中国人与英国人的性格

Losing Face and Keeping One’s Word in China
面子的问题
The Chinese are very conscious of face. Face is essentially respect in a community and is a crucial underpinning of society. Loss of that respect threatens the relations of individuals with almost everyone in his or her world and is hard to get back once lost, and thus must be avoided at all costs.
Face is called "mianzi" in mandarin, which can also be translated to mean “dignity, prestige and reputation.” It has been said that "face is more important than truth or justice." Losing face is often people's worst fear. Chinese go out of their way to be polite and accommodating, to maintain dignity in a variety of situations and avoid disputes, conflicts and embarrassment in their pursuit to avoid losing face.
face 在中文里面是面子的意思。

中国人觉得面子比什么都重要。

千万不能丢脸，为了维护面子可能要说不由衷的话。

The government often uses social pressure in the form of face-losing criticism to keep people in line on issues such as having extra children or complaining about the government (the threat of imprisonment is also used).
Maintaining face and avoiding losing face are important concepts in the West. But as Scott Seligman, author of Chinese Business Etiquette, Manners and Culture in the People’s Republic of China told the New York Times, “The Chinese raise face to a high art. It’s a fragile commodity in China that can easily be lost....The trigger doesn’t have to be extrem e. You can contradict somebody in front of someone who is lower ranking and cause that person to lose face. Even the simple act of saying no to somebody can make that person lose face.”
Chinese also value loyalty and stress the importance of keeping one's word. Discretion is greatly valued. It is tied with humility and not causing others to lose face.
Shyness, Modesty and Embarrassment in China
中国人的害羞谦虚
Chinese often appear shy and self conscious to Westerners, especially when they are around foreigners or are in situations which they are not used to. Chinese don't like to be separated from crowd, （中国人是群居动物，一点都不假）stared at or asked too many personal questions (even though they often stare at and ask personal questions of Westerners).
但是中国人还喜欢问很私人的东西哦。

qualit y of the British, and in particular of the English, is “reserved.” A reserved person is one who does not talk very much to strangers, does not show much emotion, and seldom gets excited. It is difficult to get to know a reserved person: he never tells you anything about himself, and you may work with him for years without ever knowing where he lives, how many children he has, and what his interests are. English people tend to be like that.
在其他的欧洲人看来，英国人，尤其是英格兰人的最明显的特点是“沉默寡言”。

一个沉默寡言的人不大同陌生人说话，情感不大外露，也很少激动。

要想了解一个沉默寡言的人很困难：他从不谈及他的身世，即使你与他工作数年，也许你不知道他家住在哪里，有几个子女，有些什么兴趣爱好。

英国人往往就是这样。

If they are making a journey by bus they will do their best to find an empty seat; if by train, an empty compartment. If they have to share the compartment with a stranger, they may travel many miles without starting a conversation. If a conversation does start, personal questions like “How old are you?” or even “What is your name?” are not easily asked.
乘公共汽车旅行时，他们会尽量找到一个空座位；乘火车旅行时，他们会尽量找到一个空隔间。

如果他们不得不与他人共坐一个隔间，火车开了数英里也许还不见他们开口说话。

即使打开了话匣子，他们也不轻易问起“你多大了？”或者“你贵姓？”之类的个人问题。

This reluctance to communicate with others is an unfortunate quality in some ways since it tends to give the impression of coldness, and it is true that the English (except perhaps in the North) are not noted for their generosity and hospitality. On the other hands, they are perfectly human behind their barrier of reserve, and may be quite pleased when a friendly strange or foreigner succeeds for a time in breaking the barrier down. We may also mention at this point that the people of the North and West, especially the Welsh, are much less reserved than those of the South and East.
从某些方面来说，这种不愿与人交往的特点是件令人遗憾的事情，因为这往往给人以冷漠的印象。

除了北方人以外，英国人从不以他们的慷慨大方和热情好客而著称。

另一方面，虽然他们表面上沉默寡言，但内心还是很有人情味。

当友善的陌生人或外国人打破沉默时，他们也许会感到很高兴。

说到这里，也许我们应该提一句，英国的北部和西部的人，特别是威尔士人，远不象南部和东部的人那样缄默。

Closely related to English reserve is English modesty. Within their hearts, the English are perhaps no less conceited than anybody else, but in their relations with others they value at least a show of modesty. Self-praise is felt to be impolite. If a person is, let us say, very good at tennis and someone asks him if he is a good player, he will seldom reply “Yes,” because people will think him conceited. He will probably give an answer like, “I’m not bad,” or “I think I’m very good,” or “Well, I’m very keen on tennis.” (i.e. I’m very fond of it.) even if he had managed to reach the finals in last year’s local championships, he would say it in such a way as to suggest that it was on ly due to a piece of good luck.与英国人的缄默密切相关的是英国人的谦虚。