中西方审美文化差异

Aesthetic and cultural differences between Chinese and Western-—— A Comparative Study on Face Perception and Pragmatic Strategies in Chinese and Western Cultures中西方审美文化差异——中西方文化中的面子观及语用策略对比研究ContentsAcknowledgement (I)Abstrac t (English) (Ⅱ)Abstract (Chinese) (Ⅲ)Contents (Ⅳ)1. Introduction (6)1.1 Necessity and Significance of the Study (6)1.2 Literature Review (7)1.3 Purpose of the Study (8)2. The Difference of Face perception and Pragmatic Strategies in Chinese and Western cultures (8)2.1 Face in Chinese Culture (9)2. 2 Face in Western Cultures (11)2.3Pragmatic Strat egies in Chinese and Western cultures (12)3. Analyze the Factors of Difference (14)3.1 Confucianism and Christianity ......................... .. (14)3.2 Individualism and Collectivism......................... .. (15)3.3 Deductive and Inductive (17)5. Conclusion (18)References (19)AcknowledgementsThrough the process of writing this paper, I got a lot of help from others. Here I want to express my sincere thanks to them.First and foremost, my sincere gratitude goes to my respected supervisor, Prof. Ye Jing who has helped me throughout the process of writing this thesis with her timely advice and meticulous criticisms, overall direction and suggested revisions.Secondly I would like to thank all the teachers in our department, from whom we got to know how to do, how to learn and how to be. Through their earnest teaching of 4 years, I have acquired solid knowledge of English history and culture, and skills to learn more efficiently and independently. Meanwhile, I have learned how to behave myself as college student. I feel grateful to them all.Finally, I wish to give special thanks to all my classmates and friends, whose support has encouraged me to overcome many difficulties. Without their love and assistance, the accomplishment of this thesis would have been impossible.摘要面子观存在于人类的交往之中，但不同文化背景下对面子观的理解也有很多不同之处。

