浅析美国的个人主义与中国的集体主义.doc

浅析美国的个人主义与中国的集体主义浅析美国的个人主义与中国的集体主义Brief Discussion on American Individualism and Chinese Collectivism Jessica Lynch and Five Warriors on Langya MountainAbstractThis paper makes an analysis of the cultural difference between America and China - American individualism and Chinese collectivism from the perspective of prisoners of war and then discusses the importance to foster the spirit of individualism in todays China when it encounters two setbacks in its reform and development. One of the two setbacks is weak ability to innovate in science and technology and the other is slow process of rule by law。 With openness and positive attitude of drawing on other civilizations strong points, China would avoid detours in its double social transformations from the type of farming to industry and from industry to information。Key Wordsprisoners of war (POW); American individualism; Chinese collectivism; innovation in science and technology; rule by law摘要本文试从战俘的角度分析中美文化的不同 - 美国的个人主义与中国的集体主义,并结合现阶段中国改革发展中出现的科技创新能力弱和法治建设进程缓慢两问题，探讨发扬个人主义精神的重要性.笔者相信在中国进行从农耕社会向工业社会过渡，工业社会向信息社会过渡的双重社会转型过程中,只有以开放和学习的心态积极地借鉴其他文明的优点,中国的改革发展才能少走弯路。关键词战俘;美国的个人主义；中国的集体主义；科技创新；法治IntroductionJessica Lynch Five Warriors on Langya Mountain（http:/www.jessica-lynch。com/photos.html) （http：/cpc。people。com。cn/GB/33842/34535/2578835.html)On July 22， 2003, after nearly four months in a military hospital， American Private Jessica Lynch finally returned home. The small town of Elizabeth, West Virginia, celebrated her arrival with a display of local pride， pomp and pageantry. Another heroic story took place in Chinas Hebei province sixty-two years before that on September 25， 1941 during the War of Resistance Against Japan (19371945）。 Five Chinese soldiers committed suicide by jumping off a cliff when they ran out of ammunition and all the reachable stones。 They are the later Five Warriors on Langya Mountain who are remembered and respected by Chinese people till today.Those are two completely different ways of being heroes. But what are worth of being taken notice of are soldiers different attitudes towards surrender and peoples different attitudes towards prisoners of war (POW） from their own country。 For an American soldier, it is natural and understandable to yield when he fights to the bitter end and has no bullet。 But for a Chinese soldier, to lay down his arms and surrender seems more disgraced than to die， especially when the enemies are from other countries， such as Japan。And what are the ordinary Chinese peoples attitudes towards the prisoners of war from China? Ge Zhenlin， one of the five soldiers， who has luckily survived because of the branches in the cliff， was once asked by his fellow villager， “Did you really jump off from the cliff?” according to his son。 That is to say， if Ge Zhenlin did not jump off from the cliff, he has no honor to be regarded as hero, even with the fact that he had fought to the bitter end。 In China, if you were a POW， still alive, you would very probably face one question “Why didnt you die in the battlefield?” It must be an unacceptable question in the western countries， but it is a fact in China. The reason behind such phenomenon is that the core of American values is individualism and that of Chinese is collectivism. So, when there is a conflict between collective glory and individual life, Americans choose individual life while Chinese choose collective glory。This article does not aim to argue for that the five soldiers should not jump off from the mountain or Chinese people should not expect such heroic action from them, but to make a relatively objective discussion on the cultural reason behind it and then make an analysis of the importance to foster the spirit of individualism when China encounters some difficulties in its present reform and development.</P pIDefinitions and Explanations of Individualism and CollectivismThere are many differences between American culture and Chinese culture. Among them， the most important or fundamental one is on the value orientation: American culture upholds individualism; Chinese culture advocates collectivism. Thus， in the daily life, Americans value freedom， rule by law, individual rights and liberation of self while Chinese think highly of ethic code, moral principles and interpersonal relations. What are the definitions and ways of expression of American individualism and Chinese collectivism? Is Chinese knowledge about American individualism correct？A. Definition and Explanation of American IndividualismThe basis of western culture is Christianity and its core is individualism.For American individualism, it refers to that individual is the foundation for the existence of collective. Everyone has his own independent personality and free will and others should not work their will upon him except that individual interests endanger public interests。 