Chinese cultural values and American cultural values

1
Chinese cultural values and American cultural
values
2
To see ourselves as others see us

• 19th century American missionary view of
  characteristics of Chinese Culture
• 20th century Japanese scholar's view
• 20th century overseas Chinese view of Chinese
  values

3
Chinese CharacteristicsArthur H. Smith D.D. 1894

• Face
• Thrift
• Industry
• Politeness
• Disregard of time
• Disregard of accuracy
• Talent for misunderstanding
• Talent for indirection
• Flexible inflexibility

4
Chinese CharacteristicsArthur H. Smith D.D. 1894
- 2

• Intellectual turbidity
• Absence of nerves
• Contempt for foreigners
• Absence of public spirit
• Conservatism
• Indifference to comfort and convenience
• Physical vitality
• Patience and perserverance

5
Chinese CharacteristicsArthur H. Smith D.D. 1894
- 3

• contentness and cheerfulness
• Filial piety
• Benevolence
• Absence of sympathy
• Social Typhoons
• Mutual responsibility and respect for law
• Mutual suspician
• Absence of sincerity
• Polytheism, pantheism and atheism

6
Hajime NakamuraWays of thinking of eastern
peoples
7
CHINA

• Emphasis on perception of the concrete
• e.g. ???, ???
• Explanation by means of perceived symbols
• reliance on sense perception
• e.g. mirrors in huayan ??? explaination of
  interpenetration
• Non-development of abstract thought
• Lack of consciousness of universals

8
Lack of public debate

• differing role of judge
• Minimal acceptance of formal logic
• Indian epistomological works not translated

9
Not interested in theory for theory's sake

• But what is immediately relevant to practical
  understanding
• c.f Chan ? antilogic, images
• Emphasis on the particular
• ?? mostly descriptions of incidents and
  statements of facts
• ? found not through words but through concrete
  experience

10
Explanations on the basis of particular incidents

• ????
• Bibliographies and catalogs
• Local gazettes

11
Conservatism expressed through exaltation of
antiquity

• Study of precedents
• use of literary allusions/quotations
• ??
• Continuation of classical way of thinking
• Master's teaching superior to disciples
• Chinese Buddhist biographical records
• Forged sutras

12
Conservatism 2

• Traditional nature of scholarship
• ? means to imitate
• Zhuxi presentation of Neo Confucianism as
  annotation of classics

13
Fondness for complex multiplicity expressed in
concrete form

• e.g. painting

14
External (formal) conformity

• Classification of the Dharma systems in Chinese
  Buddhism (e.g. 5 periods)

15
Practicality

• Anthropocentric
• practical and utilitarian ways of thinking
• e.g. ????? emphasis on how to rule a state vs
  Greek understanding the Universe
• Worldly tendency of traditional religion
• Popular Buddhism of spells and prayers
• Hence rejection of ?? in favor of ??
• Transliteration of mantras (e.g. last lines of
  ??)
• ??
• Non-development of metaphysics

16
Individualism

• Need for personal realization of the way
• Non-formation of religious sects

17
Esteem for hierarchy

• Indian sutras mis-translated to include
  superior/inferior status (especially for women)
• High value on kinship
• Importance of lineage

18
Esteem for nature

• ???
• ?? and ??

19
Reconciling and harmonizing tendencies

• no idea of absolute evil
• no religious wars per se
• syncretism within Buddhism
• syncretism between faiths

20
Chinese Value Survey

• The Chinese Value Survey was developed in the
  1980's by Bond and a group of research workers
  known collectively as the Chinese Culture
  Connection in response to their perceived need to
  measure and evaluate cultural values within the
  setting of a Chinese social value system that is
  derived from the Confucian ethos.

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Background for Chinese Values Survey

• Asian values debate
• Hong Kong Chinese values survey
• Values selected by overseas Chinese scholars
• Tested on sample of overseas Chinese students

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CVS-I- INTEGRITY TOLERANCEDEVELOPMENT OF SELF

• 1. Filial piety
• 2. Industry working hard
• 3. Toleranceof others
• 4. Harmonywith others
• 5. Humbleness
• 9. Kindness (forgiveness, compassion
• 10. Knowledge (education)
• 13. Self-cultivation
• 15. Sense of righteousness

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CVS-I- INTEGRITY TOLERANCEDEVELOPMENT OF SELF
- 2

• 18. Personal steadiness stability
• 21. Sincerity
• 24. Persistence (perseverance)
• 25. Patience
• 28. Adaptability
• 29. Prudence (carefulness)
• 30. Trustworthiness
• 32. Courtesy

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CVS-IICONFUCIAN ETHOSRELATIONSHIPS WITH OTHERS

• 6. Loyalty to superiors
• 16. Benevolent authority
• 17. Non-competitiveness
• 22. Keeping oneself disinterested and pure
• 33. Contentedness with ones position in life
• 34. Being conservative
• 35. Protecting your face
• 37. Chastity in women
• 38. Having few desires
• 39. Respect for tradition

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CVS-III-LOYALTY TO IDEALS HUMANITYSOCIAL
RESPONSIBILITY

• 7. Observation of rites social rituals
• 8. Reciprocation of greetings, favors
• 11. Solidarity with others
• 12. Moderation-following the middle way
• 14. Ordering relationships by status
• 19. Resistance to corruption
• 20. Patriotism
• 23. Thrift
• 31. Having a sense of shame

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CVS-IV-MODERATION MORAL DISCIPLINEWORLDLY
WISDOM

• 26. Repayment of good or evil of others
• 27. Sense of cultural superiority
• 40. Wealth