从文化层面分析中美消费观念的差异摘 要中美社会历史背景、价值观念、道德观念、以及家庭教育背景的差异，引起了两国人们消费观念的不同。
论文从文化的角度，主要论述了中美两国人们在存钱、旅游、以及追求新潮时尚等方面消费观念的差异。
论文重点研究了文化与消费观念的关系，以及文化对消费观念的影响，使人们进一步认识到不同文化背景蕴含不同的消费观念，并能正确、理性地看待本国文化与本国人们的消费观念，打破对其他国家人们不同消费观念持有的偏见，理解、尊重并借鉴不同文化背景下人们的消费观念。
关键词：中美文化；文化差异；消费观念差异On the Differences of Chinese and American ConsumptionConceptions from the Perspective of CultureABSTRACTOwing to the geography differences, society development differences, cultural valunations’ differences, ethic differences, family education differences, Chinese and Americanconsumption conceptions differ from each other in three aspects: difference in depositconception, difference in traveling consuming, a nd difference in catching fashion. Thisstudy mainly elaborates on the relationship between culture and consumption, emphasizin’ influence on consumption conception from the perspective of culture. The aim the culturesmaking people view their own culture andof this thesis includes three a spects: firstly,secondly, breaking p eople’sprejudice consumption conception correctly and rationally;making people understand, andtowards other n ation’s consumption conception; finally,consumption conception under different cultures.respect people’sKey words:Chinese-American culture; culture d ifference; consumption conceptiondifferenceCONTENTS1 Introduction (1)2 Chinese and American Culture Differences (3)2.1 Geography differences (3) (4)2.2 Society development differences... . (4)2.3 Cultural value differences2.4 Ethics d ifferences (5)2.5 Family education d ifferences (6)3 Chinese and American Consumption Conception Differences (7)3.1 Difference in depositing conception (7)3.2 Difference in traveling consuming (8)3.3 Difference in catching f ashion (8) (10)4 Influences of Different Cultures on Consumption Conceptions.4.1 Influence of geography on consumption c onception (10) (11)4.2 Influence of society development on consumption conception4.2 Influence of value on consumption conception (11) (13)4.3 Influence of traditional family education on consumption conception Conclusion (15)References (16)Introductionvalues, behaviors, institutionsand “Culture i s the total accumulation o f beliefs,communication patterns that are shared, learned and passed down through the generation group of people.”(Che Lijun, 2008:3) I t i s a well-known fact that p eoplein identifiableacross nations and countries have different cultures, which influence human life in var aspects. Besides, consumption conception is one of the deepest aspects being influence Owing to the different cultures of China and America, their society and history differeand family education d ifferences,thecultural value differences,ethics d ifferences,consumption concept of Chinese and American is also different in three aspects: depositi conception aspect, traveling consuming aspect, catching fashion aspect.Until n ow, many Chinese and foreign scholars, such as Zhu Chen (1996), C henQinde(2005) , Miao Qing(2005) , Hao Peiyan(2007) , Yang Guangqiong (2008) have ever done researches o n Chinese- American culture d ifferences and Chinese-AmericanBut each of them approaches i t i n his own wayconsumption conception differences .without keeping abreast of what others are doing on the study of culture and consumpti concept. The former studies, which haven't combined culture differences with consumption may cause some misunderstanding which can't m ake peopleconception d ifferences,achieve a better understanding of the relationshipbetween culture and consumption conceptions. Based on the researches of the previous experts and scholars, this paper make a systematic study on the differences of Chinese-American consumption conceptions from cultural respect. This paper has five parts:The first part is an introduction. It shows readers the relationship between cultur consumption conception. The second part mainly analyses C hinese-American c ulturedifferences from geography, s ociety development, v alue, e thics and family educationaspects. The third p art will talk about Chinese-American consumption conceptiondifferences from three aspects. The fourth part concerns with different culture's influas a conclusion. It d raws a conclusionon consumption conception. Thefinal part servesthat t he nature o f consumption is culture. Only having a good knowledge of culture differences can we evaluate people's consumption conception correctly.2 Chinese and American Culture Differencessociety, including ideas, “Culture u sually means the unique life form in a particularemotion, and behavioral faith, which are different from those of other recognition,society.”