Chinese Culture Vs American Culture

China is one of the oldest continuous cultures in the world. It has seen great economic rise over the past 30 years in regard to business, trade, and politics. It was previously dominated by the United States and now it has become somewhat of an underdog. Most Western companies manufacture their products with the Chinese market. The Chinese culture is incredibly complex and has very different attitudes than Americans on a variety of topics such as education, family, and work ethic. A Chinese Proverb once said, “If you are planning for a year, sow rice; if you are planning for a decade, plant trees; if you are planning for a lifetime, educate people.” Education is incredibly important in the Chinese culture and China has one of the largest

Each family can have a different set of values, beliefs, functions, and structures. In the American culture family is viewed as being very important, but it doesn’t seem to be as important in the Chinese culture. In the Chinese culture, individuals are expected to follow the norms of society. There is also a large focus on sticking with the status quo. The importance of the individual is at a low, whereas in the American culture there is a great focus on the individual. The Chinese also view family as a unit of society to which one belongs (Pan, 1993). Chinese children are to learn early in life that family is the central unit of the society and that everything they do reflects on the entire family and society. One of the main characteristics of a traditional family from a Chinese background would be most the importance of elders; children are expected to respect their elders with the oldest family member commanding the greatest respect. Another characteristic is that they are hierarchical in structure with the males having a higher status than the females. The males are highly valued because they carry on the family name. One characteristic that is a little different than Americans is how the Chinese view discipline. They use shame and guilt to control and train their children and if they were to do anything wrong the children know that it constitutes embarrassment for the

Many Americans view work as a part of their lives but seek enjoyment in other activities outside of work while Chinese view work as what defines them. They work for long hours, work extremely hard, and generally care about what they are doing. The Chinese value the work they do and tend to be less affected by work stress whereas Americans are constantly stressed by work and are always bringing work to the home. Some values the Chinese have for a work environment are achievement, hard work, honesty, and motivation all while in the office or work