Contents
Chinese Abstract 2
English Abstract 3
1 Introduction 4
11 Overview of This Thesis 4
12 Meaning of the Research 4
2 Literature Review 5
21 Domestic Studies 5
22 Foreign Studies 6
3 The Chinese and American Time Systems 7
31 Chinese Polychronic Time System 8
32 American Monochronic Time System 8
4 The Differences of Time Systems and Causes 9
41 The Differences of Time Systems 10
42 The Causes of Different Time Systems 11
5 Conclusion 13
References 14
跨文化视角中美时间观中记时制度差异分析
摘
年中国加快外开放步伐加强世界联系背景日常生活学商业事务中交流变避免文爱德华·霍尔单记时制记时制理研究基础文化历史宗教等角度分析较中美双方记时制度差异产生素
时间观类社会生活劳动实践中逐渐形成中美作东西方文化典型代表记时制度着鲜明特点极具性思维行动深受文化影响生活方式导致时间安排分配灵活性差异形成单时间观记时制度
跨文化交际活动中时间观作非语言交际缺重部分记时制度差异研究助加深文化差异理解更效进行国际交
关键词：跨文化交际时间观记时制度 n
An Analysis on the Differences of Time Systems between China and the United States from the Perspectives of Intercultural Communication
Abstract
In recent years China has accelerated the pace of the openingup and strengthened ties with the world Communication between people from different backgrounds is also inevitable in daily life study and business affairs Based on Hall Edward’s monochronic and polychronic time theory this paper analyzes and compares the differences and causes of the time systems between China and the United States from the perspectives of culture history and religion
The time perspectives are gradually formed in the practice of social life and labor As a typical representative of Eastern and Western cultures China and America have distinct characteristics in the time systems which are very comparable People’s thinking and actions are influenced by their very different cultures and different lifestyles which will lead to the flexibility disparity of time arrangement and distribution thus forming monochronic and polychronic time perspectives and timing systems
In crosscultural communication activities time concept is an indispensable part of nonverbal communication The study on the differences of time systems is helpful to deepen our understanding of cultural differences so as to carry out international communication more effectively
Key words intercultural communication time perspectives time systems
1 Introduction
As typical representatives of two difference types of cultures China and America have distinct and comparable characteristics in terms of time systems Further understanding the different views of time between China and America can aid us to make effective intercultural communication so as to achieve our goals
11 Overview of This Thesis
After China’s joined the WTO openingup system has become more and more mature and crossborder crossethnic crosscultural exchanges are also increased more frequently People from diverse backgrounds mutual learning from various aspects Time is a nonverbal culture that can convey a lot of information in crosscultural communication
The time orientation derived from anthropology sociology and other disciplines refers to the time regional trend in which people emphasize or choose their views behaviors attitudes and so on (许谦 2012(11) 126) As an important aspect of the nonverbal crosscultural communication the study of time perspectives can help us to understand the cultural differences and carry out effective international exchange
In all ages time plays a significant role in human activities but the people’s attitudes vary towards time in different cultures With the increasing exchanges between China and America there are more chances to communicate with Americans So we need to understand the different time concept between China and the United States to make sure that the crosscultural communication between China and the USA not fail due to the differences in the time concept
This thesis adopts the method of comparison and analysis to study the differences on the basis of time perspectives between China and America and uses Edward’s theory to build up the theoretical frameworks monochronic and polychronic time systems theories The author analyzes and compares the differences of the time systems of two counties aiming to improve people’s communication skills and eliminate the misunderstanding and conflict in the crosscultural activities
12 Meaning of the Research
The concept of time belongs to the deep structure of culture China and the United States have different traditions and culture backgrounds therefore people from different cultural and traditional backgrounds have different concepts of time
With the increasing frequency of crosscultural communication in today’s world the comparison of time systems between China and America is a meaningful study Levine Robert once said in his book Geography of Time Time is the way nature uses to prevent things from happening at the same time (Robert 1998 68) This shows that things themselves have the order of time
Hall Edward an American cultural anthropologist and founder of crosscultural communication once pointed out Time can speak it is more frank than vocal language its message is loud and clear because it is neither controlled by consciousness nor misleading as vocal language it tends to expose lies expressed in words (Edward 1959 55) It can be seen that time can be used as a way of nonverbal communication playing a very hidden but important role in determining the success or failure of communication
People from different cultural backgrounds have different views on time which bring obstacles to crosscultural business communication It is no doubt helpful for people engaged in crosscultural business activities to understand each other’s time language eliminate communication and understanding barriers and carry out communication and business activities smoothly
2 Literature Review
Up to now with numerous researches on time perspectives there are many wellknown theories and remarkable achievements at home and abroad Based on those theories the author sums up some studies results and puts forward a new viewpoint of China and American time systems from the perspectives of intercultural communication
21 Domestic Studies
In traditional Chinese the word time was not very popular and it is widely known after Hu Shi’s use of time and space A general treatise on the historical form of time and its changes are relatively rare
The Social and Cultural History of Time written by Zhan Xiaobai (2013) it is to investigate the changes of time systems and time concept in modern China It has not only become a creative academic work in this field but also the first historical monograph to explore the time problem of modern China This book studies China’s modern view of time the core of which is punctuality and efficiency In other words the value of time is no longer focused on the selfgrowth of individual life it’s more about economic development and social evolution The author not only pays attention to reveal the evolution of the concept of time value of ordinary people in the society it also involves the historical view of time with evolution as the main content There is no doubt that these discussions in that book have laid an important academic foundation for the historical study of time in modern China