(Che Lijun, 2008:2) In our daily life, culture is ubiquitous, multidimensional, all-pervasive, as we have it almost anywhere and anytime. It is understood differently people throughout the world .Americans believe that culture is a fast-moving train, whthebetter you adjust toclosely connected withwhat is g oing on for the time being .TheChinese people believe thatpresent world, t he more you understand c ulture .However,culture is closely related to the past .The more you know about Confucianism or the pa the more cultured you are consider to be. To the outside observers, Americans may seemChinese, thelike a nation of amnesiacs; they care more about the next big invention. Topast is always something to be memorized. They are always proud of the four greatinventions they made in ancient times. Therefore, the culture differencesbetween Chinaand America are various, which may be reflected from the following aspects:2.1 Geography differencesChina and America have different geography conditions. America has a vast territory and most territory physiognomy is low and flat. It lies in the temperate zone where the enough rain. I t supplies good resource c ondition for the development of Americanagriculture and has no limit to its development. It also has abundant water resource, w supplies reliable security for the development of American industry and resident usage. mineral a nd energetic sources a re also v ery rich, such as iron, copper, lead, zinc, mine,closedand the relativelypetroleum a nd natural gas etc. F or China, remote location,Geographic e nvironmental conditions in Chinaenvironment a re the significantfeatures.just like this: in the West and the North, there are plateau, mountains and desert, wh the East and the South, there is sea. All of these are barriers for Chinese.2.2 Society development differencesWe all k now that A merica is a n immigration country, where people h ave adventurespirit. Its history is very short, for about 300 years .For this, we would have to tur historical development of the United States. Its origins can be traced back to the 177 1776, the US gained independence from the British rule. After 200 years of development the United States has developed far beyond its previous in the aspects of economy, poliof the Soviet U nion, the United States hasand military power. After t he disintegrationbecome the sole s uperpower i n the world. A merican is a lso t he first modern democracy’s economy is full of vigor, which country in the world. With prosperous industry, Americaexcludes the natural economy prematurely and breaks the self-sufficient pattern.However, China, as a feudal society with closed natural economy, has developed forIts self-sufficient producing style forces most Chinese to spend about thousands of years.all their life on farming. Once someone lost his ability of self-development or even lo land, his family cannot survive.2.3 Cultural value differencesmodesty, advocate In china, w e pay much attention to a person’s reputation,selfless-service and encourage people to make up for their defect and suffering by adjustheconcepts played a dominant role intheir innermind. In Chinese h istory, Confuciusformation o f social ideology. Confucianism believes that o ne should immerse into t hewhole society to exist. And one cannot realize his own value of existence if he does’s strong emphasis on the group, cooperation immerse and become part of the society .Chinaup their group-orienteddevelopment, has builtthe process of socialand coordination, invalue. As a basic value system, Confucianism has permeated all Asia for centuries .It philosophy of humanity which survives on the basis o f good interpersonalrelationship.one of its p rinciplesand the core of Confucianism, means the“REN” (benevolence),daily l ife, it h as intimate connection with mutualpassion .Inharmony of interpersonal’s shoes, take care ofbenefit which indicates that one must have the ability to think in otheris part“YI” (righteousness) whichothers, and give sympathy to others. Another principle isof human nature b rings p eople b ack to “the good nature o f humankind at beginning o fbirth”. It can make person see through problems and integrate with others by transcendin the present interest and breaking through personal limitations. According to Confuciani this kind of social relationship based on common interest, is very important and conduc to group coordination and harmonious interpersonal relation .So, in China, because ofcollectivism hasgained a goodcoordination,high emphasis on group conceptand socialand long –standing reputation.The unique However, Americans focus on materials, and stress individualism.experience o f American history h as determined the formation of their c oncept of individualism, the basis of American ideology. In order to escape the religious persecucolony on the Americanset u p their owngroup of settlersfrom central Europe, the firstcontinent .And this special historic experience of emphasizing on dependence has given profound influence on American cultural value .InAmerica, e ach person i s v iewed asThe striving for self –realizationishaving a unique set of talents and potentials.accompanied by a subjective sense of rightness and personal well-being. Individualism al encourages p eople to express their o wn opinions a nd to make their o wn decisions independent of external influences.2.4 Ethics differencesChinese family moral education takes human relations as a foundation and emotions as principal to process family interpersonal relationship. Chinese family ethics are bas and they take emotion for the law to deal with family r elationships.human relations,Chinese ties to each other with blood as basic coordinates. In dealing with family rela the Chinese people’s genetic-based sentiments led to unusual attention. However, Chinesea "reason" for the love, “A kind father and a filial son, a tend people have never followedbrother and a respecting brother, a gentle husband and a tender