Comparison of the Animal Culture between China and the Western World

摘要早在人类出现之前，动物就已经在地球上繁衍生息。

人类在远古时代生活所需只能依靠自然的恩赐，因此，狩猎成为其谋生的最重要途径。

他们竭尽所能地改进工具以追捕更多的动物。

从那时起人类就与动物有了最直接和密切的关系。

随着人类文明的发展，许多与动物有关的词语应运而生，动物文化也随之被人类记载。

无论是在生产生活方面，还是在精神文化方面，动物与人类的生活都戚戚相关。

不同的民族赋予动物不同的象征意义，即使是相同的动物，在不同的国家里意义也可能是大相径庭。

例如：“龙”对于中国人是一种权力、尊严的象征。

但在西方它却是邪恶与残酷的象征。

本文从东西方动物文化差异入手，通过具体实例来探讨动物隐喻在东西方文化中的差异，进而论述了东西方文化的迥异，正是这种差异性才使得人类的各种文化如此丰富多彩。

关键词：动物；象征意义；中国文化；西方文化；文化差异AbstractBefore the appearance of early humans, animals had been blooming and living on Earth.Human beings in ancient times have to rely on the necessities which were bestowed by nature to live. Therefore, hunting has become the most important ways to make a living. They do everything possible to improve the tools to hunt for more animals. Since then, humans and animals have the most direct and close relationship. With the development of human civilization, a lot of animals’ words were created by mankind. Animal culture also would be recorded by humans.Both in production and life or in the spirit of the culture, animals can not be separated from human life.Different nations give animals a different symbolic meaning. Even if the same animals in different countries may be have the different meaning. For instance, "Dragon" for the Chinese people is a symbol of power and dignity. However, in the West it is a symbol of evil and cruel. Starting from the differences of animals’ culture between China and the West, we approach the metaphor of animals in different culture from China and the West through concrete examples, and then discuss the culture differences of China and the Western world.Key Words: animal; symbolic significance; Chinese culture; Western culture; culture differenceContents摘要 (i)Abstract ....................................................................................................................................... i i Contents ..................................................................................................................................... i ii1 Introduction (1)2 The Symbol of Fictional Animals (2)2.1 The Dragon (2)2.1.1 “L oong” in China (2)2.1.2 The Dragon in West (3)2.2 The Phoenix (4)2.2.1 The Phoenix in China (4)2.2.2 The Phoenix in West (5)3 The Symbol of Real Animals (6)3.1 The Dog (6)3.1.1 Dogs in China (6)3.1.2 Dogs in West (7)3.2 The King of the Animal World (8)3.2.1 Tiger is King of Beasts in China (9)3.2.2 Lion is King of Beasts in West (10)4 Differences between Chinese and Western Cultures (12)5 Conclusion (14)References (16)Acknowledgements (17)1IntroductionThe western culture started late compared with the Orient. Although between their internal, such as, Southern and Northern Europe, Western Europe and Eastern Europe, there are also differences. However the differences between Eastern and Western cultures embody the essence of the difference. Animals in human life play a variety of roles and also play a very important role which giving more warning and comfort in spiritual life of humans. Animals have different symbolic meaning in different culture background. Symbolic meaning is a direct product of human society. As Carl Jung said “Symbolism refers to the number of terms ﹑names and symbols. Not only contains textual meaning, cultural connotations, and even some we do not know the meaning of the origin... ...” This thesis focused on analysis the different meaning of fiction and reality animals in China and Western world..2 The Symbol of Fictional AnimalsFrom time immemorial, in different historical background and religious belief, lots of artistic image of fiction were created to console the heart in human civilization2.1 The DragonDragon is a mythical animal Wherever in China or the West, the dragon that always emit fireball from the mouth and fly in the sky own the power of God bestowed2.1.1 “Loong”in ChinaIn Chinese culture, the dragon was regarded as sacred animal.The image of Chinese dragon is different from the West. We call it “Loong” China has discovered the earliest dragon-shaped pattern from 8000 years ago, the Chahai Site of Xionglongwa culture. the dragon pattern’s length is about 19.7 meters, piled up and placed with reddish-brown stones, the discovery of the dragon that Chinese people worship the dragon's history dates back to 8000 years ago, With regard to the origin of the dragon, people finally achieved a consensus after a long period of study and research. The dragon is a synthesis of a variety of animals. It is an ancient totem symbol of worship formed in the primitive society. The dragon is a symbol of the ancestor of the Chinese people, Chinese people call themselves "Descendants of the