中西方时间观念的差异比较

AcomparisonofTimeConceptbetweenChinaandtheWest

Abstract:

Asisknowntoall,timeconceptinChinaisinclinedtodeviatefromtheoriginalrulesothatmanyChineseareusedtopayinglittleattentiontopromptness,whileitistheotherwayaroundintheWestthatonecouldbethoughtofasirresponsibleorunrespectableifheisnotpromptorpunctual.Probably,becauseofdifferenttimeorientationsandtimesystemsbasedondifferenthistoriesandcultures,mostpeoplefromthesetwoworldshavetheirownopinionsonthetimeconception,moreorlesspersonallycorrect.

Livinginapast-orientedsociety,Chineseholdtheviewoftimeasacircleandcandomorethanonethingatatime.Duetoinexactcalculationoftime,promptnessisnotvaluedsohighlyintraditionalChinaeveninmodernChina,whosepeoplearepreoccupiedwithleisurelylifeandrespectforthepast.Onthecontrary,intheWest,future-orientedsociety,peopletendtolookuponthetimeasaline,whichnaturallymeanstheyhaveastrongsenseoftheshortageoftime,thepracticeofdoingonethingatatimeandhabituallylookahead.Therefore,timeistreatedasifitwereaperishablematerialbyWesternerswhoplantheirfuturemoreeffectivelythanEasterners.

Apartfromthemisunderstandingcausedbydifferenttimeconcept,ChinesearesupposedtolearnalotfromWesternerssuchaspromptnesstobetterowncharactersandenrichownculture.

Keywords:theEasterners;theWesterners;timeorientation;timesystem;promptness

AcomparisonofTimeConceptbetweenChinaandtheWest

Introduction

Whatdoestimemeantoyou?AChinesemaysay“Aninchoftimeisworthaninchofgold”,whiletheEnglishproverbsstatethat“Tomorrownevercome”and“Onecannotputbacktheclock”.Fromthispart,weallfindtimepreciousanddearinourdailylife,butprobablyspeaking,Chinesearenotfetteredbytheconceptthattimeismoney,accordingtowhatMingEnbosaidinthebooknamedTheEasternerandtheWesterner.

TimeConceptinChina

Unlikethediscreteandclearly-definedWesternsystemoftime,traditionallytherearenoveryspecificrulesfortimeinChina,justspringingfromaninsideforcewhichhelpspeopletoplantheirlife.Itisrevealedintheaphorism,“Onewhodoesnotworkhardinyouthwillgrieveinvaininoldage”,whichiswidelybelievedthatifalldayisspentmerelychattingidly,sayingunreasonablethingsandshowingoffhiscleverness,onewillaccomplishlittleandhaveamiserablelifewhenold.What’smore,insuchatypicalChineseculture,timeisnotaccuratelycalculatedandcarefullyconsidered,insteadofanaspirationthat“laboratsunriseandrestatsunset”forthousandsofyears.

Becauseofinexactcalculationoftime,promptnessisnotvaluedsohighlyintraditionalChina,eveninmodernChina,whichis[reflectedinimperativeslikeEatslowlyatdinnertable,partinglikeWalkslowly,andcomfortinglikeStudyslowlyandTakeyourtimewhencomfortingstudentswhohavebeensufferingacademicsetbacks.]Itistrue,Iconfess,that“Softfiremakessweetmalt”andifChinesechildrenareinarush,traditionalChineseparentsmayscoldthemandsayhalf-jokingly,“Areyourushingtoreincarnation?”Inotherwords,promptnesssometimesreferstoimmaturity,recklessnessanddanger.

Regretfully,notfollowingthetimepatternoftraditionalChinese,I,thankstomymother'seducationinmyyouth,havehadkinsmeninpromptness.

Formymoney,apersonwithpromptnesscaneasilygainothers’fondnessandmakeadeepimpressiononcompanionsevenstrangers.However,suchapersonisgraduallyoutofsightaroundus.Ifyou’reinvitedtotakepartinabanquetat7:00p.m.inChina,pleasebecarefulthatthebanquetactuallystartsmorethanonehourlater.Ifyou’retoldtomeetaChinesefriendat9:00a.m.,pleasebecautiousthattheChinesefriendinmostcaseswon’tturnupontime.So,thatistosay,waitingforsomebodyisalong-existingphenomenoninChineseculture.

Meanwhile,traditionalChineselookupontimeastherotationofacircle,goingroundandroundceaselessly.Thiscircularviewresultsinasenseoftheabundanceoftimeandaccordinglydoingthingsinanunhurriedmatterandmakingupforthelasttime;hencewenaturallycherishandreverethepast,havingbeentaughttokeepdiariestorecordwhathasbeendoneinpasttofindoutwhetherwehavedoneanythingoffendingorhaveshunnedourresponsibilitiessothatwecanimproveourselvesthenextday.

Asthestatementshows,Chinesehavepossessedanunusualpassionandrespectforpast,payingheavyattentiontothehistorythatcanofferprecedentsinwhichthewisdomoftheancestorsisworthfollowing.[Formanyofusthepastisthebestteacher:Whathappenedinthepastisstillrelevanttoday],justasEmperorTaizongoftheTangDynastysaid,“Usinghistoryasamirrorallowsonetoseethefuturetrends”.

