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DifferencesBetweenChineseCultureandAmericanCultureIhavebeenlivinginChinafortwentyyears.IwasborninJiangSuprovince,andalsogrewupinthere.MyfamilymemberswerefromdifferentpartsofChina.Mymom’shometownisattheHuabeiplainwhichisthenorthsideofTheYellowRiver.However,myfathergrewupinNanjing,thefamouscitywhichlocatesbesidetheYangziRiver.MostofpeopleinsouthernChinaareusedtohavericeastheirdailymainfoodresource,butnorthernChinamostlyhaswheat.ButnomatterwhichpartofChina,meatisnotthemajorfoodforus.Chinesepeoplealwaysbelievethatrice,wheat,vegetable,fruitarethebestforourhealth.Incontrast,meatwouldgivemoretroublestoourhealth,forexample,heartattack,highbloodpressure,andetc.ButpeopleinAmerica,mostlyhavemeatastheirfoodresource.Themostimportantisthattheymostlyhavebeef,chicken,shrimp,turkey,insteadofporkandlamb.Inrestaurants,youcaneasilyfindhamburger,steak,ribswithalittlericeandapieceofbread.IbelievethatthefoodstylegivesAmericanpeoplemuchmoreenergythanwehave.Theyaremuchstrongerthanus.Thatisthefact!IhaveheardofaninterestingstoryaboutYaoMing,whoisoneofthefamousNBAplayerrightnow.DuringhisfirstseasoninNBA,millionsofpeopleareattractedbyhisheightandhiscutesmile.However,heisnotstrongenoughtoplayNBAgameyet!Heevertoldthereporterthathelikestohavesoupthathismommakesforhim.Soupcouldnothelphim,onlysteak,cheese,buttercouldmakehimstrongerandgiveshimmoreenergy.Inordertoincreasehiscompetition,hehastobeusedtoAmericanfoodstyle!“Customisthegreatguideofhumanlife”,wroteScottishphilosopherDavidHume.Knowingthecustomsofacountryis,ineffect,aguidetounderstandingthesoulofthatcountryanditspeople.Asaforeignlanguageleaner,weshouldknowthecultureinourtargetlanguage’scountry.Onlyinthisway,wecanreallylearnthelanguagewell.Peopleexpresstheirculturethroughtraditionsinfood,clothing,recreation,andceremonies;throughtheeducationsystemandinstitutionsoflearning,includingmuseumsandlibraries;andthroughthearts,encompassingthevisual,literary,andperformingarts.Asaresult,wewilltalkaboutthedifferencesfromsomeaspects.First,Iwillmentiontheaddressing.InChina,wewillputthefamilynamesbeforeourgivennames,andtheninordertoexpressourpoliteness,wewouldliketoadd“sir”or“lady”ortheirtitleafterthename.Oncontrast,inAmerica,peoplewouldliketoputtheirfamilynamesaftertheirgivennamesandfirstnamesandtheywillputMr.,Mrs.,Miss,Ms,Dr.orProf.beforetheirnames.Itisforemostandfirstforustoknowthesedifferencessothatwewon’tmakemisunderstandings.Andthenwewilltalkabouttimeconceptions.InAmerica,theirlivingbeatisquitefast,sotheyconsidertimeisquiteprecious.So,whentheyacceptaninvitation,theywouldtrytheirbestnottobelate,buttheyalsodon’tgoearlytotheinviters’,asthisisconsideredtobeimpolite,anditseemstodisturbtheinviters’preparation.InChina,weshouldalsonotbelatefortheinviters.However,inordertoshowourthanksandpoliteness,wewouldgototheinviters’housetohelpthempreparethemealsandthenwewillhaveahappytimetogether.Toopenaconversation,peopleindifferentcountrieshavedifferentways.InChina,whenpeoplemeettheirfriendsbychance,theywillsay.”Whereareyougoing?”or“haveyoueaten?”andthentheywillgoontalkingaboutotherthings.ButifyoudothisinAmerica,youwillbemisunderstoodthatyouwanttoinvitehimorher.Americanswouldliketosay,”beautifulday,isn’tit?”toopenaconversationevensometimesitisraining.ItisnotbecausetheAmericanscanpredicttheweatherbutforthesakeofcustoms.Letmecometotheaspectofeating.ChopsticksareusedforallmealsinChina.Foodisplacedatthecenterofthetableandmayincludemorethanonetypeofmaindishtobeeatenwithrice.Allthefoodwillbesharedbyallthepersonsandwon’tbedividedintoseveralhelps.WhileinAmerica,theywoulduseforksandknivesfortheirmeals.Everypersonhashisowndishesandtheywon’tshareonedishtogether.Theythinkthisisquitehygienicandtheywillenjoytheirmealscomfortably.However,whattheyeatisnotsohealthy,becausetheywouldliketoeatalotofmeatandsomethingwithhighcalorie.Maybeitisgoodforthemtoobtainmorefibersandkeepahealthybody.Finally,Iwouldliketomentionsomethingaboutthedifferenceinmarriage.Besidestheceremonyformarriagehasobviousdifference----Americanswillholditinachurch,whileChinesewillholditinahotelinvitingtheirrelativesandfriendstohavedinner----theirmarriagenotionhasquitealotofdifferences,too.Fromalltheseaspects,wecanthinkofmanydifferencesinvalues,suchasthenotionofsocialstatues,collectivismandsocialism,thetreatmentstochildrenandsoon.Infact,wecannotsaywhichoneisright,whichoneiswrong,asweallknowAmericansandChinesearenotinthesamegroup,peopleontheoppositesideoftheglobecanneverachievethethousandthpartofthegroupontheothersideoftheglobe.Whatweshoulddoistolearnthedifference,andthenwecanreallylearnthedifferencewell.