Dragon. Emperor of China is also known as son of the Heaven and Real dragon. Dragon in Chinese legend can be all-powerful, do anything, for the benefit of subjects. Dragon is a symbol of Chinese traditional culture. Loong culture in the historical evolution of Chinese civilization has a process of the status and role of unusual. As a totem of the Chinese nation, Chinese dynasties are all respected Loong. As a mascot, Loong was regarded as the sky-fetish either from the emperor, officials or common people.For every 12 people in China, there are two astrological sign is Loong. In various festive events, Image of Loong is very prominent. On Tiananmen Gate, There are many golden Dragon pattern which were engraved in the beam where is hanging the national emblem. 2.1.2 The Dragon in WesternThe image of dragon in West world looks more like a big lizard with wings. Along with the changes of The Times, the image of dragon in Europe has a great change. In Greek mythology, the earliest reference to the image of the dragon is playing the role of guardian. It is poisonous and can be fire-breathing, long with a large bat-like wings and the round belly. It is uncanny, greedy, cunning and brutal. The image deeply rooted into the hearts of the people and completely degenerated into a devil incarnateSince then, the image of Western dragon is the embodiment of evil and its image appears in a variety of literary works. In Christianity, the dragon is seen as a symbol of the devil which derived from a myth that is Mesopotamia. In Mesopotamia mythology, the dragon is a horrific life in the ocean. Although it owns juggernaut, it will ultimately be eliminated by God.Marduk, the hero of Babylonian myth and Illuyankas, another hero in the Hittite mythology, both of them are opponents of dragon. Jewish who were living in the vicinity of the Mesopotamia region also were affected. And they continue to spread this kind of concept from generation to generation. The image of dragon in Judaism and Christianity gradually became a symbol of the devil. In the film, a wake-up dragon has been described as the destroyer of the future world. It symbolizes the fire. It symbolizes a deficit of annoying. The image of dragon in the foreign cartoons is nothing a good thing. In the western comics, the metaphor of dragon is anger voters who do not want to raise interest rates and are used as a symbol of the separatist forces. Dragon Lady means a fierce woman but not a beautiful girl. The old dragon means Devil or ugly shrew. Chase the dragon means acts of opium and heroin. Western parents encourage their children in this way while their children are in a jam:“Everyone has a dragon to slay”.The association about Dragon in English and "dragon" in Chinese is totally different. If you want to express your admiration for the western, you should not use “dragon”. In short, the symbol of dragon between China and the Western world are completely different.2.2 The PhoenixAccording to ancient Chinese legend, the Phoenix has colorful feathers and the same tail as fish, with soft and thin neck, the same as chicken’s mouth, and swallow-like chin. It is about 2.3 meters high. The Phoenix lives on plants and is good at dancing and singing.Although the image of Phoenix in China and the West world are similar, the people of the two worlds both call it the secular bird that would never be dead; their symbolic meaning is still different.2.2.1 The Phoenix in ChinaAccording to one Chinese legend, Phoenix is a miraculous animals and the Queen of all birds.The Phoenix is a collective title of meal and female. The meal called Huang and the female called Feng. They are inseparable while they become a family and always appear in pairs, so people call their name together. Phoenix fly together at the same time which is an auspicious symbol of harmony. It is as important as with the image of the dragon, The Chinese people regard dragon and phoenix as a perfect match that is made by heaven: Loong is a symbol of a wise man. Phoenix is a symbol of a beautiful woman. For that reason, in China there is a saying that “Prosperity Brought by the Dragon and the Phoenix” A headdress worn by an empress in ancient China is the empress' coronet that is inlaid with the golden Phoenix which is an important headwear is to show the special status of the Queen.The empress' coronet represents supreme authority and good luck for everything. The idiom, “birds paying homage to the phoenix” shows the noble of Phoenix. Phoenix woman in China also means good quality, as well as peace prosperity meaning. “The hair of a phoenixand the horns of a giraffe” mean precious and rare people who used an analogy