At the same year Zhan Xiaobai (2013) published another book named The Social and Cultural History of Time Study on Time System and Concept Change in Modern China For the first time this book with the theme of time gives a complete picture of the change of modern time system and time concept from the perspective of social and cultural history The contents of the book can be divided into three parts firstly it explores the historical sources of the change of time system in modern China and its overall changing trend Secondly it focuses on depicting the pluralistic aspects of modern time socialization and to reveal its material basis and dynamic mechanism Thirdly it makes an indepth investigation on the modern transformation of the concept of time which includes the modern people’s rational cognition of daily life time historical time and philosophy time and so on
22 Foreign Studies
221 Edward’s Monochronic and Polychronic Time Theory
In the 1970s Hall Edward (1976) put forward the concepts of monochronic and polychronic time in the book Beyond Culture for the first time according to the habits of each nation in the use of time Edward divides the use of time in diverse cultures into two systems monochronic time and polychronic time
The former put more emphasis on the schedule strictly abide the timetable to do everything They must finish all tasks on time and cannot affect the arrangement of the next one Monochronic people pay attention to punctuality and strictly abide by dating time If you let a person with monochronic time concept background wait they will think that is wasting their limited time and even think that it is rude and disrespectful to them
The latter pays attention to the flexibility of time use and tends to make longterm planning and they habit of allowing multiple things to be done at a time Polychronic does not have the habit of scheduling nor pays attention to observing the schedule Many different tasks can be done at the same time Therefore the monochronic people seem to be inefficient and unplanned
Edward once pointed out Time becomes a room which some people are allowed to enter while others are excluded (Edward 1976 90) Monochronic time people influenced by this concept emphasizing one for one are used to concentrate on one thing at a time American mostly belong to monochronic time system where they believe that time can never be replaced by other things advocates to do only one thing in a specific time period and stress more importance to time and schedule
Corresponding to this is the Chinese view of polychronic time system in which people allow multitasking at a time Chinese tends to adopt polychronic time value Ethnic groups in this culture advocate doing a lot of things in a period of time They are not simply controlled and limited by time or schedule and it has highly flexibility
Edward believes that the defect of polychronic timing system is that people attach too much importance to the solution of the problem and the relationship with people do not care about the timetable People with monochronic timing system are usually caring about the timetable but seldom solve much practical problems Edward says that The time model of western countries such as Europe and America is monochronic timing system and polychronic timing system countries is Asia Africa and Latin America (Edward 1959 64)
222 Edward’s High Context and Low Context Theory
Context is the environment in which language is used including all subjective and objective factors In the book Beyond Culture Hall Edward (1976) proposed that culture is contextual and divided it into High Context and Low Context
Anything can be characterized as high medium or low context says Edward (Edward 1976 34) In a high context culture the meaning of the speaker’s speech or behavior comes from or is internalized in the context in which the speaker is speaking he often expresses more than he says
Lowcontext things are just the opposite Most of the information must be in the transmitted information in order to make up for the missing parts of the context (internal context and external context) In a lowcontext culture people emphasize the content of the communication rather than the context of the time
He also divided the world into high context cultures and lowcontext culture The socalled low context means that everything needs to be clearly explained in language that is both parties do not share a common context High context means that many meanings are included in the context and it is not necessary to express every point clearly In a lowcontext culture communicative information is mainly conveyed by words in a highcontext culture communicators mainly rely on context to convey information
Edward’s insights in context in the dimension of cultural values broadens the horizon and channels of context research with very important guiding significance
223 Other Related Studies
American contemporary new culture historian Lynn Hunt (2008) in his book Measuring Time Making History emphasizes on the discussion of the nature of time He was concerned about how Western Christian civilization developed a unique way of dating and how does it affect Western historical concepts It also gives a brief perspective on how the concepts of modernity entered and influenced the history of the West
Jacques Goff (1982) the outstanding representative of the third generation of the French Annals School is also renowned for her excellent study of the medieval time in Europe and left a model work His book Time Work and Culture in the middle Ages has long been a classic in this field
3 The Chinese and American Time Systems
As representatives of different cultures China and the United States are totally different in terms of time systems The study of different time systems will help us to be in a favorable position in crosscultural communication We can also avoid making some mistakes caused by time systems differences
31 Chinese Polychronic Time System
The concept of polychronic time holds that time is scattered arbitrary The ways for time calculate is not so accurate multiple tasks can be done together and tend to make longterm and effective planning China is a typical country with polychronic timeorientation
People who are polychronic are used to dealing with a few things at a time with more random time They don’t have the habit of scheduling the schedule do not care about the timetable and do not pay attention to meeting the date of the appointment It’s common for Chinese people to be late For individuals their experience of time is that it has beginning and end however for human being as a whole the time is a cycle as well as an eternal operation (胡文仲 1998) The Polychronic person appears to have a low efficiency and no plan The polychronic time system has the advantages of being flexible but it also has neglect of time arrangement which is easy to influence the work To some extent China belongs to polychronic cultural model
The Chinese have a more tolerant attitude towards sudden visits lateness broken appointments mistiming and so on Relatives and friends can visit at anytime and anywhere without making an appointment in advance The multidimensional timeoriented culture holds that time is infinite therefore it’s easy to change schedule and deadline which is very common in Chinese people’s everyday life
