ThebiggestdifferencebetweenChineseandWesternculturesisthattheChineseconsiderfamilytobemostimportantaspectoftheirlife,whileWesternerstendtofocusonindividualism.IntraditionalChinesesociety,one’ssocialimportanceisindivisiblefromone’sfamily,beitone’sbloodrelationsorasimilarsocialunitonwhichonerelies.Thesocialidentity,value,responsibility,rightsandobligationsofanindividualareallcloselyrelatedtohisorherfamilyclansandrelations.Chinesepeoplehavegottenusedtothistraditionalconceptthathasexistedforthousandsofyearsandhavebeenverycarefultofollowthesesocialnormsthroughtheirwordsandbehaviors.
TheimportanceoffamilyismanifestedinsomecommonChinesewordsandexpressions.Manynounsincludethecharacterforfamily(whichispronouncedjiainChinese),including“public”(gongjia),“state”(guojia),“all”(dajia),“others”(renjia),“self”(zijia),“peopleofthesamefamilyname”(benjia),“farmer”(nongjia),“fisherman”(yujia),“boatman”(chuanjia),“host”(dongjia),“shopkeeper”(dianjia),“merchant”(shangjia)and“expert”(hangjia,zhuanjia).TheseallreflecttheimportanceoffamilyinChinesepeople’sminds.
ThetraditionsobservedbyChinesefamilieswerebornfromChina’suniqueculturalbackground,andChina’sfamilyethicsaredifferentfromothercountries.First,familywastraditionallythemajoractivitysphereofthepeople,andthebeliefinthepriorityofone’sfamilyclanwasthecoreofChinesefamilyethic.Familyharmonyrequiredthatindividualinterestsbowtofamilyinterestsunconditionally.Second,intheChinesepatriarchalsystem,theorderofprecedencebetweenrelativeswasdecidedbytheirrelationwiththefather,thedominantfigureofthefamily.
Inaword,familywasandremainsofcrucialimportanceinthelifeofChinesepeople.Chinesepeoplevalueemotionaltiesbetweenfamilymembersandoftensaythat“bloodisthickerthanwater.”TheaffectionatefeelingbasedupontiesofbloodisanindispensablepartofthelifeofChinesepeople.
“Familyisthelastbayofthesoul”isaChineseexpression,whichundoubtedlyemphasizesthatfamilyisone’smostreliablesettlingplace.AlthoughChinesesocietyisundergoingmassivetransformationsthathaveledtoconsiderablechangesinthestructureofChinesefamilies,manypeoplestillhonorthetraditionalviewwhichprioritizesharmonyinthefamily.Assuch,theyarewillingtodevotemoreenergytomaintainingtheirhouseholdandaccordingly,theyexpecttheirfamilytoprovidemoresupportandassistanceinreturn.BeingwellawareoftheimportanceoffamilyisanimportantstepinunderstandingthefundamentalvaluesoftheChinesepeople.
AneditedexcerptfromTheWayWeThink:ChineseViewofLifePhilosophypublishedbySinolinguaPress