wife”(父慈子孝，兄爱弟敬，夫和妻柔) (Weienyase,2000:127))standard has enabled the Chinese to follow. Chinese families used to cultivate good habits and establish relationships of caring other peotrains personality of each family member and at last units a family as a whole.However, American family moral education t akes i ndividual as the center. In anAmerican family, individual is the foundation and has the highest value, whose existenfor them, butof sacrificesdoes not rely on other people. The family maymake all sortsdoes not request m uch obeying. T he independent i ndividual can enjoy freedom andequality in the family. The American parents foster and educate their children, but do attempt any repayment. C hildren, after 18 years o ld, l eave h ome to rent a room to livealone, to study or to work, and nobody can accuse the parents of their being unreasonab Clearly, the common Chinese family stress and believe that, "good relationship is the m important"(和为贵).(Weienyase, 2000:9) American family stresses personality,and hasstrong rational idea.2.5 Family education differencesChinese family e ducation takes "the b enevolence of the Confucianism”as the core;the basic of benevolence is loving people. This enormously affirmed and transferred fami member's intrinsic noble motive. In China, the corresponding relation of rights and du are not important in China morality. When we fulfill our obligation, we make other peop enjoy the rights. This is a basic faith of Chinese family.Americans take fair as the moral principle; everything is according with fair. AndAmerican believes the fair is i n opposition to and ineven indifferent.is r ational,“fair"agreement with the duty and the right. American is clear about the relation of the righ the duty. They work to get the reward, which also includes love. If they ask other peopl help they also have to pay some reward. For example, they have paid for using relativ telephone, and the children demand the reward if t hey help their parents to wash car.American views that duty and right is not inconsistent with their intrinsic love. To p’s fair principle.the coexistence of the right and the duty is the American family3 Chinese and American Consumption Conception DifferencesConsumption conception means people’s ideology and attitude towards theirpursuit of the goods value. I t also refers to adisposable income, including people’swhich makes people evaluate a nd value their a ction t owardsconsumption activity,consumption manner, consumption process, and consumption trend. The process of shapingOwing to theconsumption conception i s closely related to the level o f productivity.’ consumption conceptions are different. The different level of productivity, the two nationscharacteristics of Chinese consumption conceptions are conservative, with high saving raThe mainOn the contrary, to most Americans, they tend to consume excessively.differences are as following:3.1 Difference in depositing conceptionagriculturalperiodcountry, without t raditionalAmerica is an emerging industrial(while China is a large agricultural country), and therefore they do not have the conce of depositing money. Americans have courage to active advance.However, China, as a feudal society with closed natural economy, has developed for about thousands y ears. Chinese people from the very young has been instilledsuch aconception– to keep up. Since ancient t imes, C hinese society is also to appraise theone word that ision to money. To sum it up ineconomy, which is manyAsians’ concept"deposit." There is an old story that can best prove this phenomenon: it is about a Ch old woman and an American old woman. When they were dying, the Chinese old woman said, “It took me 60 years to save enough money to buy a big house”, and the Western. (王埃亮，2000) We canwoman said, “It took me 60 years to pay for the debt of my house”see from the story that Chinese people traditionally think that they buy what they can af and don’t want to be on a debt. However, Western people think t hat they would like toIn myenjoy their lives even by loaning m oney from bank or making an installment.while, we shouldenjoy the life more comfortablea good idea for people toopinion, it’salso realize that the real happy life is contributed to the hard work by our own hand 3.2 Difference in traveling consumingAmerica is an immigrant nation. The development of the western region m akesconstant flow become a living. Therefore, American have no conception of the ancientprecept "it is good to stay home for a thousand days ,and it is difficult to go out ev moment(在家千日好，出外一时难)". With the development of family vehicle and highway,industry and technology, travel becomes very simple. Soas well as other i nfrastructuretourism h as become a major industry in America. H owever, Chinese advocate e conomy.They don’t think it very important to conduct cultural entertainment expense and servi expense. In their point o f view, travelingexpense is a lso t he service expense, which is expense, and it b elongs t o high income people. They also b elieve that, tourismspiritual’s basic life needs are satisfied; and at present, travelin expense is the expense after peopleis a kind of basic a ccumulation expense, but it i s n ot a kind of regular expense. Peopleaboard is l uxurious expense. To borrowtravelingthink t