What is more， individualism means two aspects： pursuit of individual interests and bearing responsibility of your own at the same time。 American represents them in five rooted convictions in their daily life: everyone is able to save himself； individual rights cannot be deprived in any way； the power of human is unlimited； Americans believe in survival of the fittest； Americans seek to show individuality。Individualism, which is rooted in the earliest American ideology: Puritanism, is the core of American values。 And after historical changes of ages, it has infiltrated into all the fields of American society.The birth of Puritanism is the achievement of the Reformation in Europe, which shattered the old rigid Christianity and liberated the individual to a large degree。 As the result of such reformation， Puritanism surely inherited the achievement. It was represented in two aspects： to set the individual free from the strict discipline of Roman church and to set the individual free from the strict ideological control of Roman church.On September 16， 1620， 102 British puritans rode on a wooden sailing ship “Mayflower”， with the hope that they would win freedom and realize all the dreams in the faraway new continent。 It might be for the luck owning to this romantic and beautiful ship's name that they went ashore in the new continent successfully after sixty-six days, with one dead and one born。 In the following days， forty-one adult men from them signed the famous Mayflower Compact 1620， which was simple in content but ushered in a new way of public life. It became an example。 That means the public order should be kept by the compact but not compelled by the authority above people。 So all the people are living for themselves, but not for somebody or something else and they are the masters of the government。 That is the reason why the holy stone in Plymouth is regarded as the first symbol that distinguishes between an American and a British. And in the following years, Americans fight for the liberty in the War of Independence and at last they won the war。So, the first Americans were aware that all the kinds of government should form only with their permission. And then with the western expansion, American individualism developed a lot and till the age of Emerson, American individualism was greatly perfected.But another problem might emerge。 That is how to deal with the conflict between everyone's interests when the whole interests in USA and in the world are limited and everyone wants to safeguard personal interest。 So the frontiers made the Federal Constitution， the cleverest constitution in the human history. It dealt with the interest conflict between individual and nation in a flexible way, which always safeguards the former to the largest degree.Thus, till now there is no state governor was elected for he intended to protect the federal interests more， rather than their own states interests。 Different form China, nation was evolved from people, village， and state in USA. Therefore, when they keep balance with individual and national interests， they favor for the individual. They are used to thinking in this way。 Then, American peoples attitudes towards surrender and POW would be understandable now.</P pB. Definition and Explanation of Chinese CollectivismThe basis of eastern culture is Confucianism and its core is collectivism.To a member of the proletariat， he should act with Marxist outlook as the guide, with collectivism as the principle, with the realization of socialism and communism as the goal。 There are three origins of Chinese culture: Confucianism， Taoism and Buddhism. What Confucianism pursues is the secular rank, fame and fortune and the value goal of Confucianism is collective interests。For Chinese collectivism， it refers to that collective is the foundation for the existence of individual。 Public interests are the interests of individual and public values are the values of individual and what is more， public will is the will of individual. For this cultural reason, American president George W. Bush once recalled his childhood when his father was the ambassador in Beijing and for his earliest impression about China he said in the streets of Beijing, all the people wore the same clothes and rode the same bicycles. If you want to argue that there are really no human rights in China， the following historical facts can demolish your argument. During the War of Resistance against Japan (19371945) and Korean War (19501953）, Chinese government did not mistreat the POW from Japan or America， but supplied each of them with the equal even more food than a Chinese soldier。 It was not because of the Geneva Convention， just for the accustomed ideas in peoples mind. So the conclusion is that Chinese people can be tolerant toward POW from other countries， but they cannot be tolerant toward POW from China. The reason is that the authority is above the individual and so the superior one should kindly treat individual。