Because of the weak time sense the nation does not pay much attention to punctuality in interpersonal communication and acts more casually and humanely Chinese always directly pay a visit to each other’s home without appointment in advance If the host is idle they will be accommodated immediately on the contrary they have to wait In the eyes of the Westerner this is a very wasteful act of time
With the rapid development step of China’s modernization we are absorbing the foreign culture all the time The different concept of time is also gradually changing With the acceleration of the pace of life the concept of time in China has changed intentionally or unintentionally from polychronic time system to monochronic time system Meanwhile Westerners’ understanding and acceptance of the traditional concept of time in Chinese culture are also increasing With the increasing exchange between various cultures the phenomenon of cultural integration is gradually become upandup and the original traditional concept of time between China and the West is also changing and integrating
32 American Monochronic Time System
The concept of monochronic time holds that time is divisible straightline like a belt or road extending backward into the past and forward into the future Monochronic time people attach importance to schedule the stage and accuracy of time emphasize special time and speed can only do one thing in a certain time and tend to make shortterm planning (时静 2014(07) 67) People with monochronic time orientation are mainly from North America Northern Europe and other countries (Edward 1959)
American time system belongs to monochronic time in which they emphasizes planning and focus on high efficiency At work a monochronic person pays attention to preparation in advance In order to improve efficiency and make time use more efficient Americans will draw up plans and prepare them well American monochronic time system stresses scheduling do only one task at a time strictly following the timetable At the end of the day whether things completed or not it must stop and it can’t affect the next arrangement
In highly industrialized western countries people think that time is limited which can be quantified as goods time is endowed with supreme value and very precious The concept that time is money is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people (陈春卿 2008(04) 41) During most of their lives time and money are the most scarce and precious elements of their lives and the only thing that people always feel most influential and valuable comparable to the other things
Time determines everything in people’s daily life and practice and it is difficult for anyone to escape the iron hand control of time Americans even call themselves slave to nothing but clock (Edward 1976 53) Americans prefer to build shortterm relationships because longterm relationships have more uncontrollable factors and shortterm relationships can avoid unnecessary interruptions and do things more efficiently
Monochronic time objectively manipulates social life and closely weaves people’s life network Therefore westerners have learned to take time and cherish time seriously from an early age and paid much attention to appointment and punctuality as the code of conduct of the whole society The lastminute notice was distasteful because it would disrupt the original plan and surprise people
The advantage of monochronic timing system is that it is very efficient it allows people to make a plan beforehand and strictly follow this schedule They must fulfill only one task at a time without any postpone But it also has the weakness the lack of flexibility So the Americans are influenced by this singletime cultural model
4 The Differences of Time Systems and Causes
Edward said In the Western world no one can escape the iron bowl control of time In fact social and commercial life and even sexual life are manipulated by time Time completely weaves the network of people’s lives (Edward 1982 43) Differences of time systems are reflected in many aspects such as lifestyle time management and business affairs At the same time the causes of different time systems are also varied
41 The Differences of Time Systems
411 Life Style
The time perspective directly affects people’s concept and life style Americans follow the idea of time and money For most Americans time and money are the most scarce and precious factor in the basic problem of human survival for most of the time They cherish and value time and time even efficiency as a measure of one’s ability This time concept results in a fastpaced life The greatest benefit for people with this kind of lifestyle is the higher work efficiency In order to make their limited time more effective to use they focus on timebased arrangements to pay attention to date and duration of work People are trying to do as much as things in a limited time
On the other hand Chinese people have a more flexible view of time and leisure lifestyle There are many such proverbs in Chinese language Eat hot Tofu slowly It means not to worry about anything and tomorrow is not done today (崔 2009(35) 607) Chinese society is more tolerant of being late Even when it comes to meeting time people are often late and people usually wait for everyone to arrive before they start their activities It is a small matter for the Chinese to be fiveminute late What’s more it is regarded that important people or people with high status should come a little late and coming on time will degrade their status In China time limits are often seen as a reminder that they are close to the deadline and everyone knows that there is still some time after the deadline as another deadline
One Chinese teacher who was about to leave the United States invited his American friends to dinner the day before but was refused by his friends Oh I’m sorry I have plans tomorrow Naturally the Chinese teacher felt very uncomfortable and think that the Americans were too inflexible In fact this is due to the American concept of time the preagreed time cannot be changed at will prior appointment must be scheduled on time after the appointment can only be arranged separately The above example shows that different cultures have specific values and time orientations In crosscultural communication activities both parties should consider paying attention to each other’s lifestyle and using specific communication methods
412 Business Affairs
As we all know there are great differences between China and the United States in their ways of doing business Being punctual is a significant point in the American time concept It is necessary for a person to start and end on time whether it is a meeting or a date Americans tend to have a strong sense of time and wellplanned Punctuality is an important symbol of respect for others and also for Americans who regard cherishing time as a noble and necessary virtue And meeting the date and delivering tasks before the deadline is considered to be a person with good credit