如今，面子和面子功夫在跨文化交际中被广泛应用，同时也发挥着非常重要的作用，但是不同的文化背景对面子的理解应用却不尽相同。

本文将在分析中国传统文化和西方个人主义的基础上来分析中西方的面子观。

通过对比分析，本文将揭示中西文化中面子观及语用策略的差异。

同时，本文也试图从文化根源上找出中西文化相互融合，相互理解的途径，从而使人们能更好的进行交流，从中受益。

对比分析中西方面子观的差异对于避免冲突和误解是有着实际意义的。

本文将从文化背景、价值观念和思维方式的差异来对比分析中西方面子观及其语用策略的差异。

关键词：面子观；个人主义；集体主义；语用策略AbstractFace exists in all human communication, but there are also many differences of face perception in different cultures. Moreover, face and facework have been employed in intercultural communication widely, playing very important roles in intercultural communication, while the using style and principles vary a lot according to differentculture backgrounds. The present thesis analyzes the concept of "face" under Chinese traditional culture and that in the individual-oriented western cultures.It is very useful to explore the differences of face perception and language strategies in Chinese and Western cultures in order to avoid conflicts and misunderstandings in cross-cultural communication.On the basis of the comparative analysis of the different cultures, different value systems and different thought patterns between Chinese and western cultures, this thesis attempts to make a thorough comparative study on the difference of face perception and pragmatic strategies in Chinese and western culture, with the hope that it will be beneficial for cross-cultural communication.Key words: face; individualism; collectivism; pragmatic strategies1. Introduction1.1 Necessity and Significance of the StudyNowadays, as the world becomes more interdependent, cross-cultural communication becomes much more frequent. However, in cross-cultural communication, people share less knowledge of cultural background, and misunderstandings and conflicts often occur. Because people from different cultures view the world through different lenses attach different meaning to particular events and behaviors, and have different standards for their judgments in given situations. The nature of cross-cultural is complex, and the analysis of the different face perception and pragmatic strategies in different cultures is necessary to help people understand each other and benefit their communication.“There is no faceless communication; saving face is the strongest motive in the world” (Scollon & Scollon, 2000).This sentence highlights the importance of studying face. When we communicate with westerners, it's important for us to know their face needs. Face is central to intercultural communication. Therefore, the research on different face concepts in different cultures can reduce the intercultural misunderstandings and promote more effective and smooth communication between different cultures.Generally speaking, whenever there is communication, face is usually involved as an ingredient as well as means for communication. It has a lot to do with whether a verbal interaction succeeds or not. On the other hand, in daily life, more often than not, people start a communication which results just from the want of obtaining his own face, giving others face, or even damaging the face of himself or the other part. Therefore, the choosing of pragmatic strategies is very important and the comparison of pragmatic strategies in different cultures is also practical and meaningful. We choose different pragmatic strategies in different situations. And people from different cultures use different pragmatic strategies to save his face and maintain others' face. To understand these differences and explore the reasons for these differences is helpful forcross-cultural communication.Great importance is attached to the face and face saving strategies are both adapted in china and the western countries. Many Chinese and western scholars have made many contributions to the field and conducted many valuable researches. As two outstanding scholars in the area, Brown and Levinson divided face into two kinds: negative face and positive face. They also put forward two politeness strategies: positive politeness strategy and negative politeness strategies. As the polite speech is used to save face, certain face saving strategies are chosen in accordance to principle of Leech or the politeness tactics of Guyueguo.Based on the former scholars' researches, this thesis attempts to make a comparison of face perception and pragmatic strategies between Chinese and western cultures through the analysis of their different cultures, value systems and thought patterns.1.2 Literature ReviewThis thesis attempts to make an analysis of the difference of face perception and pragmatic strategies between Chinese and western cultures from the viewpoint of cultural impacts by the application of some relevant theories. Most of the theories in this field connect with self, politeness principles, culture and so on. Hu Hsien-chin (1944) developed the notion of face from the two terms “lian” and “mianzi”. “Mianzi” is “a reputation achieved through getting on in life through success and ostent ation” and it concerns the projection and the claiming of public image, while “lian” is an internalized moral face that everyone is entitled to by virtue and refers to “the respect of the group for a man with good moral reputation” and includes “the loss o f which makes it impossible for him or her to function properly within the community” (Hu, 1944). Based on Chinese culture, Gu (1990) claimed that Chinese concepts about “face” and politeness are different from western culture. In western culture, “face” i s regarded asself-image and in China “face” is regarded as public-image. To be polite, Leech thinks that you should follow “Politeness Principle”. However, Leech's politeness principles seldom consider the culture difference and stand for the western culture. So it does not match the Chinese concept of limao. According to American sociologist Erving Goffman (1955), the term face may be defined as the positive social value a person effectively claims for himself by the line others assume he has taken during a particular contact, and face is a sacred thing for every human being, an essential factor communication all have to pay attention to; face wants are reciprocal, i.e., one wants his face cared for, he should care for other people's face. Brown and Levinson (1987) expanded Gofman's theory of face in their politeness theory, which contains three basic notions: face, face threatening acts (FTAs) and politeness strategies. Brown and Levinson (1987) define face as “the public self-image that every member wants to claim for himself” and it consists of two related aspects: negative face and positive face. Negative face means non-imposition, and positive face includes the desire to be liked and admired. Brown and Levinson's theory can be further developed and the most significant research further along this line is Ron Scollon and Suzanne Wong Scollon's (2000) work on face system in communication in which they proposed the