he travelingexpends, e speciallyfor most people in China is an incrediblething. In the eyes of mostmoney to travel,ordinary people, tourism consumption is not necessary in their lives.3.3 Difference in catching fashionIn America, Only the American likes to catch n ew things in order t o be different.to be put on for above 3 years, the leisure clotheswork- clothes have the possibilitygenerally only are put on for 1 - 2 years. Moreover per capita has various seasons clot above 10 sets. Their c lothing is m assively from Chinese and all developing nations, theprice of which is extremely cheap.In the durable consumable aspect, the renewal speed is very quick. According to Su the proportion of people having the cell p hones is very high,Bangzhu’s investigation,80% adults have cell50 - 70% middle-school students,students,nearly 100% universityphones, and after just one year they will get a new one. For automobile and other domeswork. Therefore, in American life products, they don’t use them until they can’telectricair c onditioner, television, andsuch as refrigerator,can see all kinds of things,trash, wewasher and so on.In the 80's, American pursued luxuriously. The majority of Americans have only theput on clothes,which are thesome young people; they didn’tbrand in mind, especiallynon- name brand. But in the 90's, American gradually has been faint in expense idea cal brand consciousness, and the price consciousness is in the upper hand. However, Chines are just o n the opposite. Chinese consumers’expense behavior has two extremelyOne is a dmiring f ashion, displaying the new conception andremarkable c haracteristics:low; the other is worshiping theloyalty isthe original productnew product craving, butpsychology of foreign countries, favoring the purchase of international brand.4 Influences of Different Cultures on Consumption ConceptionIn sections two and three, we have explained in the different culture and consumpti conceptions between China and America. So in this part we will mainly focus on how the culture influences the consumption conception.4.1 Influence of geography on consumption conceptionAmerica is an advanced agricultural country, which owns vast, low and flat territoThese sources are taking great abundant water resource, and mineral and energetic sources.grade in the world. Variety and rich resources also supply great foundation to the Ameri industry and great p roduction for consumption .Therefore;they don’t have the idea ofdepositingbringsclosed e nvironment,it i nevitably However, China, because of its r elativelyclosure p sychological and cultural anthropology. In China, the psychological and thedevelopment do not play the important roles, which also r elated to themarine culturalHuang - Huai basin, whose natural conditions is good for farming, so the people began get active and formed a deep attachment to the land. Chinese people are lack of suffic interest in the sea. Operations at sea are not only difficult but also dangerous, far We assume that, in the low standard of living condition,the need ofthan agriculture.security should be quite strong. Since people have land for farming, so why do they sand calmdanger? W hat’s more, the farming l ife also h elps f armers l ike s imple l ifestylerhythm of life, and the sea-based trade will be disturbed and fast rhythm. China's na conditions, climate, topography, and other aspects are not good for agricultural produc but in general far more favorable than negative. GivenChina’s own conditions, agriculture"food is the mostis the best choice. Chinese people have a deep sense of food .They think（靠天吃饭）（李important thing of people’s life”(民以食为天)" and "relying on the nature"肖，2002） derived from the experience of agricultural life. Chinese food culture is ful life, which is a factor of fundamental aspect of people's life. This factor is constraiarranged by the “nature”(天). Therefore, the farmers had to take into account the instableclimate and mutations factors. The surplus grain will be stored up for the rainy day, anChinese community has always been a form of self-sufficiency. Therefore, Chinese peoplefrom the very young have been instilled to keep up such a conception. Since ancient timconcept ion ofChinese society is also t o appraise the economy, which is many Asians’money. To sum it up in one word that is "deposit."4.2 Influence of society development on consumption conceptionWe all know that America’s neoteric economy is full o f vigor. I t breaks theextending a re allpattern. Exploiting the world market and increasinglyself-sufficientBesides, America is an emerging industrialimpacting t he nation g uard and limitation.country, without traditional agricultural period (while China is a large agricultural coOwing to these reasons, Americans do not have the conception of depositing money. Theyhave the courage to advance. However, Chinese value agriculture more than industry andcommerce. In China, t wo thirds of its population remains m aking a living on land. OldChina is a feudal society with closed natural economy which has developed for thousand–sufficient producing style forces most Chinese to spend all their lives of years. Its selffarming. Once someone lost his ability of self-development or even lost his land, his facannot survive. Owing to the difference of the