Americans with a strong sense of time maintain the habit of future arrangement They regard managing time as a skill that can be learned in management classes and scientific time management can play an important role in achieving goals effectively Especially in the modern era called technological era the concept of time which represents the characteristics of the times is a combination of refined measure time and linear time (吴国盛 1999)
Chinese culture is vague about the concept of time and timing systems and the time calculation system is also not so accurate as today Therefore during daily interpersonal communication people ignore to stress appointment and punctuality Also in business affairs Chinese people usually can handle multiple transactions simultaneously For example when a company manager convenes a department meeting he can have other appointments during that time or his subordinates can enter to ask him to sign files even ask him to answer the phone
42 The Causes of Different Time Systems
421 Cultural Factors
China was an agricultural country from ancient times Farming culture is the root of Chinese ancient inhabitants For agricultural reasons land becomes the lifeblood of farmers who had lived in a selfsufficient agricultural society for thousands of years creating many similar villages and towns with little commercial activities Even now after decades of economic development agriculture still accounts for a large proportion and highly position in national economy In addition farmers make up the majority of China’s population
Farming culture brings Chinese people a leisurely attitude and way of life which makes people’s time consciousness weaker and weaker The relatively weak sense of time makes people not have a deep understanding of appointment punctuality daily intercourse and visit People just care about whether affairs are finished or not rather than the length of completion time Farmers have been on the same land for every generation Therefore Chinese influenced by agricultural culture regard time as multidimensional
On the contrary people live in an industrialized culture background always pay constant attention to watches and clocks Everyone has to do things according to the schedule and finish them within the deadline In addition the production line is the symbol of industrial society Once it has passed it will not come back
If Americans lose their clocks they will be a mess In short Americans have an acute sense of time for they have been influenced by industrial culture for a long time which makes it possible for people to grasp the exact time
422 Historical Factors
After thousands of years history influenced by longterm historical factors Chinese polychronic timing system has a more common time inequality The Chinese are good at building all kinds of relationships and are more concerned about it rather than work such as superior leaders mentors and teachers those who with highly economic status and authority
Therefore through a long period of agricultural life Chinese are subject to the influence of the cycle of the day and the time concept of the polychronic time system is formed Zeng Jianping believes that The ethnic groups with excessive traditional burden pay attention to history and the past which is generally the time orientation of the past And the ethnic groups with a short history tend to be the orientation of the present or the future (剑 廖晓明 2007(03) 56) China is under the polychronic timing system which stresses temporary use of time Most of people do not have detailed plans of daily things the view of time is also relatively loose and the pace of life is slow and leisurely
From a historical point of view the origin of the American concept of monochronic time can trace back to the colonial period before the founding of the United States In order to improve the efficiency and extract more benefits from the workers the owners in the south realized that they should not only increase the working time but also emphasize the output and efficiency of the workers in the unit time This idea was later reinforced by Benjamin Franklin’s famous saying time is money
Since 1840 home alarm clocks had become a must Most Americans like to live and work according to their own schedule and do not welcome uninvited guests If you want to visit others making an appointment is the best way and visit on time according to your appointment Moreover Americans are concerned about deadlines The task or work must be completed within a fixed time range
423 Religious Origins
The longterm accumulated impact of culture background has formed different concepts of time The formation of the concept of time in polychronic time system in China is inseparable from Taoist thought Taoism is one of traditional and wellknown religions in China Taoism advocates human reincarnation and returns to nature Taoist thought holds that every life has life and death but the definition of death is not absolute it is only a link in the process of life cycle in the universe Louis Gadi believe that Respect praise and worship for the ancestors and even the long dead have a structural impact on the psychology of the Chinese people (路易·加迪 1988 97) Taoist thought that all life has life and death it is only a link in the process of life cycle in the universe (李涛 2016(04) 382)
There are many reasons for the formation of the time systems the most important of which is the influence of Confucianism for thousands of years Confucian culture has always advocated taking history as a mirror to guide the present and the future by studying the past This is why Chinese people are used to following traditional ideas and methods of doing things people worship ancestors respect the elderly attach importance to experience (王秀琴 2011(15) 142)
The concept of monochronic time system in the United States is closely related to its Christian and biblical culture which advocates the evil human nature with its original sin In Christian culture Adam and Eve the ancestor of human being stole the forbidden fruit committed the original sin and were expelled from paradise forever and demoted to the world to suffer Paradise cannot go back only by hard work can Christian achieve the last trial
This is the religious origin of the American time system Under the longterm impact of this concept Americans seldom abide by the rules look forward and always focus on the future time focusing their energy and efforts on achieving their immediate goals They believe that only by trying to move forward and constantly transcend
To sum up the Chinese and American view of time is influenced by many factors which can also change the formation and development of the time systems Therefore the Chinese belong to polychronic time system used to take history as a warning and like review the past And the United States has developed into monochronic timing system cherishing time and focusing on work efficiency Both time systems have its merits and meaning and we must respect the differences
5 Conclusion