influence of cultural elements and self identity on facework. Scollon and Scollon developed the politeness system. They observe three politeness systems: the deference politeness system, the solidarity politeness system and the hierarchical politeness system.1.3 Purpose of the StudyWith the development of china, the relation between china and west becomes much closer in politics, economy as well as cultures. It is undoubted that the politeness will play an important role in this regard. Therefore the comparative study of face perception and pragmatic strategies between Chinese and western cultures are practical and meaningful in cross-cultural communication. This thesis attempts to help people cultivate a positive attitude to different cultures in cross-cultural communication and benefit mutual understanding through the analysis of the factors for the difference of face concepts and pragmatic strategies between Chinese and western cultures.2. The Difference of Face perception and Pragmatic Strategies in Chinese and Western culturesFace 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. And the perception of face is closely related with the social life both in Chinese and western cultures. The notion of face has been used as a metaphor for individual qualities or abstract entities such as honor, respect, esteem, the self, etc. for a very long time. However there are many differences existing in the concepts of face as well as pragmatic strategies in Chinese and western cultures.2.1 Face in Chinese CultureFace idiomatically means dignity and prestige in English. However, the Chinese concept of face has a lot of complex and special characteristics under the influence of traditional culture. In China, face has to do with the image or credibility of the person you are dealing with. You should never insult, embarrass, shame, yell at or otherwise demean a person. If you do, they will lose face. “There are basically four notions underlying the Chinese conception of limao: respectfulness, modesty, attitudinal warmth, and refinement. …Respectfulness' is self's positive appreciation or admiration of other concerning the latter's face, social status, and so on. …Modesty' can be seen as another way of saying …self-denigration'. …Attitude wa rmth' is self's demonstration of kindness, consideration, and hospitality to other. Finally, …refinement' refers to self's behavior to other which meets certain standards.” (Gu, 1990)The Chinese concept of face includes four major characteristics: relational, communal/social, hierarchical and moral. First of all, face is conceptualized as relational in Chinese culture. Ting-Toomey (1988) identifies face-giving, other-directed face or face honoring as a major component of the collectivist culture which should be embraced as the relational part of face-negotiation model. Secondly, the Chinese concept of face is communal/social. According to Hu (1944), face is “public censure”, or a communal check against any deviation from or violation against the well-rounded norms or traditions of the homogeneous community. Thus, fear of losing face indicates the awareness of “the force of social sanctions”. As is sound to Chinese, when put in a community or certain social environment, we intend to know how others may perceive us. We are great influenced by what others do and say. Unlike that in the western culture, Chinese face emphasizes not the individual wants or desires, but the attitudes and judgments of the community. Chinese are enthusiastic about the self-image. Our behaviors and attitudes are closely related to the “image” we project to the community that we are involved in. Thirdly, the Chinese concept of face is inherently hierarchical. The origin of the Chinese concepts of face can be traced to the Confucian which stressed the hierarchical nature of the society. Normally, varying degrees of concern about face of members of the society fit varying degrees of their familial and social significance in the two hierarchies. Scollon & Scollon (2000) express a similar point. They argue that the concept of hierarchy is deeply embedded in Chinese of face. Fourthly, the Chinese concept of face is deeply moral. Hu (1944) defines face as “the respect of the group for a man with a good moral reputation”, and the loss of face as “a condemnation by the group for immoral or socially disagreeable behavior”. According to Hu, Chinese face owns two aspects: lian and mianzi. Lian is the confidence of society in a person's moral character, while mianzi represents social perceptions of a person's prestige. For a person to maintain face is important with Chinese social relations because face translates into power and influence and affects goodwill. A loss of lian would result in a loss of trust within a social network, while a loss of mianzi would likely result in a loss of authority.In China, face can be “granted” and “lost” and “fought for” and “presented as a gift”. Here we have arrived at the most curious point of Chinese social psychology. Abstract and intangible, it is yet the most delicate standard by which Chinese social intercourse is regulated. That was humorously described by Lin Yutang (2000) in his book My Country and My People, “Face cannot be translated or defined. It is like honor and is not honor. It cannot be purchased with money, and gives a man or woman a material pride. It is hollow and is what men fight for and what many women die for. It is invisible and yet by definition exists by being shown to the public. It exists in the ether and yet can be heard, and sounds eminently respectable and solid. It is amenable, not to reason but to social convention. It protracts lawsuits, break up family fortunes, causes murders and suicides, and yet it often makes a man out of a renegade who has been insulted by his fellow townsmen, and it is prized above all earthly possession. It is more powerful than fate and favor, and more respected than the constitution. It often decides a military victory or defeat, and can demolish a whole government ministry. It is that hollow thing which men in China live by. (pp. 195-196)The Chinese people give face to each other and save face for their own mainly by the following four ways, namely, self-degrading and others-dignifying, achieving success, receiving other's direct or indirect apology, and making others lose face so as to redeem one's own face. To most Chinese, showing respect and granting face to others is in return a good way to maintain his own face and decency. There are abundant words and phrases to express modesty and respect in the Chinese language, such as晚辈、寒舍、拙见、您、阁下、贵姓、令尊，etc., Which are still used in Chinese social intercourse up till now, and is particularly used on formal occasions. There is an old Chinese saying goes like this: “He who succeeds is as glorious as an emperor; while he who fails is as shameful as a prisoner.” Therefore, man can gain his face through his success. Once he succeeds, he can reach the high social status with a good reputation or wealth, and that may assure him to gain and maintain his face. Receiving other's direct or indirect apology is also helpful to save face, because it shows the respect to each other and maintains the harmony. Sometimes, one can also save face by making others lose face, because that can redeem his own face. Anyway, face is built up through initial high position, wealth, power, ability, through cleverly establishing social ties to a number of prominent people, as well as through avoidance of acts that would cause unfavorable comment. (Hsien-chin Hu, 1944)2. 