America
Qixin Zheng
George Brown College
Cultural Similarities and Differences between China and The United States of
America
The culture of a country is a necessary important part of its society and
population whether the country is an Asian developing country or a western
developed country. China is the largest country in the Asia; it not only refers Chinese
position and strength and also the rich and abundant culture and resources of China.
Besides, Chinese history goes back to one of the world’s earliest ancient civilization
and is the only one in the world to have a continuous recorded history of 5000 years.
The United States of America is the third largest country by size in the world. Also, it
is a vast and diverse nation, with many regions and subcultures that account for a
wide spectrum of cultural norms. China and the USA are two of the biggest and most
successful countries in the world; both of them are very similar in punctuality and
consensus, but at the same time, they are very different in social relationships and
communication styles of people.
One obvious difference is the social relationships of people. In China, people’s
social relationships are more formal, which like hierarchical interpersonal
relationship. For example, Chinese speak highly of filial piety, which is a typical
character of China. To some extent, it means that people have to respect and admit the
authority of parents, and most Chinese believe that parents are superior to their
children (Ping & Yan, 2013). In the contrast, social relationships of American are
more informal and equal than many other countries; and people are most comfortable
with their social equals. For instance, in American families, parents do not have the
absolute power, and the freedom and independence of children are very important in
their families. The relationships between parents and children more like friends,
which are more equal and independent (Ping & Yan, 2013).
The other obvious difference is communication styles. Most Chinese speak in an
indirect manner. For there are usually deeper meanings than what they said, and
sometimes the meaning maybe absolutely opposite to what they said. Since they are
considering the relationships with others. However, Americans prefer to speak in a
more direct informal manner, and meanwhile they are usually polite and friendly. For
example, Americans tend to give more generous compliments to others, and most of
time, they say what they are meaning directly. The difference is also obvious in the
essay styles of these two countries. In the USA, people usually place their main ideal
in the introduction paragraph and repeat in the conclusion paragraph, but in China,
people mostly give their examples first and place the main ideal in the conclusion
paragraph.
In spite of those differences, these two