with holiness. In addition to the noble and status, Phoenix also represents happiness and prosperity. Since ancient times, Phoenix has become a very important part in the Chinese culture.2.2.2 The Phoenix in WestIn Western mythology, the image of Phoenix is mainly a symbol of immortality. Phoenix are also known as Firebird, or the secular bird. Its image like a real bird flamingo but It has an exaggerated long tails, And the whole body is filed with fire. May be, the image of Phoenix is evolved from flamingo which people have put it more legendary. In the myth, every time after the death of Phoenix, it would ignite the fire around itself, then was reborn in the flames and get even more vitality than before, this called the "Phoenix Nirvana. Again and again, Phoenix won eternal life, and therefore, phoenix got the name “the secular bird”. According to Jewish legend, God appointed Phoenix as the immortal bird. Because of eating the fruit of the tree of wisdom, Eve has been punished. Thus she was jealous of other organisms. Subsequently, she was to persuade all other than the Phoenix to eat the forbidden fruit. When God learn this, he gave the Phoenix life span of one thousand years. A thousand years later, phoenixes will burn themselves, and then to be reborn and continue their new life. Therefore, the Phoenix symbolizes immortality. Despite the symbolic meaning of Phoenix between China and the Western world is very different, however, in the two cultures, there is something in common - Phoenix is a sacred animal.3 The Symbol of Real AnimalsIn addition to the fictional animals, the real existences of animals have been also given the special symbolic meaning by humans.The formation and development of the two nations China and the western world have their own historical conditions and circumstances which formed their unique state of mind. From their different attitudes on certain animals that can be seen that they have different national psychology. So, even if the real animals, the same animal, there may be a different symbol in a different world.3.1 The DogBecause of the national character of different nationalities impacted on their own people, different nationalities formed disparate aesthetic habits and aesthetic emotion. Due to this point, the value and the level of understanding that is to know lots of things around themselves between Chinese and the Westerns are different. Particularly, both in Chinese and English proverbs, though there are many animals are often used to refer to a variety of different types of people as metaphors, people whose feelings and understanding on diverse animals in different countries have fancy for dissimilar animals that sometimes even have completely opposite meaning. In particular, it is worth noting that dog in the Western countries, especially in the English-speaking countries enjoyed more love and esteem than we do.3.1.1 Dogs in ChinaIn traditional Chinese culture, "dog" is a lowly animal and often despised and swearword by people with derogatory emotions. in China dogs are always used to guard the house as well as People always associate dogs with the disgusting things. Such as "son of a bitch", " thedirty dog ", " The dog switches over to eat a dung witho ut end " equal” You cannot make a crab walk straight” in a word, in China, dogs can not make a good impression on people. Thus in Chinese culture, people often use the term "dog" as a metaphor of human being or affair which always cause a lot of depreciative association. Thence, the image of dog is even worse respectful. Such as, People who insist on consorting with evildoers are denounced as "dogs' legs" or "friends of fox and dog" (a pack of rogues). “ 走狗” “hatchet man”，“狗仗人势” “be a bully with the backing of a powerful person” or “Every dog is valiant at his own door”，“狼心狗肺” “have the heart of a beast” or“ brutal and cold-blooded”, “狗头军师” “a person who offers bad advice”. “狗急跳墙” “Desperation drives a dog to jump over a wall”. In Chinese, there are a lot of proverbs and idioms with regard to dogs are pejorative. For instance, “挂羊头卖狗肉” “sail under false colors” or “cry up wine and sell vinegar” “狗嘴里吐不出象牙” “a filthy mouth cannot utter decent language”. Commonly Chinese are found of describing villains with t he word “dog” .such as,“忠实的走狗” “running dog” “看家狗”“a watch dog” “狗苟蝇营” “ingratiate oneself with someone to gain one's ends” or “seek personal gain shamelessly” “狗彘不若” Describe a person that is so despicable that he can not even equal the pigs and dogs” Guo MoRuo said: "I am a Chinese. I do not like dogs. This kind of complex seems to be a national mood."3.1.2 Dogs in WestBy contrast, "dog" in the West world