谈中美面子观的差异--以电影《刮痧》为例

ContentsChinese Abstract2English Abstract31. Introduction41.1 A Brief Introduction to Face Concept and Guasha41.2 Literature Review51.3 The Significance of Research72. Differences Between Chinese and American Face Concept in Guasha72.1 Differences of Family Education72.2 Differences of Filial Piety82.3 Differences of Address Forms93. Reasons for Differences Between Chinese and American Face Concept113.1 History Culture113.2 Value Perspectives123.3 Thinking Modes134. Conclusion14References16浅谈中美面子观的差异以电影刮痧为例摘 要经济全球化进程使国家间跨文化交流日趋频繁。由于文化背景的不同，中美对面子观的认识存在巨大差别。它常给双方带来交流上的障碍，甚至冲突。因此，了解中美面子观的差异具有重要意义。本文以郑晓龙的电影刮痧为例，从电影中的家庭教育、孝道及称谓语三个方面来阐述面子观在中美两国的差异。并且从三个方面分析了中美面子观差异的原因，主要包括：历史文化、价值观及思维模式。从而加深交际者对中美面子观的了解，以期减少由于面子差异导致的误解和冲突，进行顺畅地交流。关键词：跨文化交流；面子观；刮痧On Differences of Face Concept Between China and America-A Case Study of GuashaAbstract The process of economic globalization has made cross-cultural communication between countries increasingly frequent. Due to different cultural backgrounds, the perception of face has tremendous differences between China and the United States. And it often brings obstacles and even conflicts in communication between the two sides. Therefore, it is of significance to understand the differences between Sino-American views on face concept. Taking the film Guasha by Zheng Xiaolong as an example, this paper expounds the differences of face concept in China and the United States from three perspectives, including family education, filial piety and address form. And the reasons for different face concepts contains different history culture, values and thinking modes in China and America. The purpose of this paper is to enhance the communicators comprehension of Sino-American face concept, so as to reduce the misunderstanding and conflict caused by face differences and facilitate smooth communication.Key words: cross-cultural communication; face concept; Guasha 1. IntroductionNowadays, cross-cultural communication is increasing. However, people from different cultural backgrounds often face cultural conflicts when communicating with each other. And it will hinder normal communication. Face, as a social psychological phenomenon, is an important aspect of culture and it affects peoples social interactions. Chinese people advocate collectivism. They care much about their fame and the groups recognition of their social status. Besides, Chinese people focus on social recognition of their needs. They will try every means to “save face”, because they are afraid of “losing face”. Generally speaking, Chinese people value “positive face” and desire to get others validation. In contrast, people in western society highly admire individualism. They pursue the freedom of individual action and the satisfaction of individual desires. They hope that their actions will not be interfered, and individual rights are at least not completely bound by the values of the group they belong to. In brief, westerners focus on “positive value”, and they want full independence and freedom. China and the United States, with their vastly different perceptions of face, deal with face problem differently. And it brings communication barriers and even misunderstandings between the two countries. Therefore, understanding the face concepts of both cultures is crucial to removing potential communication barriers. This paper mainly analyzes the social communication behaviors of Chinese and American people based on the film Guasha. And it explores the reasons behind the face conflicts, so as to reduce the friction in cross-cultural communication between China and the United States and promote cultural exchanges.1.1 A Brief Introduction to Face Concept and Guasha The word “face” is very common in our daily life. “Face”, from its literal meaning, is a central sense organ complex. It is the front part of ones head and animals also have one. It can, depending on the definition in the human case, include the hair, forehead, eyes, eyebrow, eyelashes, nose, mouth, lips, ears, cheeks, teeth, skin and so on. The face can show rich expressions, appearance and identity among people. But here, we mainly prefer to discuss the connotations of “face” rather than the literal meaning of it. It has more meanings based on Chinese culture context (吴铁钧, 2004(04): 927).Many scholars have their own comprehensions about face. Chen Huqiang (1999) believes that if a person has brilliant social achievements or decent behaviors, he will be respected and dignified by others. Then he won face for himself. Cardon and Scott (2003) think that face is about the image and status of an individual in the social structure. While most of the definitions here are straightforward, the definition of Ho best shows the complexity of the Chinese face concept: “the respectability and