society development, Chinese and America’t care much about depositing, while consumption conceptions are different. Americans donChinese value it very much.4.3 Influence of value on consumption conceptionmodesty, paying much attention to thereputation,Chinese highlight a person’sspiritual consumption. They advocate selfless-service and encourage people to make up ftheir defect and suffering by adjusting their inner mind. For this, we could trace backorigin of the traditional Chinese values. Confucianism as the mainstream of Chinese culalong with Taoism and Buddhism, has establishedthe framework of Chinese traditional“Benevolence” is the core, andculture and has built the mentality of the Chinese people.ethics is the standard. Adopted and reinforced by kings and governors s ince t he HanDynasty, e speciallyclassic Confucianism became thein the Song and Ming dynasties,theoretical pattern, whose ultimate concern was how to become a noble man or gentleman,’s attitude or outlook. Confucius said:“the man with benevolence is thehow to cultivate oneone who loves a ll m en.”(Weienyase, 2000:69) The way to carry o ut benevolence i s tooneself and to enhance others i f o ne wouldestablish others i f o ne wants to establishyou would not wishto be done yourself. Theenhance oneself. Do not do to others whatgreat learning teaches illustrious virtue, to improve the people, and to remain in thestate as theTo achieve a moral ethics and improve one’s spiritualhighest excellence.Confucian ideals have made up of the core value of Chinese culture, due to which Chinand economic centers of the ancient world. T o the virtuousbecomes one of the culturalancient Chinese, humanworthinterest and desires were of less important, and hence not pursuing.country. T hey focus on material However, American is an interest-orientedconsumption. T hey consider it a lmost a right to be materially well off and physicallya variety of clean and comfortable. They expect swift a nd convenient t ransportation,healthy f ood, and comfortable h omes equipped with numerous laborsaving devicesincluding both central heating and hot water. The government is expected to ensure acceof all p eople and agencies c an affect the publicto food and drug products. Activitieswelfare. Associated with the values o f physical comfort a nd health is t he acceptance ofcleanliness as being nearly identical with health. All the values of material propert material well-being yield the powerful social norm of progress. Progress may be said to universal .Throughout t he world, people wish for basic physical c omfort, n ecessaryand good health a nd medical services that r educe the physicalmaterial possessions,harshness of birth, disease and death .Both science a nd technology serve t he value ofprogress .Based on this value, most Americans tend to believe that the basic problem of world is economic and that technology offers solutions. Associated with material comforthe American genius f or devising and employing machines also p rovide e fficiencyandconvenience in daily life .American advisors and technicians exhibit a strong tendencycreates aperceive their tasks a s requiring the use of machinery. Their future orientationfeeling that progress can make everything better than now. Americans find it important cope with the flow “keeping u p with the times” (Borden, G eorge A) and to look ahead“keeping an eye on the future”, (Borden, G eorge A) but the temporal orientation”. So most Americans feel that through their“near futuredownstream should be qualified aseffort they can bring about a better future without compromising the welfare and progrpeople living in a largea valid belief forenough for everyone isof others .That there ison thecountry w ith an expanding e conomy and abundant r ecourses.With no restrictiongoods available to all, individuals can progress, that is, acquire a large quantity of th for themselves w ithout concern for depriving o thers o f the same opportunity. TheAmericans stress on material things is associated with a belief in the inviolacy of p property, a value commonly asserted to be at the root of the constitution and the Ameriwill b econception of democracy. T hey react negatively to the idea t hat f ree e nterprisesdenied to anyone in the world .Americans regard free enterprises as an inalienable right is worth fighting for. At the interpersonal level, many Americans also encounter difficu in their dealing with persons who do not share with them a clear distinction between pri and public property. On a large scale, Americans may react quite negatively to bribery government officials and other methods of directing public funds into private pockets .W the scientific support of the theory of evolution, Americans see progress as ascending primitive past along a path in time toward a future in which the impediments of nature dominated by individual will and technology.4. 4 Influence of traditional family education on consumption conceptionParents in China are good at persuading. They attach importance to their children excessively.They even accept t he obligation of educating t heir children without a nycomplaint. In each stage, they protect children from hurt. For the benefit of the child they try their best to solve the problems for children. Chinese children also respect t。