are far more fortunate. The value of the dog is far greater than their usefulness. Dogs that get more love like pandas, national treasure of China, are considered as pets and even partners in English cultural background .In the English-speaking countries, people are found of dogs, so people often call themselves or others by the word "dog" without despicable and foul meaning. Dogs in Britain and the U.S. also have the good name “Man's best friend”. Therefore, there are many versions in English and most of which are commendatory. Such as “人人皆有得意日”"Every dog has its day" or “Everyone has pride day”. As well as “你是个幸运儿”"You are a lucky dog" or “you are lucky”. there isa Chinese proverb“爱吾及犬；爱屋及乌” “Love me, love my dog.”, means if a person loves someone, the person will or should love everyone and everything associated with that one. Westerners often use the word “dog” to describe a person. The word "dog" is used to express a meaning "guy", which has no derogatory sense meaning in itself and has different meanings with different modifiers where is in front of the word. For example: “a water dog “means people who have great ability in swimming, “dog tired” shows people who are very tired and their condition as dogs, “sick as a dog” describes a person is very sick just like a disease dog. In addition to describe people with metaphor, there are a variety of phrases and proverbs with the word “dog”. Of course, the word "dog" also shows the derogatory sense in English, but it is totally not the same with Chinese, we must guard against interpreting without real understanding. Such as, “It is a dog's life Chris is leading. “Some people think that "a dog's life" means "miserable life". In fact, "a dog's life" means "quarreling and living a life without peace". There are many same kind of idioms, such as “每况愈下” “go to the dogs” (worse), “狗咬狗的，损人利已的”“dog-eat-dog” (profit o neself at the expense of others “占着茅坑不拉屎的人”“dog in the manger” hold on to a post without doing any work and not let anyone else take over. There is not also a kind of usage on the word neither praises nor censure, such as the “dog days” means hot day. “Doggy bag” means restaurant packaging bag. It is said that in the early time because of the prestige, people were not willing to take leftovers back, pretending to bring it to a dog. So they called it doggy bag.So, even if the same real animal, the symbol of them are still not same in different world.3.2 The King of the Animal WorldThe king of beasts in China and the West is not the same kind of animal. Whether the tiger in China or the lion in Western world, they finally do not get a clear result of the title which is the real King of beasts. In fact, from the different environment they are living in as well as the different cultural backgrounds, they have been given different symbolic meaning.So it is too hard to compare now, let us analyze the difference between China and the West world of the King of Beasts.3.2.1 Tiger is King of Beasts in ChinaThere is a special pattern which is much like Chinese character "King" in the forehead of the tiger. According to historical records, this Chinese character comes from the pattern on the tiger’s forehead. Chinese people subtly made its pattern on the forehead as a symbol, meaning the ruler, therefore the tiger in ancient times was considered as King of Beasts. Tiger is an extremely masculine animal; it has the courage and dignity. Tiger has also been considered as a tough guy, it is said that it can dispel all evil. During the war years, the tiger-head pattern has been drawn in a shield for the soldiers to intimidate the enemy. Early in China, people deemed the tiger is the main kind great spirits of animal and can help people get rid of drought. Others believe a tiger can live 500 years, after which it will become white as snow, and then it can live 1000 years. When it died, its soul would permeate into the ground becomes amber. This is the world "Amber" come from, meaning " Spirit of the Tiger ".In Chinese legend, people believed that tiger is an extremely powerful animals, it can expel the three major catastrophe of the family: Fire, Theft and Evil. The painting of tigers is often hung on the wall and is facing to the door so that the demons fear of them and do not dare enter. Even in the modern age, there are many children wearing the tiger-head hat, and the tiger-head shoes to keep them out of trouble. Tiger in the traditional culture of China is an extremely important component. For a long time, it has been used as a symbol of power and strength, and still been reverence by human being. There are lots of idioms to describe of the tiger, to show their worship, veneration and dread. Such as,“龙腾虎跃” means dragons rising and tigers leaping“虎虎生威” wishes everything to be as dynamic as tiger.