To a Chinese, collective glory is valued more than individual interests。 And this kind of thought still has market in todays China. Looking back on last years TV serial， two of the most popular teleplays： Plot Against and Showing Swords， the heroes of the first teleplay works in national intelligence agency and the hero of the second teleplay is the head of an independent regiment in the battlefield against Japanese forces and later Kuomintang forces. In Plot Against, the heroes work heart and soul for his conviction and country even with the sacrifice of their personal love and life。 In the TV series of Showing Swords, both the heads of Communist Party and KMT Party show contempt for the Chinese POW in the War of Resistance Against Japan. Audiences like them very much, so they also support such attitude toward POW。 What is important is that collectivism brings patriotic cohesion， good social order but at the same time lack of imagination and undeveloped individual personality。 Such disadvantages brought the lack of innovation and rule by ethics, but not by law。C。 Chinese Misunderstanding of American IndividualismThe gist of American individualism should be emphasized in China even in todays world, which is growing flat. The reason is that to understand is the first step to discover and learn merits from others。 The knowledge about American individualism of ordinary Chinese people is that all the Americans want their own rights and interests, so there consequently is chaos in the society. In fact， this kind of thought is one-sided. To be exact， individualism can be called the origin of innovation and it relates closely to democracy, equality and justice。 In the eyes of most Chinese， Americans have less respect for others and they do what they want to， not taking others will into consideration。 That is actually wrong knowledge of Americans. Lets take one story as an example。 Chinese scholar Xue Yong once taught The Analects of Confucius in the class in a Boston university. At the beginning, the teacher was a little worried, for Americans in his eyes are bound to resist such typical traditional Chinese ideas. But surprisingly, when the teacher explained the meaning of several sentences from The Analects of Confucius， one of his American students nodded his agreement。 And then the teacher cannot help asking advice for the American student on his understanding of this selected piece。 The excerpt refers to that for a dutiful child, he will certainly not offend the authority and so he will never raise a rebellion. The American student agreed with such opinion. He said that was just like the rules in a rugby team in American schools, one most popular sport in America。 At the time, the topic of The Analects of Confucius changed into the hours of PE. In American schools， there are three popular ball sports: basketball， baseball and rugby。 And each of them represents its distinctive style and culture。 Basketball reflects bold and restrained character of the children from urban slums while rugby， prevalent in suburbs schools, gives expression to the highly disciplined teamwork. To behave as Confucius said is like to behave in a rugby team。 According to that student, Americans will not respect a wayward NBA star despite of his superb skill. Such NBA star has little fans, for American football teams always become inferior when they facing the well disciplined teams from Europe。 Through this story， Xue Yong concluded that the American children are taught to cooperate with and respect others when they played balls in their early school years and Americans value good discipline and order， too。 The rooted knowledge about American individualism in Chinese minds is at least onesided view。/P< p>II Two Setbacks for Chinese Present DevelopmentA。 Weak Ability to Innovate in Science and TechnologyIn the world, of every four copy machines， three of them are made in China； half of the DVD is made in China. But the Chinese companies own only 0。03 intellectual property rights of their core technology。 Different from China, which makes manufacturing industry the central part, India's fast development is supported by IT, communication， banking and other industries which are based on the higher education? The view that India will become another China is shallow and superficial, for China is a world factory while India is a world office'. Now, to be creative is the Chinese governments slogan. It alleged that by 2010, China is going to change into an innovative-oriented state. The fact is that， according to World Economic Forum， China slides down to No. 48 with regard to the ability to innovate. To sum up， according to the present statistics and facts， we can get the message that Chinese ability to innovate in science and technology is not palatable。 But the truth is that innovation in science and technology plays a decisive role in the productivity of one country。 What is more, environment degeneration requires that