）.A Cross-Cultural Investigation of Temporal Orientation in Work Organizations：A Differentiation Matching Approach. International Journal of Intercultural Relations，6（24），1-14.

[2]Stella T.（1999）.Communicating Across Cultures.The Guilford Press. Xiaohong Wei（2010）.The Differences between Chinese and American Cultures in Value Orientation.Journal of Chongqing College of Electronic Engineering，19（1），56-59.

作者簡介：

王雪婷（1993.06-），女，漢族，云南昭通人，碩士研究生，研究方向：跨文化

（作者單位：西南財經大學經貿外語學院）