从传统文化的角度看中西礼仪的差异

?On Different Etiquettes between China and Western Countries from the Perspective of Traditional Culture
[Abstract] With the development between China and western countries in different aspects, we can see that the culture connection is closely related to each other. There is no doubt that etiquettes play an increasingly important part in China and western countries, and it is a fact that we can not deny it. When it comes to etiquettes, Chinese and western people have different kinds of opinions. Therefore, it is absolutely necessary for us to learn about the different cultures of China and western countries, especially, in etiquettes. What is known to us is that etiquette is an extremely significant symbol and reflection of the cultural form. This essay mainly introduces the different etiquettes between China and western countries, and talk about the differences in international communication, greetings, dinning manners, address and so on. It is of very necessity for us to know about the differences between them. Only when we have a definite understanding of the cultural differences of the etiquettes between China and western countries, can we set up a peaceful and harmonious diplomatic relations. What is more, it is very helpful to improve our etiquettes.
[Key Words] culture; etiquette; difference; China and western countries
1. Introduction
In the contemporary world, it can be noticed that the world connects more and more closely. It’s a well-known fact that people across nations and cultures behave differently. Nations and cultures differ in terms of how they define specific phenomena, including behavior, language and institutions. As a result, people with different cultural backgrounds, language conventions and value views may inevitably cause misunderstandings and conflicts. There are two forms of communication, one is verbal language and the other is nonverbal language. In most people’s eyes, nonverbal language errors are more unacceptable than verbal language errors. When doing an international business, businessmen concern more about the other side’s nonverbal language. That is to say, they attach more importance to the other side’s Etiquettes. If there is something wrong in nonverbal language, such as ignorance of their customs, they will consider it as offence. This requires us to learn about the differences between various cultures and find out solutions to deal with those problems.
Intercultural communication is a new born independent discipline of communication. It was first advanced in America. In reality, the term of “intercultural communication” was first used by Edward Hall in 1959. One of the first researchers to differentiate cultures based on how information is sent and received, Hall thought intercultural communication should be defined as communication between persons of different cultures. A large number of intercultural communication scholars regard him as the father of intercultural communication. And

also, his publication of The Silent Language in 1959 is regard as the foundation of the study of intercultural communication. After that, scholars’ attentions were drawn on the study of intercultural communication. He made a deep exploration into the relationship time and communication, space and communication in many of his books, such as The Hidden Dimensions, Beyond Cultures, The Dance of Life. There are some other famous scholars’ studies on this discipline, and I will make a detailed exploration in the chapter one.
Due to the significance of the intercultural communication in business, the study of cultural differences in is becoming more and more important. In my thesis, my study will be focused on the differences of etiquettes between China and Western countries from the intercultural communication perspective. Through comparison, readers can benefit a lot from it. Because it can help readers have a deeper and clearer understanding of etiquettes.
2. A Brief Study on Intercultural Communication and Etiquettes
2.1 The definition of intercultural communication
It can be noticed that there are a lot of discussions on the term of international. In a lot of scholars’ opinions, they are firmly believed that international communication can be also regard as cross-cultural communication. Generally speaking, the term of intercultural communication is used frequently and widely. As is mentioned in the introduction, Hall firstly simply defined international communication as communication between persons of different cultures all over the world. With the development of this discipline, the definition of international communication has become more perfect than before. On the one hand, the study of intercultural communication is represented by culture studies, where we examine the political, economic and lifestyle systems of other countries. On the other hand, it is a part of applied linguistics, where we try our best to understand the relationship between language and culture. There are some definitions of intercultural communication that are presented or interpreted by some scholars in their books.
In most of the cases, international communication means the communication between people, who come from different cultural background all over the world. As the term suggests, international communication happens when one culture produces information for consumption by another culture. Precisely speaking, international communication is communication between people whose notions and symbol systems are apparent enough to change the communication event. In addition, intercultural communication is contact between persons who identify themselves as distinct from one another in cultural terms. Some people hold the view that the functions and relationships between the components of communication is that sources and responders come from different cultures. Besides, Hu Wenzhong, a famous professor of intercultural communication in China, who defines intercult

ural communication as communication between people of different cultural backgrounds. In other words, the study of intercultural communication is comprehensive understanding different sorts of aspects of human cultures and how they interact with each other. Nowadays, we can find that some scholars tend to divides intercultural communication into international intercultural communication and intercultural communication within a culture. Most scholars are focused on international intercultural communication; they attempt to study the differences of culture customs, lifestyle, social systems and thinking pattern between China and western countries. As the differences of all aspects in culture and the vital role that culture plays in the daily communication, the study of intercultural communication is indispensable.The development of economy pushed the rapid advancement of the international interaction. Therefore, there is no doubt that etiquette as the first step of interaction determines a lot in a successful trade. We can not neglect the positive effect of etiquette it brings to us.
2.2 The definition and characteristics of etiquette
When going abroad or staying in China with someone of another culture, having an excellent understanding of certain rules of social and etiquette is very crucial to us. So what is etiquette? What is comprised of Etiquette? These questions aroused scholars’ attention with the rapid development of international interactions. In fact, the word “etiquette” is derived from French. At that time, the meaning of this word was the passport of entering court, which was sent to everyone who wanted to enter the court, but they must obey the rules of court. Afterward, this word evolved as the passport of interpersonal interactions. There are so many definitions of etiquette. And almost all definitions mentioned that etiquette refers to manners and behavior considered acceptable in social and situations. A success of an can not be achieved without the proper and comfortable etiquette, which requires us learning cultural variations in making introductions, exchanging cards, recognizing position and status, dining practices, giving gifts and so on. You might be a bore if you talk about your own interest at great length while your listeners do not have the least taste for it. That is a huge mistake in interactions, which may cause huge losses. Therefore, it is of vital important for us to know well the characteristics of etiquette. There is no denying that the more we know, the more benefits we can get.
First of all, what we should bear in mind is that etiquette is operational. Because of being operational, it is easy to learn and deal with. So it can be used widely in the activities. What is more, etiquette is normative. As etiquette is the behavior norms and principles when people do with others, it is commonly accepted by businessmen who come from different walks of live. If any person want to achieve success in business, th

