The Differences of Family Values in Chinese and American Cultures

The Differences of Family Values in Chinese and American Cultures

ABSTRACT

This paper aims to make a contrastive study on family values in Chinese and American cultures from the three parts: the attitude to the family members and their relationships, marriage and family education. As the pace of the global economy integration accelerates, cross-cultural communication between China and America is becoming more and more frequent and important，and the research can undoubtedly help Chinese people and American people to further understand with each other and their family values and to avoid the unnecessary conflict caused by the misunderstanding and mistakes in cross-cultural communication.

Key words: the differences of family values, filial piety, marriage, family education

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本科毕业论文

中美文化中家庭观念比较研究

摘 要

本文旨在比较中美文化中不同的家庭观念，主要是从三个方面进行对比：对家庭成员的态度及他们之间的关系，婚姻和家庭教育。随着全球经济一体化的加快，中美跨文化交际变得越来越频繁，同时也更至关重要。因此,此研究将毫无疑问帮助人们进一步了解中美文化中人们的家庭观念，以防止在跨文化交际中由于误解而产生的不必要的冲突。

关键词：家庭观念；孝道；婚姻；家庭教育

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Table of Contents

1 Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1 2 Literature Review............................................................................................................................ 2 3 The Definitions of Family, Values and Family Values .................................................................... 3

3.1 The Definition of Family ..................................................................................................... 3 3.2 The Definition of Values ...................................................................................................... 3

3.2.1 The Decisive Values in Chinese Culture: Collectivism ............................................. 3 3.2.2 The Decisive Values in American Culture: Individualism ........................................ 4 3.3 The Definition of Family Values .......................................................................................... 4 3.4 The Meaning of Family to Chinese and Americans ............................................................. 5 4 Differences Between Chinese and Americans Family Values ......................................................... 5

4.1 The Attitude to the Family Members and Their Relationships ............................................ 6

4.1.1 The Attitude to the Family Members and Their Relationships in China ................... 6 4.1.2 The Attitude to the Family Members and Their Relationships in America ............... 7 4.2 The Concept of Marriage ..................................................................................................... 7

4.2.1 Chinese Concept of Marriage ................................................................................... 8 4.2.2 American Concept of Marriage ................................................................................. 8 4.3 The Concept of Education.................................................................................................... 9

4.3.1 Chinese Concept of Education ................................................................................ 10 4.3.2 American Concept of Education ............................................................................. 11 4.4 The Influences to the Different Family Values in Chinese and American Cultures ........... 12 5 The Conclusion ............................................................................................................................. 13 References ........................................................................................................................................... 14 Acknowledgements ............................................................................................. 错误！未定义书签。

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The Differences of Family Values in Chinese and American Cultures

1 Introduction

Family is the most fundamental unit of all human society. It reflects the ethical values of a society, its cultural characteristics and the unique features of a nation. People begin to learn anything about the world and their culture through the family they are brought up in. Families do not develop their rules, beliefs, and rituals in a vacuum. What you think, how you act, even your language, are all transmitted through the family from the wider cultural context. This context includes the culture in which you live, and those from which your ancestors have come, which is named family values in general.

Family values are the core in the research of cultural values, and it has a huge influence on people?s thoughts and behaviors. So if we want to get a glimpse of the cultures of two different countries, it is necessary to know their different family values. In this paper we will analyze family values from different aspects, including the relationship between the parents and their children and the husband and the wife, the concept of the marriage and family education. By comparison, we come into the conclusion that due to the differences of geographical and historical background, religion and belief, different nations have their own family values, but the main reason differs the Chinese and American family values; i.e. individualism of Americans and collectivism of Chinese, and these two ideas influence a lot on the family values of the two countries. Individualism and collectivism are totally opposite. Individualism tells people the importance of self-effort and self-achievement, personal goal and personal right; and personal interest is higher than the interest of group; while collectivism puts forward that the interest of group is much more important than yours, and sometimes for the sake of the interest of the whole group one should obey the group without preconditions and complaint.

This paper tries to make a contrastive study between family values in China and in American cultures from the three parts: the attitude to the family members and their relationships, marriage and family education. As the pace of the global economy integration accelerates, cross-cultural communication between China and America is becoming more and more frequent and important，and the research can undoubtedly help Chinese people and American people to further understand with each other and their family values and to avoid unnecessary conflicts caused by the misunderstanding

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