中西时间观念的对比分析[各行参照]

1、 Reflections of Time Concept Linear extension and circular rotation线伸环旋线伸环旋Western: extension, sense of time shortage, future valuedChinese: rotation, sense of time abundance, past cherished1行业专项Time is a river, a torrent, a waterfall. Time is marching, flying and flowing. Time is compared to water

2、Time and tide wait for no manTime lost is never found again2行业专项“Time is the devourer of everything.” OvidRoman Poet43 B. C. English Poet (1608 1674)English Playwright (1564 1616) 时间是一切事物的吞食者。 奥维特“Time is the subtle thief of youth.” - Milton“Time is most brisk and giddy-paced.” - Shakespeare 时间是窃走青春

3、的神秘盗贼 。 弥尔顿 时间步伐如此迅疾，令人眼花缭乱。 莎士比亚Quotations from Poets3行业专项Times PacesWhen I was a babe and wept and slept,Time crept;When I was a boy and laughed and talked,Time walked.Then when the years saw me a man,Time ran.But as I older grew,Time flew.Soon, as I journey on,Ill find time gone.May Christ have s

4、aved my soul, by then,Amen.Guy Pentreath (1902 - 1985) 4行业专项春与秋其代序。（屈原：离骚）Spring alternates with autumn. 日月光华，旦复旦兮。(尚书大传上卷） The sun alternates with the moon;Days come one after another soon.Time is like a circle 5行业专项失之东隅，收之桑榆。 What is lost at sunrise can be regained at sunset. 冯异 Idiom: 时来运转 The fa

5、vor of the time cycle brings good luck.6行业专项 After extreme bad luck, comes good luck枯木逢春犹再发A withered tree comes to life again7行业专项 Americans believe time is a limited resource, they try to conserve and manage it. People do all they can to squeeze more life out of their time. Do you love life? Then

6、do not waste time, for that is the stuff life is made of.8行业专项Subjective time and objective time Americans see time as a valuable resource. Maybe thats why they are fond of the expression, Time is money. American sense of time shortage9行业专项deadlinesplansappointmentspocket plannerscalendarsaccounting

7、son timein timetime managementstime tablesagendas schedules 10行业专项Americans seem tied to the clock.11行业专项The Blockbuster12行业专项 American lifestyles show how much people respect the time of others. When people plan an event, they often set the time days or weeks in advance. Once the time is fixed, it

8、takes almost an emergency to change it. If people want to come to your house for a friendly visit, they will usually call first to make sure it is convenient. 13行业专项 To outsiders, Americans seem tied to the clock. People in other cultures value relationships more than schedules. In these societies,

9、people dont try to control time, but to experience it. Chinese, for example, view time as a cycle. They find it easier to go with the flow than Americans, who like plans to be fixed and unchangeable. 14行业专项Cause and Effect15行业专项Chinese sense of time abundance The Chinese nations concept of time is r

10、ooted in the culture of farming time; time has a close relation with the nature. Time is really fleeting, but it also circle like the constantly changing of four seasons, and the sun and the moon cycle alternately, it will come back soon; so people usually think that the lost time could be back. Thi

11、s kind of view of time shaped people a sense that time is rich, and also nurtured a habit of leisure and slow living habit. 16行业专项Cases Time for Chinese is more flexible and more human-centered. A.They usually schedule several activities at the same timeB.They usually put interpersonal relations abo

12、ve the scheduleC.The big shot usually is late 17行业专项慢走慢用慢慢看慢慢做慢慢商量慢慢欣赏慢慢来18行业专项American future orientation the westerners (especially the Americans) were influenced by the Christian “original sin”, tending to believe “men at their birth, are naturally evil. So most of them choose the futuristic time

13、 orientation. Such as: A.“跟上时代”(keeping up with the time) B.“关注未来”(keeping an eye on the future) as the action guidance. C. It was widely believed that equality in opportunities for everybody, insignificance in history. If they work hard, it will be successful; Change means progress, and new things

14、are always better than the old things. 19行业专项Chinese past orientation China as the representative of Asians choose to look back in the time orientation Cultural factors: Asians (especially the Chinese) was influenced by traditional Confucian culture, so tending to believe “Men at their birth are nat

15、urally good”. And social guidance incline to tradition. Expressions : A. considering whether this matter has been done over the past and what the successful experience and lessons from failures is. B. worshipping of ancestors, respecting the elderly and teachers, attaching importance to experience,

16、age, which has relation with the past.20行业专项21行业专项 The word “Lao” in China used to show respect to those who are more experienced and usually older, like “Lao Li”, “Lao Wang”. In this way we show respect and amity to the old people, which indicates a past time orientation. 22行业专项 Chinese belong to t

17、he “past time orientation”, and the Chinese nation have a long history for five thousand years, so people in China attach great importance to history and tradition. Although contemporary Chinese people also pay attention to look forward, “past” also take an important role in peoples deep heart. On t

18、he other hand, people hold a different attitude on the predecessors. This is because the clear difference in the attitude to the word “old”. So you must use some euphemism, such as “senior” ,“aged”, “veteran”，“citizen”, ”golden ager”, “elder”, etc. All these reflect the Americans “future-oriented” c

19、onception of time indirectly. They think that past thing are just the past, they never treat past thing as a good thing. 23行业专项Old means maturity, full of wisdom and experience24行业专项“old” means “useless”, “hopeless”,Old means useless, hopeless, fragile, approaching to death25行业专项In The Silent Langua

20、ge, Hall lays emphasis on the voices of time. “Time talks. It speaks more plainly than words. The message it conveys comes through loud and clear. Because it is manipulated less consciously, it is subject to less distortion than the spoken language. It can shout the truth where words lie.”Edward Twi

21、tchell Hall26行业专项Changes With the acceleration of the Chinas modernization, and the increase of foreign exchange, we are constantly absorbing in the essence of the foreign culture, and the concept of time also gradually changed. The linear sense of time gradually engaged into the Chinese culture. Meanwhile, westerners understanding and acceptance degree to traditional Chinese culture is constantly improving, with the increase of various cultural communication, the phenomenon of cultural fusion also increased, Chinese and wes