e better understanding and use of etiquette is must. Third, we all know that etiquette is regional. Although etiquette has its common rules and principle, different ethic groups and regions still have its own behavior norms because of its different social background, beliefs and lifestyle. Last but not the least, etiquette is changeable. Based on certain social background etiquette existed and evolved. In the contemporary world, with the development of society, etiquette is pushed to change to meet the new social situation and requirements.
2.3 A brief review on the studies of etiquette in intercultural communication
Concerning to etiquette, there are no any special academic works on this. But in the west the earliest book on etiquette is written by Emily Post who makes a detailed examination of etiquettes in every aspect of daily life in her book Etiquette. As the advancement of globalization, etiquette plays an increasingly important role in the course of intercultural interactions and we can not deny it. So in recent years, we can easily find that a large number of publications on etiquette come out in the west, such as, N.Dresser’s Multicultural Manners, New Rules of Etiquette for Changing Society, D.Rowland’s Chinese Etiquette and Ethics in Business, Amy Vanderbilt’s Everyday Etiquette. Those publications provided a lot of useful tips on etiquettes for readers, which help to overcome cultural obstacles and achieve successful and effective communication.
China have always been regarded as a land of ceremonies since the ancient time, she had a complete etiquette system. Chinese study of etiquette can trace back to the Time of Warring States. Zhou ji (周记), yili（仪礼）, liji （礼记）are called “three li”, which exerts a profound influence on Chinese culture. Zhouji is focused on the governmental and political system; yili is focused on etiquette in the every aspects of people’s daily life; liji is a collection of Confucian works on etiquette. They made a huge influence on the all aspects of Chinese society and generations. As different countries and organizations with different cultural backgrounds contacts more and more frequently, intercultural interaction become inevitable. People begin to attach more importance to the social etiquette in intercultural intercourses and many researchers start to concentrate on the study of etiquette. In China, there still have some excellent books and scholars on etiquette, the best known for us may be Jin Shengkun’s series on etiquette. In addition, Wang Guangrong’s Cultural Analysis of Etiquette in Life, Yin Dingfang and Li Xiaobua’s On the Cultural Differences of the Etiquette Norms in Chinese and English Nonverbal Communication. Almost all books are focused on certain areas, which provide a useful guide for readers when they confront with different social situation. In my thesis, it will make a deep exploration on the difference of Etiquette between China and Western countri

es and then find out the cultural reasons for those differences from the intercultural communication, aimed to narrow the culture misunderstanding and conflicts in international interactions and achieve successful and effective communication.
3. The Differences in Etiquette between China and Western Countries
3.1 The comparison of greetings
There is no doubt that we exchange greetings with different people everyday and anywhere. So, greetings play an important role in our daily life. We are supposed to pay more attention to them. A proper and comfortable greetings will make a great difference to you, which can make you more acceptable and social in intercultural interactions, but we need to realize that the culture of greetings vary from nation to nation. Therefore, we can draw a conclusion that it is of greatly essential that businessmen who want to make a successful intercultural intercourses must have a good knowledge of the differences of these social etiquette.
3.1.1 Forms of address
In Chinese traditional culture, it is known to us that the social context of a hierarchical, patriarchal culture plays a significant role in Chinese people’s daily life, which also greatly affects Chinese people’s activities. In China, in order to show respects to guests or clients, people always tend to add title or “Mr” or “Mrs” to opposite side’s first name. But that is not always the case. When you meet an people from western country like Britain for the first time, we need to know most of British don’t like using “Mr”, “Mrs” or “Miss”, that is because of the idea of “all men are equal”, they are more casual to forms of address, they think its too formal, and they prefer to use first name instead of titles and last name. This phenomenon can also be reflected in interactions. For example, one may say, “How do you do? My name is Wilson, David Wilson. Call me David.” so when your friends or clients do not use your title or last name, which does not mean any lack of respect or offence. What we should remember is that using first name usually shows friendliness and politeness.
3.1.2 Social language
No one can deny the fact that different culture give rise to different language habits. For example, the responses to compliments and congratulations vary from China to Western countries. In China, people firmly hold the opinion that modesty is a kind of virtue. When people compliment a Chinese people, Chinese people like to response in a very modest way, such as “I am not good enough” “you should deserve this instead of me”. On the contrary, in western countries’ culture, a person who compliments another person usually wants to get a positive response from people who are praised. And also, it is no wonder that these language habits are truly reflected on intercultural interactions. When we are faced with the way of Chinese people’s responses to compliments or congratulations, it seems to hypocritical for most western pe