中西时间观念的对比分析

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 cherishedTime is a river, a torrent, a waterfall. Time is marching, flying and flowing. Time is compared to water Time

2、and tide wait for no manTime lost is never found again“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 时间是窃走青春的神秘盗贼 。 弥尔

3、顿 时间步伐如此迅疾，令人眼花缭乱。 莎士比亚Quotations from PoetsTimes 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 saved my soul, b

4、y then,Amen.Guy Pentreath (1902 - 1985) 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 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 favor of the time cycle bri

5、ngs good luck. After extreme bad luck, comes good luck枯木逢春犹再发A withered tree comes to life again 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 do not waste time, for that is the

6、stuff life is made of.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 shortagedeadlinesplansappointmentspocket plannerscalendarsaccountingson timein timetime managementstime tablesage

7、ndas schedules Americans seem tied to the clock.The Blockbuster 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 takes almost an emergency to change it. If people want to come

8、to your house for a friendly visit, they will usually call first to make sure it is convenient. To outsiders, Americans seem tied to the clock. People in other cultures value relationships more than schedules. In these societies, people dont try to control time, but to experience it. Chinese, for ex

9、ample, view time as a cycle. They find it easier to go with the flow than Americans, who like plans to be fixed and unchangeable. Cause and EffectChinese sense of time abundance The Chinese nations concept of time is rooted in the culture of farming time; time has a close relation with the nature. T

10、ime 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. This kind of view of time shaped people a sense that time is rich, and also nurtured

11、a habit of leisure and slow living habit. 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 above the scheduleC.The big shot usually is late 慢走慢用慢慢看慢慢做慢慢商量慢慢欣赏慢慢来American future orien

12、tation 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 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

13、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 are always better than the old things. Chinese past orientation China as the representative of Asian

14、s 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 naturally good”. And social guidance incline to tradition. Expressions : A. considering whether this matter h

15、as 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, age, which has relation with the past. The word “Lao” in China used to show respect to those who are more

16、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. Chinese belong to the “past time orientation”, and the Chinese nation have a long history for five thousand years, so people in China attach gre

17、at 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 the other hand, people hold a different attitude on the predecessors. This is because the clear difference in the attitude to

18、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” conception of time indirectly. They think that past thing are just the past, they never treat past thing as a good thing. Old

19、means maturity, full of wisdom and experience“old” means “useless”, “hopeless”,Old means useless, hopeless, fragile, approaching to deathIn The Silent Language, Hall lays emphasis on the voices of time. “Time talks. It speaks more plainly than words. The message it conveys comes through loud and cle

20、ar. 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 Twitchell HallChanges With the acceleration of the Chinas modernization, and the increase of foreign exchange, we are constantly absorbing in the

21、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