“如虎添翼” means tiger with wings will have more power.“龙行虎变” a metaphor of the emperor who destroy the old institution and establish the newone.“人中龙虎” means the hero among humans.“将门虎子” a capable young man from a distinguished family.“谈虎色变” means someone turn pale at the mere mention of terrible thing.“畏敌如虎” means people fear the enemy as if he were a tiger.3.2.2 Lion is King of Beasts in WestLions did not originate in China. In the Western Han Dynasty, Lions was introduced into China from Persia. For Chinese people, the lion is a symbol of protection. Portrait of a lion are usually used to bless and protect human of the family. For example, in ancient China, the rich family set two stone lions in front of their gate, in order to protect their dwelling houses. Until now, in southern China, whenever there is a festival day people will celebrate the happy day with the traditional special performance of lion dance. People believe it can drive out the devil spirits and keep human and livestock safety. In Europe, there are also performances of lion dance in the festival. But their points of view about the performance may be different from us. They believe that lion is the symbol of power and courage. The image of the lion in West world has not been deified. The lion is still regarded as the King of Beasts. It is the symbol of bravery, strength, unity and the supreme power of Universe. Many nobles use the image of the lion as a symbol of elite. In ancient Egypt, the lion is the embodiment of Mars, and also a symbol of strength. Pharaohs often mixed the image of their own and the image of the lion together. Such as, the Sphinx in Egypt is very famous in the world. In Europe, the nobility often carve the image of the lion which is the most common animal pattern into the coat of arms. The matter embodies the ancient martial spirit. Male lions, both in Scotland and Ireland, are the logo for Royal Court of Justice, and its image also as a sign of strength of Great Britain. The image of the lions is also engraved on the national emblem in the UK. they always describe the British Lions to others “Lion，national emblem of Great Britain” In addition,, in the art field of Western culture When people talk about the great talent ,they oftendescribe the man as a "literary lion". The mage of lions in the eyes of Westerners has an important position and influence. Therefore, people in Western world regard "lion" as the King of Beasts. Here is the image of a lion in a variety of occasions.Lion and Unicorn refers to the two animals hold the royal coat of arms of the British with both hands piously and devoutly.Lion is also used in extended sense. Such as, “danger”, “jaws”. And there are some fixed phrases about “lion”“To place one’s head in the lion’s mouth means you are in great trouble.“a lion in the way” means a dangerous obstacle or stumbling block which is equivalent of “拦路虎” in Chinese idiom“To beard the lion in his den” means to leap on an earth god's head to make trouble;In many western literatures, there are a lot of vocabularies about lion: “lion heart” “regal as a li on”“majestic as a lion”“like a monkey in a lion’s hide”.Apart from lions, tigers and dogs, there are many animals that have their own symbolic meaning. Such as the horse, in China its symbolic meaning is diligent, independence and optimistic. However in Western culture, it is often used to describe the incredible vitality. It can be seen from this that the culture difference between China and the Western world is reflected by language. In English and Chinese culture, there are so many idioms on variety of animals which are long-term development of the product of national history in both China and the Western world and also reflect the different mental disposition of different cultural. The particular national characteristics are also the difficulties for foreigners to study.4 Differences between Chinese and Western CulturesCompare with the idiom, the proverb and the story of animal culture between China and the Western world, we can draw a conclusion that there is a huge difference between the two cultures of China and the West.China is a nation that aspire stability and harmony. Thus, Chinese people believe that both the dragon and the phoenix are a kind of blessing. From the point of view of the culture, the West has been a long time under the influence of religion. China has been a long period of time under the influence of feudal thought and rule. Westerns put their faith in God and believe people who set against