China and the United States are on behalf of two different cultures and the exchanges between these two countries belong to the category of crosscultural communication This paper compares and analyzes the differences and causes of time systems between two countries in order to improve people’s communication skills
Through the study of the differences time systems the author recognized that in the process of crosscultural communication participants not only need to understand each other’s cultural characteristics also respect for time system differences When conducting cultural exchanges with other countries it is necessary to know the local cultural system in advance and do as the Romans do so as to avoid cultural conflicts
The very important principle that we should always keep in mind is that we should eliminate of cultural superiority cultural centralism bias and determination and take a tolerant attitude to the time perspective of others Then we can better understand the differences in time systems Only in this way can both sides have equal and sincere communication so as to continuously discover and solve problems
References
[1] Goff Jacques Time Work and Culture in the middle Age [M] Chicago University of Chicago Press 1982
[2] Hall Edward The Silent Language [M] New York Anchor Books 1959
[3] Hall Edward Beyond Culture [M] New York Anchor Doubleday 1976
[4] Hall Edward Monochronic and Polychronic Time [A] Samovar Larry Richard E Porter A Reader [C] Belmont Wadsworth Publishing House 1982
[5] Hunt Lynn Measuring Time Making History [M] New York Central European University Press 2008
[6] Levine Robert Geography of Time [M] New York Basic Books 1998
[7] 陈春卿 时间说话——时间维度解读中美文化差异[J] 牡丹江学学报 2008(04) 40 42
[8] 崔 中美时间观差异分析[J] 科技信息 2009(35) 607 609
[9] 胡文仲 跨文化交际学选读[M] 湖南湖南教育出版社 1998
[10] 李涛 中西方时间取差异研究[J] 沈阳工业学学报(社会科学版) 2016(04) 381 384
[11] 路易·加迪 文化时间[M] 杭州浙江民出版社 1988
[12] 时静 解析中美跨文化商务交中时间观差异影响[J] 外贸实务 2014(07) 66 69
[13] 王秀琴 中美时间观差异成[J] 商业时代 2011(15) 142 143
[14] 吴国盛 现代化忧思[M] 北京生活读书新知三联书店 1999
[15] 许谦 跨文化交际中中美时间取差异分析[J] 群文天 2012(11) 126 128
[16] 剑 廖晓明 时间观民族文化[J] 南昌南昌学学报 2007(03) 55 58
[17] 湛晓白 时间社会文化史[M] 北京社会科学文献出版社 2013
[18] 湛晓白 时间社会文化史——代中国时间制度观念变迁研究[M] 北京社会科学文献出版社 2013
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Contents
Chinese Abstract 2
English Abstract 3
1 Introduction 4
11 Overview of This Thesis 4
12 Meaning of the Research 4
2 Literature Review 5
21 Domestic Studies 5
22 Foreign Studies 6
3 The Chinese and American Time Systems 7
31 Chinese Polychronic Time System 8
32 American Monochronic Time System 8
4 The Differences of Time Systems and Causes 9
41 The Differences of Time Systems 10
42 The Causes of Different Time Systems 11
5 Conclusion 13
References 14
跨文化视角中美时间观中记时制度差异分析
摘
年中国加快外开放步伐加强世界联系背景日常生活学商业事务中交流变避免文爱德华·霍尔单记时制记时制理研究基础文化历史宗教等角度分析较中美双方记时制度差异产生素
时间观类社会生活劳动实践中逐渐形成中美作东西方文化典型代表记时制度着鲜明特点极具性思维行动深受文化影响生活方式导致时间安排分配灵活性差异形成单时间观记时制度
跨文化交际活动中时间观作非语言交际缺重部分记时制度差异研究助加深文化差异理解更效进行国际交
关键词：跨文化交际时间观记时制度 n
An Analysis on the Differences of Time Systems between China and the United States from the Perspectives of Intercultural Communication
Abstract
In recent years China has accelerated the pace of the openingup and strengthened ties with the world Communication between people from different backgrounds is also inevitable in daily life study and business affairs Based on Hall Edward’s monochronic and polychronic time theory this paper analyzes and compares the differences and causes of the time systems between China and the United States from the perspectives of culture history and religion
The time perspectives are gradually formed in the practice of social life and labor As a typical representative of Eastern and Western cultures China and America have distinct characteristics in the time systems which are very comparable People’s thinking and actions are influenced by their very different cultures and different lifestyles which will lead to the flexibility disparity of time arrangement and distribution thus forming monochronic and polychronic time perspectives and timing systems
In crosscultural communication activities time concept is an indispensable part of nonverbal communication The study on the differences of time systems is helpful to deepen our understanding of cultural differences so as to carry out international communication more effectively
Key words intercultural communication time perspectives time systems
1 Introduction
As typical representatives of two difference types of cultures China and America have distinct and comparable characteristics in terms of time systems Further understanding the different views of time between China and America can aid us to make effective intercultural communication so as to achieve our goals
11 Overview of This Thesis
After China’s joined the WTO openingup system has become more and more mature and crossborder crossethnic crosscultural exchanges are also increased more frequently People from diverse backgrounds mutual learning from various aspects Time is a nonverbal culture that can convey a lot of information in crosscultural communication
The time orientation derived from anthropology sociology and other disciplines refers to the time regional trend in which people emphasize or choose their views behaviors attitudes and so on (许谦 2012(11) 126) As an important aspect of the nonverbal crosscultural communication the study of time perspectives can help us to understand the cultural differences and carry out effective international exchange
In all ages time plays a significant role in human activities but the people’s attitudes vary towards time in different cultures With the increasing exchanges between China and America there are more chances to communicate with Americans So we need to understand the different time concept between China and the United States to make sure that the crosscultural communication between China and the USA not fail due to the differences in the time concept
This thesis adopts the method of comparison and analysis to study the differences on the basis of time perspectives between China and America and uses Edward’s theory to build up the theoretical frameworks monochronic and polychronic time systems theories The author analyzes and compares the differences of the time systems of two counties aiming to improve people’s communication skills and eliminate the misunderstanding and conflict in the crosscultural activities
12 Meaning of the Research
The concept of time belongs to the deep structure of culture China and the United States have different traditions and culture backgrounds therefore people from different cultural and traditional backgrounds have different concepts of time
With the increasing frequency of crosscultural communication in today’s world the comparison of time systems between China and America is a meaningful study Levine Robert once said in his book Geography of Time Time is the way nature uses to prevent things from happening at the same time (Robert 1998 68) This shows that things themselves have the order of time
