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1、家庭成员间关系所折射出的中西方不同文化作者：admin来源：hq 时间：2009-11-15 点击： 标签：家庭成员间关系所折射出的中西方不同文化 分页： 1 Different Cultures Reflected Between China and Western Countries by Family Members RelationshipAs the basic component of society, families can be found in every human society, and they are all designed to meet similar so
2、cial needs: regulating sexual behavior, creating new members of society to replace these who die, and protecting and socializing the young. However, the way families go about meeting these needs, their structure, customs, patterns of authority, and so on differ widely across cultures. Thus, ideas ab
3、out what a family is and how people should behave in it are culturally determined. Two Types of Family FormsAll societies recognize the important role of families, although the precise shape and character of kinship arrangements varies. One general pattern is that pre-industrial societies attach gre
4、at importance to the extended family, a family unit including parents and children, but also other kin. Extended families are also called consanguine families, meaning that they include everyone “shared blood”. The onset of industrialization, which sparks both geographic and social mobility, gives r
5、ise to the nuclear family, a family unit composed of one or tow parents and their children. Because it is based marriage, the nuclear family is also known as the conjugal family. Although many members of our society live in extended families, the nuclear family has become the pre-dominant gradually.
6、1.1 Chinese Traditional Tyranny FamilyIn China, the extended family has pre-dominated for a long time during the period of feudal society. The extended family is always made up of more than two generations who live together, contribute to the economic well-being of the household, and share housekeep
7、ing and child-rearing responsibilities. It can include a large number of people, such as grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins. At that time, this kind of family is accord with the social and political system. That is because the country and family share the same structure to a large extent. So in
8、 this large family, the grandfather or father dominates the most important position in the whole family because men enjoy absolute power in family. Then anyone else in the family needs to ask for his approval to do the things they want to. On the other hand, women and other family members have no ri
9、ghts to express their opinions on big events. Therefore, the wife should do everything her husband tells her without complaint. The children should defer to the patriarchs order from education to marriage without rebellion. Meanwhile, the boys in the family should try their best to complete school w
10、orks perfect to come to fame. The purpose is to bring honor to the family name and advance the family in society. Girls should learn all the housework to serve their husbands.1.2 American Democratic FamilyOn the contrary, the American family has always been quite small. There has never been a strong
11、 tradition here of the extended family, in which relatives of several generations lived within the same dwelling. Even in the 1700s, most American families consisted of a husband, wife and approximately three children. This private, inviolate enclave made it possible for the family to endure severe
12、circumstances and to help build the American frontier.Americans view the family as a group whose primary purpose is to advance the happiness of individual members. The result is that the needs of each individual take priority in the life of the family. In contrast to that of many other cultures, the
13、 primary responsibility of the American member isnt to advance the family as a group, either socially or economically, nor to bring honor the family name. This is partly because the United States is not an aristocratic society.Family name and honor are less important than in aristocratic societies,
14、since equality of opportunity regardless of birth is considered a basic American value. Moreover, there is less emphasis on the family as an economic unit because the American family is rarely self-supporting. Relatively few families maintain self-supporting family farms or businesses for more than
15、one generation. A farmers son, for example, is very likely to be well-educated, leave the family farm and take an entirely different job in a different location.The traditional American family is a “nuclear family”. A nuclear family refers to a husband and wife and their children. The average Americ
16、an family today has two or three children and maybe a few pets. In some cultures, people live close to their extended family. Several generations may even live together. In American, only in a few cases does more than one household live under the one roof.American values receive a warm welcome in the home. Many homes are run in a democratic way. Each family member can have a say. A sense of equality often exists in American homes.