God are fault, and even are evil. However in China, people put their faith in heaven and the Buddha who can bless people and give them good luck. It is said that if the God down to earth, dragon is his avatars. So the dragon is a sovereign symbol. Adage is the Condensation and summarization of daily work experience of a nation.It have penetrating content, profound moral and comprehensive appeal, from which reflects a country's the history geography, social institutions, life wisdom, regional belief, living patterns, social perspectives and attitudes and its abundant Cultural Connotations. As a language, the unique charm of adage rest with that it is the essence of a nation’s culture. For example, people who living in the coastland and subsisting chiefly on sea have their proverbs often concerning about sea voyages, fishing or catching shrimp. While the proverbs of the nomads are mostly related to the steppe, desert, flocks and herds, camels and jackals.As indicated above, language and culture are inseparable from each other. Language is part of the culture, but it is also a special culture. The relationship between language andculture is bidirectional and restrictive. Some sociologists believe that language is a cornerstone of culture. No language, no culture. From another aspect, language is also affected by cultural, mirrored the culture. It can be said that language shows the characteristics of a nation, which not only contains the nation's history and cultural background, but also implies that the views on life, lifestyles and ways of thinking of a nation. Sociologists tell us that all culture is unique, distinct from each other. Sapir, an anthropologist, in his "Language Theory" believes that “Language is a foundation, saying a kind of language belongs to one race or several races, which is part of the body that has certain characteristics different from other groups, but a group. Language ... ... the summation that decide our overall style and beliefs which is all aspects of the life”Language is the carrier and the representation of culture. Any kinds of language reflect the corresponding culture of itself. The language of a nation is bound to reflect the national culture. There necessarily exists communication obstacle, which is caused by different language between China and the west world. This is cultural difference.Language as a significant component of the culture reflects the rich and colorful cultural phenomena of the nation.In varieties of languages around the world, there are so many images of animal as noumenon of metaphor.The reason for that is the image of animal in addition to its immanent literal and metaphorical meaning and also has plentiful cultural information.Idioms in animal culture are numberless as the sand which consequently constitutes an important component in language culture. It is an indispensable part of learning language while comparing and reading the cultural connotation of the animal culture.Because of different people have different living environment, cultures and customs, thus they give the animals unique cultural character and endow them unique cultural connotation.5 ConclusionPeople learn more about living beings and the world at the emergence of animal culture. Different regions, different civilizations own unique animal culture. Idioms of Animal culture are bright and colorful treasure of treasure-house of each culture both in China and the West world. These idioms are profound, concise but Meaningful, full with vivid images and metaphor, some of them even have distinctive national features. Not only sparkled with wisdom, but also shining the arts of language brilliantly.Compared with other language elements, idioms are more typicalness and representativeness.Discussing and studying the differences will help people run across different cultural backgrounds, and accurately understand and grasp the rich unique culture connotation.We have to correctly grasp the essence of different culture in Cross-cultural communication.We must be based on deep understanding of multi-cultural so that we can accurately understand the implication of the philosophy and humor.Only know about the different culture of animals, can we grasp the cultural development of the west world and reduce the misapprehension and mistake when we study cross-cultural communication, which contribute to the culture syncretism of China and the west world.In globalization today, learning other countries’culture for each one is conducive to increase personal knowledge, and also contribute to communicate with others.Culture in the world is rich, colorful and diverse. In the process of globalization, all。