2 Face in Western CulturesThe perception of face in western cultures is greatly affected by individualism. In the western world, the verbal communication is much more direct and there is very little concern or need for nonverbal cues in order for people to understand each other. In western societies, individual rights place blind duty to one's family, clan, ethnic group o nation, and people generally try to say what they mean and mean what they say. The western societies are on the whole guided by the idea of equality, which gave rise to theindependence and parallelism among interpersonal relationships. To put it in a more concrete way, everyone strives for success, seeks for self-realization, and take individual rights and privacy seriously. In these societies, it is individual, personal guilt that serves as a moral compass. If one commits a social blunder as an adult, in most cases, there is no group shame involved, but only personal embarrassment, and he has a desire to correct the wrong with a sincere apology. Therefore, conflicts are regarded as a natural part of life and they are simply dealt with and then people move on. Loss of face in the west only slightly undermines one's individual social worth. The westerners appear to be more direct than Chinese in gaining face and saving face. According to Brown and Levinson (1987), face consists of two related aspects: negative face and positive face. Positive face is the positive consistent self-image or personality claimed by interactants, while negative face is the basic claim to territories, personal preserves, rights to non-distraction, i.e. to freedom of action and freedom from imposition. The western face culture give priority to the negative face, while the Chinese face culture attaches importance to the positive face; the negative face in the western culture does not exist in Chinese culture, while the moral factor contained in Chinese face culture does not exist in western cultures. Generally speaking, the positive face and negative face play a important role in the communication of the westerners. On the one hand, they want their counterparts to pay great attention to what they have remarked; on the other hand, however, independence suggests that people do not expect too much interruption from their counterparts. There are many ways to give face to others by showing involvement, such as notice or attend to the hearer, support for or sympathy with the hearer, affirm the in-group membership with the hearer, express confidence or trust, emphasize the common interest and acknowledge the needs of the hearer and show consideration of it. All of these are beneficial for maintaining the positive face. Contrary to the involvement aspect of face, there is the independence aspect of face, which is also called negative face or deference face, emphasizing the individuality of the participants. The key to independence of face is to grant freedom of choice to the hearer. However, both positive face and negative face can be threatened. Positive face is threatened when the speaker or hearer does not care about their partner's feelings, wants, or does not want what the other wants, i.e., expressions of disapproval, interrupting and apologies. Negative face is threatened when an individual does not avoid or intend to avoid the obstruction of their interlocutor's freedom ofaction.2. 3 Pragmatic Strategies in Chinese and Western culturesThe pragmatic strategies to maintain and save face are different in Chinese and western cultures. These differences can be founded in many aspects of daily communication, including addressing, greeting, parting, compliments, apologies, thanks, etc. In the following, we will analyze some cultural difference between Chinese and westerners.Firstly, addressing. In English-speaking countries, people have a tendency to follow the symmetrical addressing. Although they are different in age and status, often, especially in informal situations, they can address the other person directly, namely, by their first name, without causing offence to him or her. This demonstrates the sense of intimacy and the conception of equality. For example, in an English family, sisters and brothers of the same age generation generally call each other by name. It is also common to note that the Chinese way of addressing by usi ng a person‟s rank. “We Chinese routinely use many position linked or occupation linked titles to address people”(Zhang, 2004); we may hear “刘校长” “陈老师” etc. In the west, people seldom call others as “Principle Liu” and “Teacher Li”. That reveals the Chines e face is closely related with one's social position, while the western face shows involvement with others. It is the hierarchic sense that keeps a fundamental and pervasive impact on the Chinese culture. (Hu Wenzhong, 1991).Secondly, greeting and parting. When people meet acquaintances or friends, they usually greet each other. The purpose of greeting is to establish or maintain social contact. So some formulaic expressions are often used, but such formulaic expressions often cause conflict because of the great cultural difference between Chinese and westerners. In English, people often employ the following expression to greet each other “Good morning/evening/afternoon.” “Nice day, isn't it?” “How is everything going?” While in China, we always say “吃了吗?” “去哪啊?” “干什么去啊?” in order to show the consideration. Parting is also quite different between Chinese and western cultures. In west, during the closing phase of an encounter, reasons for terminating the encounter are presented from “I” aspect. Typical com ments are associated with expression of apology, such as “I am afraid I must be off, I have to relieve the baby-sitter” etc. Western people believe that to be willing to visit and converse with someone is to have respect for him, and to terminate the visiting is not of one's own free will but because of some other arrangements, therefore, they always try to make their leaving sound reluctant by finding some reasons and apologize for it to make the leaving acceptable for both parties. In Chinese society, rea sons for parting is expressed from a “you” perspective. Such expression include: “你忙吧，我就不多打扰了。