Apparently,Chinesecultureispast-orientedand[onthewhole,Chineseholdtheviewoftimeasacircle,encouragingrespectforthepast,anunhurriedlifestyle,andthepracticeofdoingmorethanonethingatatime.]

TimeConceptintheWest

Time,thoughasilentlanguage,oftentalksloudlybutdifferentlyindifferentcultures,whichcausethevisiontoreachawaytothewesterncountriesandseewhatkindoftimeconceptis.

Takeahouseholdstoryforexample.Abusinessmanfromaneasterncountrystayedinacomfortablehotel.Oneday,whenheknewthehotelopenedat5:00a.m.hewassocuriousaboutitspromptnessthathegotupquiteearlyandwaitedoutsidetoprovewhattheyhadsaid.Tohissurprise,about4:50,allstafftherewasbusypreparingforanewday’scoming;around4:58,somewaitersandwaitresseswerewaitingnearthegatetowelcome.Whenitstruckfive,thegateopenedontimeandattendantstheregreetedwarmlyandsmilinglywith“Goodmorning”.

Asmallstoryhasagreatwisdom.Maybeitisconfusedbysomepeople,butasamatteroffact,promptness,thoughdisfavoredintraditionalChina,yetvaluedgreatlybythewesterners,isanotheridentitycardintheworld.ProbablyduetotheirancestorsespeciallyAnglo-Saxon,thesignificanceoftimeconceptioninthewesterncountrieshasdeep-rootedinitsculture,itscharactersanditspeople’smind,asaresultoftheinventionofsteamandelectricity.

ComparedwithChinesetimesystem,intheWesternsociety,time,asanoutsideforce,helpspeopletoorganizetheirlife,forinstance,there’reschedulestotellthemwhattodoandwhen.[Aslateaseventoday,theancientGreeksenseofcuriosityaboutthefutureisstillverystriking.]Therefore,westernershaveatendencytolookaheadandareorientedalmostentirelytowardthefuture.Livinginsuchafuture-orientedsociety,peoplefeellessneedtorewriteorreinterprettheirhistoryandareinclinedtodefyauthoritiesandenjoyworkingonsomethingnewinsteadoffollowingtheestablishedroutine,probablybecausetheybelieve[“Nomanisrichenoughtobuybackhispast”.]IntheWest,thepastisstudiedscientificallytofindtrendsandpatternssincethecausesofpresentandfutureconditionscanbefoundinthepast,ratherthantobereserved.Westernersaregoodatplanningfortheirfuture,asanexpressionofsettinggoalsandoutliningspecificstepsforreachingthegoal,suchasencouragingchildrenasyoungastenyearsoldtoplantheircareersatschoolintheirCareerclass,insteadofaskingpupilstokeepdiariestorecordthepast.

[ForWesterners,timeisalinethathassegmentskeptdiscretefor“onethingatatime”,goingceaselesslyforward,movingforwardthefutureandneverreturning;]conversely,Chinesecandomorethanonethingsatatime,nothavingaconcreteschedulejustlikethepopularityofhotpotinChina,whichmeansallowingorrequiringeaterstocookwhileeating,talkingandhavingfun.Definitely,themixtureofcookingandeatingatonceisthebestsellingpointforhotpot,butforWesternersitisagainsttheirethicalrule,andthusalmostimpossible.

Sincetime,underthiscircumstances,istreated[asifitwereaperishablematerial,itcanbeearned,saved,spent,wasted,killed,runshortoroutof.]Asaresult,theWesternersaccuratelycalculateandcarefullyconsideritsortofimmoralorrudetohavetwothingsgoingonatonceonmanyoccasions.Furthermore,inWesternlife,theunpunctualityornon-promptnessisoftentakeneitherasaninsultorasanindicationthattheyarenotquiteresponsible.Westernersfeelsostronglyabouttimethat[theyhavestressedthisaspectofcultureanddevelopedittoapointunmatchedanywhereintheworld,especiallyinAmerica,SwitzerlandandGermany.]

Conclusion

IncontrasttotheexactcalculationoftimethatWesternersarepreciselyawareofaninstantmomentofonesecond,traditionalChinesearegiventousethesunasthetimepiece,likesunriseandsunset,andadayhasbeendividedinto12two-hourperiods,indistinctly.Moreover,theChinesewatch,strictlyspeaking,hasbeenasymbolicdecorationandcouldn’tbeinthecontrolgradually,justrepairedwhenitdoesn’twork.

Besides,inChina,withregardtoworkthatahouseisunderconstruction,thoseworkerswhoareinchargeoftheproject,lateforstartingandearlytoleaving,haven’taimedatcompletingtheworkquicklybuthurrythemselvesintoarestifweatherisn’tpermitted.Ironically,however,frowningupontheirefficiency,aforeignerresolutelyhelpsfourofworkerstofinishtheirhalf-dayworkinameal’stime.Forthisreason,itcouldbeaformidabletaskforChinesetoimprovetheagilityandthepromptness.

Toagreatdegree,ChinahasapreponderanceofhistoryoverWesterncountries’,whilea“nationaldeep-rooteddepravity”hastakenove