Quora网友讨论：该如何理解中国文化？

Chris Ebbert
Fascinating question.

有趣的问题。

Having lived in China for several years, and being married to a Chinese wife, I think my first impulse is to say, “don’t expect to ever fully understand Chinese culture.”

我在中国居住过几年，也娶了中国老婆，我认为我对这个问题的第一反应还是说，“不要期望完全理解中国文化。”

Not because they are so hard to understand, but because that thing we call China is a huge place, with a long history, and it would be wrong to expect to ever fully grasp what it means to be Chinese, or do things the Chinese way.

不是因为中国文化难以理解，而是中国幅员辽阔，历史悠久，如果妄图完全掌握中国人（的思维方式），或是中国式的行事作风，那就大错特错了。

All that hedging aside, I do think you could be pragmatic about it.

撇开这些模棱量两可的，我认为你能对这个问题有更贴切的理解。

Presuming you are simply trying to get on in modern day China’s culture, I would give you the following list of tips:

假设你只是想了解当今中国的文化，我给你以下几条建议：

1. Know your place; in China, family always come first. Then come relatives and old friends. New friends are welcome, but won’t be prioritized.

1. 知道你的位置；在中国，总是以家庭为重。其次是亲戚和老友。新朋友是受欢迎的，但不是最重要的。

2. Food is China’s unofficial religion. You will be asked “have you eaten?” in the same way you will be asked “how are you doing?” in the anglosphere, and they mean it. Never downplay the importance of a meal. They dedicate an amazing amount of time, resources, and energy to making, eating, and procuring meals. If you’re French, you’ll understand.

2. 食物在中国有着不可言说的重要意义。你会被问道“吃了吗？”就像你会被问“你还好吗？”在盎格鲁文化圈，他们确实是这个意思。别低估一顿饭的重要性。他们要花费惊人的大量时间、资源和精力来准备、烹饪和享用饭菜。如果你是法国人，你应该会明白的。

3. “Saving Face” is everything. There are a hundred ways in which the Chinese can acknowledge or humiliate you, and it all boils down to small details like who sits where, when do you get to speak, what sort of dishes are served… if you can read that code, you know your place with them.

3. “有面子”至关重要。中国人有一百种赞许或者羞辱你的方式，归结于细微之处，就比如谁坐在那里，你什么时候应该发言，上什么菜等等。如果你能读懂这些之后的隐藏含义，你就能知道你在他们心中的分量了。

4. Negotiation; the Chinese will offer you a choice even when it is clear what you want. It’s one of the prime directives of China. The other person must always have a choice. That way, you may find yourself playing cat and mouse with other pedestrians many more times than you would in the western world, because one indication of intended direction just isn’t enough; no, you will have to swerve around fellow pedestrians in the last moment, because they will keep offering you options till the last second. Whenever I sit in a restaurant with my wife, she drives me crazy with the question “… or would you like THAT dish instead?” To which my retort tends to be, “no, goddammit! I want the thing I said I wanted the first time!”

4. 协商；即使你明确表示想要什么了，中国人也会给你另一种选择。这在中国是头等重要法则：要给别人留个后路。不同于西方世界，你会发现在中国你经常在玩猫鼠游戏，最后一刻依旧在斡旋，因为直到这时候中国人还在不断给你提供选择。当我和我老婆在餐馆坐下来，她问了一个问题，把我逼疯了，那就是“……你想换那道菜吗？”我的本能反应是，“不，可恶！我只想要我一开始想要的那道菜！”

5. Final agreements are not final. How many times did we put a final signature under something, only to find ourselves reconvening over a lavish meal for a complete re-negotiation.

5. 最后的决定也不是板上钉钉。有多少时候我们已经决定了吃什么，然而最后经过一番深思熟虑后决定奢侈地搓一顿。

6. Change your spokesperson, and you start from scratch. The Chinese build relations with a company or institution based on a personal, individual relationship. Take that person away, and you are back to zero.

6. 换个“发言人”，你就得重新开始。中国公司（组织）内部的关系是点对点式特定私人关系。这个人走了，一切就得从零开始了。

7. Wastefulness is a sign of idiocy. I have yet to see a respected Chinese person with a wasteful attitude. Economy and efficiency are the pillars of Chinese success, and those who are successful there will possess them.

7. 浪费是种愚蠢的行径。我就没见过一个中国人铺张浪费还受人尊敬的。勤俭节约是中华民族成功的基石，那些成功人士也有这些品质。

8. Nature is beautiful - but only few have a realistic understanding of nature. Instead, there is a highly domesticated image of nature in China, sporting gyms, highly polished flower arrangements, and so on. The Chinese romanticize nature, but don’t understand it.