Hall Edward an American cultural anthropologist and founder of crosscultural communication once pointed out Time can speak it is more frank than vocal language its message is loud and clear because it is neither controlled by consciousness nor misleading as vocal language it tends to expose lies expressed in words (Edward 1959 55) It can be seen that time can be used as a way of nonverbal communication playing a very hidden but important role in determining the success or failure of communication
People from different cultural backgrounds have different views on time which bring obstacles to crosscultural business communication It is no doubt helpful for people engaged in crosscultural business activities to understand each other’s time language eliminate communication and understanding barriers and carry out communication and business activities smoothly
2 Literature Review
Up to now with numerous researches on time perspectives there are many wellknown theories and remarkable achievements at home and abroad Based on those theories the author sums up some studies results and puts forward a new viewpoint of China and American time systems from the perspectives of intercultural communication
21 Domestic Studies
In traditional Chinese the word time was not very popular and it is widely known after Hu Shi’s use of time and space A general treatise on the historical form of time and its changes are relatively rare
The Social and Cultural History of Time written by Zhan Xiaobai (2013) it is to investigate the changes of time systems and time concept in modern China It has not only become a creative academic work in this field but also the first historical monograph to explore the time problem of modern China This book studies China’s modern view of time the core of which is punctuality and efficiency In other words the value of time is no longer focused on the selfgrowth of individual life it’s more about economic development and social evolution The author not only pays attention to reveal the evolution of the concept of time value of ordinary people in the society it also involves the historical view of time with evolution as the main content There is no doubt that these discussions in that book have laid an important academic foundation for the historical study of time in modern China
At the same year Zhan Xiaobai (2013) published another book named The Social and Cultural History of Time Study on Time System and Concept Change in Modern China For the first time this book with the theme of time gives a complete picture of the change of modern time system and time concept from the perspective of social and cultural history The contents of the book can be divided into three parts firstly it explores the historical sources of the change of time system in modern China and its overall changing trend Secondly it focuses on depicting the pluralistic aspects of modern time socialization and to reveal its material basis and dynamic mechanism Thirdly it makes an indepth investigation on the modern transformation of the concept of time which includes the modern people’s rational cognition of daily life time historical time and philosophy time and so on
22 Foreign Studies
221 Edward’s Monochronic and Polychronic Time Theory
In the 1970s Hall Edward (1976) put forward the concepts of monochronic and polychronic time in the book Beyond Culture for the first time according to the habits of each nation in the use of time Edward divides the use of time in diverse cultures into two systems monochronic time and polychronic time
The former put more emphasis on the schedule strictly abide the timetable to do everything They must finish all tasks on time and cannot affect the arrangement of the next one Monochronic people pay attention to punctuality and strictly abide by dating time If you let a person with monochronic time concept background wait they will think that is wasting their limited time and even think that it is rude and disrespectful to them
The latter pays attention to the flexibility of time use and tends to make longterm planning and they habit of allowing multiple things to be done at a time Polychronic does not have the habit of scheduling nor pays attention to observing the schedule Many different tasks can be done at the same time Therefore the monochronic people seem to be inefficient and unplanned
Edward once pointed out Time becomes a room which some people are allowed to enter while others are excluded (Edward 1976 90) Monochronic time people influenced by this concept emphasizing one for one are used to concentrate on one thing at a time American mostly belong to monochronic time system where they believe that time can never be replaced by other things advocates to do only one thing in a specific time period and stress more importance to time and schedule
Corresponding to this is the Chinese view of polychronic time system in which people allow multitasking at a time Chinese tends to adopt polychronic time value Ethnic groups in this culture advocate doing a lot of things in a period of time They are not simply controlled and limited by time or schedule and it has highly flexibility
Edward believes that the defect of polychronic timing system is that people attach too much importance to the solution of the problem and the relationship with people do not care about the timetable People with monochronic timing system are usually caring about the timetable but seldom solve much practical problems Edward says that The time model of western countries such as Europe and America is monochronic timing system and polychronic timing system countries is Asia Africa and Latin America (Edward 1959 64)
222 Edward’s High Context and Low Context Theory
Context is the environment in which language is used including all subjective and objective factors In the book Beyond Culture Hall Edward (1976) proposed that culture is contextual and divided it into High Context and Low Context
Anything can be characterized as high medium or low context says Edward (Edward 1976 34) In a high context culture the meaning of the speaker’s speech or behavior comes from or is internalized in the context in which the speaker is speaking he often expresses more than he says
Lowcontext things are just the opposite Most of the information must be in the transmitted information in order to make up for the missing parts of the context (internal context and external context) In a lowcontext culture people emphasize the content of the communication rather than the context of the time
He also divided the world into high context cultures and lowcontext culture The socalled low context means that everything needs to be clearly explained in language that is both parties do not share a common context High context means that many meanings are included in the context and it is not necessary to express every point clearly In a lowcontext culture communicative information is mainly conveyed by words in a highcontext culture communicators mainly rely on context to convey information
Edward’s insights in context in the dimension of cultural values broadens the horizon and channels of context research with very important guiding significance
223 Other Related Studies
