Comparisons of Life Values between British and Chinese

Comparisons of Life Values between British and

Chinese

As people in the world call America “Uncle Sam”, in some cartoonists and writers’ eyes, Britain or British have been named “John Bull”. Generally speaking, what it emphasizes is British’s national characters, which are pride, stubbornness and restiveness, like raging bulls. As a consequence, British judge things in terms of what are right and quite traditional values.

In another end of the world, a country is also considered to be traditional, and that’s China. In China, for thousands of years people lived in a comparative stable and unchanged life, so Chinese also act and think in traditional ways. Though Chinese people’s lives have changed a lot since the open and reformed policy, many people’s values towards life stay the same in various aspects. As Britain and China are geographically separated far away, there are many differences of life philosophy between Britain and China, while there maybe some are similar despite the distance.

British and Chinese’s attitudes towards work

British people and Chinese people hold different attitudes to work. British believe that work is one of sources of happiness. Prof. Mansel Aylward, director of social psychology and disability research centre of Cardiff University, did a research on what makes people happy, and he

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concluded that work is the main factor that makes people happy. He found that if a young man is out of work, his possibility of suicide maybe 40 times as large as those who are not. What’s worse, the unemployed are more possible to suffer low mood and illnesses, even die of depression. Though British often complain that there’s too much work and it’s stressful, work is still one of the sources of happiness. Work can keep people smiling if employers let their workers get control of their work, for example, how and when they work. In addition, not everyone will get more delight when he earns more money. Researches showed that workers who earn more than 8,500 pounds will not become happier when they are paid more, while workers’ salaries are below this level they will get happier if they earn one more pound.

In China, people hold a different view on work. Most Chinese people’s priority of choosing a job is based on the factors below: Firstly, whether the job is a descent one; secondly, whether the salary is satisfied. In a survey, 36.73% people work for raising the family, 23.64% aim at having a better life, and only 12.87% endeavor to realize their personal value. It shows that most people just want rich life but not enjoy the work. Instead, Chinese people think it a huge loan to work 40 hours a week. It follows that only a small sum of people can get happiness from work. What’s more Chinese people’s attitude towards work pay is quite different. Chinese people are so concerned about the pay that they

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evaluate their working satisfaction by how much money they earn.

As is stated above, British attach more importance on the pleasure they gain from work, which is quite positive, while Chinese value the money most.

Differences in awareness of law between British and Chinese In different areas of Britain, the applicative law systems are various. Because of the diversity of law applicability, a British friend once cracked a joke that he might break the law unintentionally when he entered another area. However, British have strong sense of law and they seldom do illegal things. On the contrary, Chinese people’s awareness of the legal system is relatively thin.

Take a piece of news reported in 2004 on Qingdao news net as an example. Britain Petroleum Company planned to lay an underground pipe work, but when the reasonable design was passed, they got in trouble，as a part of it gets through the underground of an old woman’s house and she disagreed firmly with the company’s require. The company couldn’t force to get through, because the law protects private property. Then, the company turned to the public. Eventually, British public didn’t stand by the Britain Petroleum Company as it would spent more money, while the judicial organ of nation didn’t step in the old woman’s persistence.

British and Chinese’s opinions are far apart on this issue. Without exceptions, almost all Chinese are in favor of the Britain Petroleum

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Company. They argued that the old woman, the “Small self”, should obey the “Higher self”. That’s to say, the individuals should sacrifice their own interest to submit to national interests. On the other hand, unexpectedly, most British criticized the company. In British’s eyes, compared with the seriousness of laws, any so-called national interests appear minor matters. So law gives the old woman right of private property, she can exercise the power completely. Even if there are some problems in the laws, the only way to solve this issue is to revise the laws via legislation procedures. For instance, it is a severe legislative issue whether ten meters beneath the ground belongs to the right of private property, or whether it can be violated. Consequently, there’s no surprise that the company could not wait the laws to be revised and changed their line of pipe work though it would be more expensive.

In other aspects, British will also take laws seriously, for example, they seldom break traffic regulations. From this prospective, British are quite stubborn. However, in China, in every corner on the roads, you can see people shoot traffic lights. You may be quite interested in the phenomenon that Chinese won’t watch the traffic lights but watch whether there’re cars coming when crossing the road. All in all, British will follow close to the laws but Chinese won’t take it seriously.

British and Chinese people’s views on family values

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When it comes to family values, British and Chinese share some similar points on them. All happy families resemble each other, Tolstoy once wrote, while unhappy families are each unhappy in their own way. That is to say, both British and Chinese think happiness of family is true and most enormous happiness.

The traditional concept of family still takes deeper root in Britain. In accordance with a survey, nine out of ten people believe that their families are the essential and enduring part of their life, which is a reliable means of resisting the pressure and threats from the society, culture and career. Besides, British lay stress on the harmonizing atmosphere of a family. Even between the husband and the wife, father and children, sisters and brothers, they will perform themselves as well-manner as possible. It defies Chinese people’s understanding that we can hear the wife say “thank you” to her husband, or the older sister say” sorry” to the her younger brother and the father say “ forgive me, please” to his daughter, though they have lived together for a long time.

The concept of family of Chinese may be the strongest in the world. As for Chinese, a harmonious, large family is considered to be a blessing. It is highly related to the feudal society and Confucianism. According to an Internet survey, more than 60% people think families are the most reliable people in the world, and 78.8% people hold the view that blessedness family is the biggest happiness in their life. Most women in

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the countryside spend most of their time and energy on their family. They seldom have their own interests, only their eldership and children in their hearts. In the cities, family is also important. When festivals come, especially the Spring Festival, sons and daughters, who work far from home, will go home and reunite with their parents, with a lot of presents bought for their families. Obviously, family is a thing Chinese would rather sacrifice almost everything to support and protect.

For most people in the world, home is the safe harbor in their heart, no matter the British or the Chinese, because home can give them warmth. So both British and Chinese will try their best to keep their families harmonious and happy.

Challenge to the traditional sense

With times changing, both British and Chinese people’s traditional senses are under great challenges. As for family values, there’re some problems exist in some British families, such as unmarried pregnant, cohabitation, dependent generation and so on. One of the most essential factors is the high divorce rate. On the other hand, the 80’s and 90’s generations in China have become more proud, cynical, sexual liberation. It is saying that” If the youth are wise, the country will be wise. If the youth are wealthy, the country will be wealthy”. As the hope of the country, the young should bear this in mind.

Conclusion

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It is true that comparison is good way to understanding. Through the comparisons between British and Chinese people’s life values, we have learned some differences and similarities in their life values. With the global development, it is beneficial for us to learn about foreign cultures and values, which has a great important influence on our country’s development as well as individuals’ development.

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