8. 自然是美丽的-但是在中国很少有人真正了解自然。取而代之，在中国有着雕琢过后的自然景象，例如运动场馆，修剪过的花朵陈列等等。中国人将自然浪漫化，却不懂自然是什么。

9. Outlooks are strangely short term and long term at the same time. The business world expects fast turnarounds and quick growth, while politics and others allow for long time spans for things to develop.

9.（中国）同时有着短期前景和长期远景。商业世界需要快的回报率和飞速增长，然而政策之类的事情则需要较长时间跨度来落地。

On the whole, I like Chinese culture. When you are there, you feel a new mellowness, surrounded by abundance and the dynamics of an old culture that is mercifully pragmatic and philosophical.

总而言之，我喜欢中国文化。当你身处其中时，总能品出新滋味。古老文明寓意深远，充满哲学趣味。而新旧文化不断交织，碰撞新活力，使中华文化大放异彩。

Liam Nguyen
@Chris Ebbert
Also speaking without knowledge/experience about the topic is considered irresponsible and stupid in Chinese culture. That's why free speech is always laughable topic for most of Chinese.

回复Chris Ebbert
在中国文化种，没有知识/经验就对一个主题进行讨论是不负责任的蠢事儿。

Only the fools speak more than others!

只有傻瓜才多说话呢！

Carsten Junge
@Chris Ebbert
I have the same thing happening to me, when I have my Chinese wife order food….

回复Chris Ebbert
当我的中国老婆点菜时候，我经历了你说的这些事情……
Sam (舢艒) Felton

@Carsten Junge
I had the exact mirror-image of this problem - my wife assumes I’ve made a decision (as most Americans) and that I will stick by it and not change my mind - but she expects me to deal with her in the Chinese way, allow all options at all times and not be surprised if she changes her mind along the way. She doesn’t get upset, but is surprised if I change my mind, just as I’m pleasantly surprised when she doesn’t.

回复Carsten Junge
我也经历了一模一样的问题——我老婆认为我一旦做出了决定（像大部分美国人一样），我就会坚持下去并不会轻易动摇——但是我的老婆希望我用中国的方式来对待同样的事情，即同一时间允许所有观点共存，并且不会对她一直改变想法而感动啊奇怪。她目前不会感到失望，但是如果我改变我的想法她一定会惊讶的。就像她什么时候不按照原来的方式这么想了，我也会感到惊讶一样。

John Z. Li
How do I understand Chinese culture?

我该如何理解中国文化呢？

The same way you understand any culture: learning its language, its history, and its religions.

就像你理解其他文化一样；学习它的语言、历史和宗教。

No, food is NOT China’s unofficial religion. That is pure western prejudice.

不，食物在中国不是非官方宗教。这种想法只是西方世界的偏见。

The first thing to understand another culture is to know that there is really a culture that is fundamentally different from the one you are born in.

要理解另一种文化应该做的第一件事儿，就是要认清确有一种与出生之地迥然不同的文化。

Thomas Pauken II

I prefer to answer the question by explaining my life story when coming to China over 11 years ago in October 2010. Although I had lived and worked in Seoul, South Korea from 2001 to 2007, I continued to have very strong American cultural traits.

我想用我的亲身故事来回答这个问题。我来中国的时间是2010年的10月，距今11年前了。虽然我在2001年至2007年期间在韩国首尔工作生活，我身上还是有很强的美国文化特色。

I was like many Americans in which I was emotional, a big talker, impatient, and a typical “know it all,’ who lacked the humility to recognize I did not “know it all.”

像很多美国人一样，我情绪化，说大话，不耐心，典型的“无所不知”，大言不惭，从不承认自己并非“事事知晓”。

South Korea is an Asian country with different cultural traits than the US but South Koreans are similar when it comes to the traits about myself I listed above.

韩国是个亚洲国家，有着与美国不同的文化特征，但是接下来我列举的自己的特点，与韩国是相似的。

However, the Chinese are not this way and when first arriving here I had struggled to adapt to the culture.

然而，中国并不是这样的。当我刚来到这里的时候，我也对如何实行中国文化而感到不适。

I had gotten so accustomed to being surrounded by braggarts, loud mouths and arrogant blowhards that I just assumed most people were the same, including myself.