American contemporary new culture historian Lynn Hunt (2008) in his book Measuring Time Making History emphasizes on the discussion of the nature of time He was concerned about how Western Christian civilization developed a unique way of dating and how does it affect Western historical concepts It also gives a brief perspective on how the concepts of modernity entered and influenced the history of the West
Jacques Goff (1982) the outstanding representative of the third generation of the French Annals School is also renowned for her excellent study of the medieval time in Europe and left a model work His book Time Work and Culture in the middle Ages has long been a classic in this field
3 The Chinese and American Time Systems
As representatives of different cultures China and the United States are totally different in terms of time systems The study of different time systems will help us to be in a favorable position in crosscultural communication We can also avoid making some mistakes caused by time systems differences
31 Chinese Polychronic Time System
The concept of polychronic time holds that time is scattered arbitrary The ways for time calculate is not so accurate multiple tasks can be done together and tend to make longterm and effective planning China is a typical country with polychronic timeorientation
People who are polychronic are used to dealing with a few things at a time with more random time They don’t have the habit of scheduling the schedule do not care about the timetable and do not pay attention to meeting the date of the appointment It’s common for Chinese people to be late For individuals their experience of time is that it has beginning and end however for human being as a whole the time is a cycle as well as an eternal operation (胡文仲 1998) The Polychronic person appears to have a low efficiency and no plan The polychronic time system has the advantages of being flexible but it also has neglect of time arrangement which is easy to influence the work To some extent China belongs to polychronic cultural model
The Chinese have a more tolerant attitude towards sudden visits lateness broken appointments mistiming and so on Relatives and friends can visit at anytime and anywhere without making an appointment in advance The multidimensional timeoriented culture holds that time is infinite therefore it’s easy to change schedule and deadline which is very common in Chinese people’s everyday life
Because of the weak time sense the nation does not pay much attention to punctuality in interpersonal communication and acts more casually and humanely Chinese always directly pay a visit to each other’s home without appointment in advance If the host is idle they will be accommodated immediately on the contrary they have to wait In the eyes of the Westerner this is a very wasteful act of time
With the rapid development step of China’s modernization we are absorbing the foreign culture all the time The different concept of time is also gradually changing With the acceleration of the pace of life the concept of time in China has changed intentionally or unintentionally from polychronic time system to monochronic time system Meanwhile Westerners’ understanding and acceptance of the traditional concept of time in Chinese culture are also increasing With the increasing exchange between various cultures the phenomenon of cultural integration is gradually become upandup and the original traditional concept of time between China and the West is also changing and integrating
32 American Monochronic Time System
The concept of monochronic time holds that time is divisible straightline like a belt or road extending backward into the past and forward into the future Monochronic time people attach importance to schedule the stage and accuracy of time emphasize special time and speed can only do one thing in a certain time and tend to make shortterm planning (时静 2014(07) 67) People with monochronic time orientation are mainly from North America Northern Europe and other countries (Edward 1959)
American time system belongs to monochronic time in which they emphasizes planning and focus on high efficiency At work a monochronic person pays attention to preparation in advance In order to improve efficiency and make time use more efficient Americans will draw up plans and prepare them well American monochronic time system stresses scheduling do only one task at a time strictly following the timetable At the end of the day whether things completed or not it must stop and it can’t affect the next arrangement
In highly industrialized western countries people think that time is limited which can be quantified as goods time is endowed with supreme value and very precious The concept that time is money is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people (陈春卿 2008(04) 41) During most of their lives time and money are the most scarce and precious elements of their lives and the only thing that people always feel most influential and valuable comparable to the other things
Time determines everything in people’s daily life and practice and it is difficult for anyone to escape the iron hand control of time Americans even call themselves slave to nothing but clock (Edward 1976 53) Americans prefer to build shortterm relationships because longterm relationships have more uncontrollable factors and shortterm relationships can avoid unnecessary interruptions and do things more efficiently
Monochronic time objectively manipulates social life and closely weaves people’s life network Therefore westerners have learned to take time and cherish time seriously from an early age and paid much attention to appointment and punctuality as the code of conduct of the whole society The lastminute notice was distasteful because it would disrupt the original plan and surprise people
The advantage of monochronic timing system is that it is very efficient it allows people to make a plan beforehand and strictly follow this schedule They must fulfill only one task at a time without any postpone But it also has the weakness the lack of flexibility So the Americans are influenced by this singletime cultural model
4 The Differences of Time Systems and Causes
Edward said In the Western world no one can escape the iron bowl control of time In fact social and commercial life and even sexual life are manipulated by time Time completely weaves the network of people’s lives (Edward 1982 43) Differences of time systems are reflected in many aspects such as lifestyle time management and business affairs At the same time the causes of different time systems are also varied
41 The Differences of Time Systems
411 Life Style
The time perspective directly affects people’s concept and life style Americans follow the idea of time and money For most Americans time and money are the most scarce and precious factor in the basic problem of human survival for most of the time They cherish and value time and time even efficiency as a measure of one’s ability This time concept results in a fastpaced life The greatest benefit for people with this kind of lifestyle is the higher work efficiency In order to make their limited time more effective to use they focus on timebased arrangements to pay attention to date and duration of work People are trying to do as much as things in a limited time