我已经习惯了身边被吹牛大王、大嘴巴以及自傲者包括。我就认为大部分的人都是像我这样的人。

I am Texan and spent a lot of time in the US East Coast so my close networks were people filled with confidence. A good story teller, even if you inaccurately describe yourself, will make you more popular than being a quiet person.

我是德克萨斯人，在美国东海岸呆了很长时间，所以我人脉网中都是颇为自信的人。一个好的讲故事的人，即使不切实际地夸大自己，也会比安静的人更受欢迎。

I recall my friends in USA mocking quiet, reserved types who were hard working and refused to boast about their achievements.

我想起我在美国的朋友嘲笑安静内向的人的情景了，这些被嘲笑的对象通常是努力工作，但不会吹嘘自身成就的人。

We would say, “the quiet ones are the most dangerous” or “if you ain’t bragging it’s because you have nothing to boast about.”

我们会说，“安静的人是最危险的人”或者“如果你不吹牛，这只是因为你没的可吹。”

In other words, the Americans have a “look at me” mentality and we find nothing strange about it.

换句话说，美国人有着“快来看我”的心态，我们也并不觉得奇怪。

So when coming to China I had huge “Culture Shock.” The Chinese are more reserved, quiet and very reluctant to talk about their personal issues.

所以说来到中国，我感到巨大的“文化冲击”。中国人呢更加保守、安静，非常不愿意谈论自己的私事儿。

The office atmosphere is relatively quiet here, unlike South Korea where office politics and drama take center stage and there’s no such thing as a dull moment in Seoul.

中国的办公室氛围非常安静，不像是韩国，办公室政治和戏剧化场景频频登上舞台中心。在首尔，办公室就没有无聊的时候。

So when adapting to China it was very hard for me during the first couple of years. But I stayed here because I discovered a certain charm to the quiet ways of the Chinese. In the US and South Korea, I felt like when meeting people I was under a spotlight and under scrutiny.

所以在中国一开始的几年对我来说，适应其文化是件很难的事儿。但是呆在这里我逐渐发现了中国式安静的一些魅力。在美国和韩国，一要认识别人，我就有种像是处于聚光灯下被审视的感觉。

Americans are quick to make jokes at your expense and they do so by observing your quirks and different mannerisms. While South Koreans would insult you directly when spotting your weaknesses.

美国人观察到你的怪癖和与众不同的举止，会立马开你的玩笑。但是韩国人在观察到你的弱点后直接冒犯你。

But the Chinese I don’t feel like they are placing me under a constant spotlight when meeting them. In return, I have turned more quiet and do not feel compelled to entertain people with wild stories or jokes.
However I do miss the laughter and the story-telling in the US. Nevertheless, I have matured a lot in China and feel proud I have become more calm, humble and patient.

然而，我的确怀念在美国的笑声和故事。然而，自从来到中国我变得成熟了很多，因为我变得更加冷静、谦逊和耐心而感到自豪。

To take a closer look at cultural differences between the Americans and the Chinese you can read an article posted by Verge. The lix is here:

为更准确地意识到中美之间的文化差异，你可以读读Verge发表的文章。链接在这里：

In the United States, we value things like freedom and individuality. But Chinese culture is very different. Over there, individuality is probably seen as strange and even dangerous. After studying Asian philosophy as an undergraduate, I have learned that Chinese culture, in particular, places a lot of value on the good of the group. This group can be the family unit, the workplace or society as a whole.

“在美国。我们重视诸如自由和个性之类的事情，但这在中国文化是非常不同的。在那里，太有个性可能会认为是奇怪的甚至是危险的。在大学时期学完亚洲哲学后，我学到中国文化会特别关注集体的利益。这个集体可能是家庭单位，或者是工作场所和整个社会。

Chinese culture also has a different concept of privacy than we do in America. From what I’ve heard, it is common to speak about age, income and marital status while in America, but it can be seen as gossip or taboo to talk about those things in public. In China, it is looked down upon to show feelings in public, but in America we see that all the time (especially in Dorchester; couples fight on the regular).”

与美国不同，中国文化有着截然不同的关于隐私的概念。就我了解的，在美国讨论年龄、收入和婚姻状况是很普遍的，但是在中国的公共场合讨论这些就更像是八卦或是禁忌。在中国，在公共场合展示情感是会被看不起的，但在美国我们对这种事情却司空见惯（特别是在：夫妻经常打架）

We should respect the differences in other cultures, because if we were all the same that would be so boring.

我们应该尊重不同文化间的差异，因为如果我们都是相同的，世界会多无聊呢。