On the other hand Chinese people have a more flexible view of time and leisure lifestyle There are many such proverbs in Chinese language Eat hot Tofu slowly It means not to worry about anything and tomorrow is not done today (崔 2009(35) 607) Chinese society is more tolerant of being late Even when it comes to meeting time people are often late and people usually wait for everyone to arrive before they start their activities It is a small matter for the Chinese to be fiveminute late What’s more it is regarded that important people or people with high status should come a little late and coming on time will degrade their status In China time limits are often seen as a reminder that they are close to the deadline and everyone knows that there is still some time after the deadline as another deadline
One Chinese teacher who was about to leave the United States invited his American friends to dinner the day before but was refused by his friends Oh I’m sorry I have plans tomorrow Naturally the Chinese teacher felt very uncomfortable and think that the Americans were too inflexible In fact this is due to the American concept of time the preagreed time cannot be changed at will prior appointment must be scheduled on time after the appointment can only be arranged separately The above example shows that different cultures have specific values and time orientations In crosscultural communication activities both parties should consider paying attention to each other’s lifestyle and using specific communication methods
412 Business Affairs
As we all know there are great differences between China and the United States in their ways of doing business Being punctual is a significant point in the American time concept It is necessary for a person to start and end on time whether it is a meeting or a date Americans tend to have a strong sense of time and wellplanned Punctuality is an important symbol of respect for others and also for Americans who regard cherishing time as a noble and necessary virtue And meeting the date and delivering tasks before the deadline is considered to be a person with good credit
Americans with a strong sense of time maintain the habit of future arrangement They regard managing time as a skill that can be learned in management classes and scientific time management can play an important role in achieving goals effectively Especially in the modern era called technological era the concept of time which represents the characteristics of the times is a combination of refined measure time and linear time (吴国盛 1999)
Chinese culture is vague about the concept of time and timing systems and the time calculation system is also not so accurate as today Therefore during daily interpersonal communication people ignore to stress appointment and punctuality Also in business affairs Chinese people usually can handle multiple transactions simultaneously For example when a company manager convenes a department meeting he can have other appointments during that time or his subordinates can enter to ask him to sign files even ask him to answer the phone
42 The Causes of Different Time Systems
421 Cultural Factors
China was an agricultural country from ancient times Farming culture is the root of Chinese ancient inhabitants For agricultural reasons land becomes the lifeblood of farmers who had lived in a selfsufficient agricultural society for thousands of years creating many similar villages and towns with little commercial activities Even now after decades of economic development agriculture still accounts for a large proportion and highly position in national economy In addition farmers make up the majority of China’s population
Farming culture brings Chinese people a leisurely attitude and way of life which makes people’s time consciousness weaker and weaker The relatively weak sense of time makes people not have a deep understanding of appointment punctuality daily intercourse and visit People just care about whether affairs are finished or not rather than the length of completion time Farmers have been on the same land for every generation Therefore Chinese influenced by agricultural culture regard time as multidimensional
On the contrary people live in an industrialized culture background always pay constant attention to watches and clocks Everyone has to do things according to the schedule and finish them within the deadline In addition the production line is the symbol of industrial society Once it has passed it will not come back
If Americans lose their clocks they will be a mess In short Americans have an acute sense of time for they have been influenced by industrial culture for a long time which makes it possible for people to grasp the exact time
422 Historical Factors
After thousands of years history influenced by longterm historical factors Chinese polychronic timing system has a more common time inequality The Chinese are good at building all kinds of relationships and are more concerned about it rather than work such as superior leaders mentors and teachers those who with highly economic status and authority
Therefore through a long period of agricultural life Chinese are subject to the influence of the cycle of the day and the time concept of the polychronic time system is formed Zeng Jianping believes that The ethnic groups with excessive traditional burden pay attention to history and the past which is generally the time orientation of the past And the ethnic groups with a short history tend to be the orientation of the present or the future (剑 廖晓明 2007(03) 56) China is under the polychronic timing system which stresses temporary use of time Most of people do not have detailed plans of daily things the view of time is also relatively loose and the pace of life is slow and leisurely
From a historical point of view the origin of the American concept of monochronic time can trace back to the colonial period before the founding of the United States In order to improve the efficiency and extract more benefits from the workers the owners in the south realized that they should not only increase the working time but also emphasize the output and efficiency of the workers in the unit time This idea was later reinforced by Benjamin Franklin’s famous saying time is money
Since 1840 home alarm clocks had become a must Most Americans like to live and work according to their own schedule and do not welcome uninvited guests If you want to visit others making an appointment is the best way and visit on time according to your appointment Moreover Americans are concerned about deadlines The task or work must be completed within a fixed time range
423 Religious Origins
The longterm accumulated impact of culture background has formed different concepts of time The formation of the concept of time in polychronic time system in China is inseparable from Taoist thought Taoism is one of traditional and wellknown religions in China Taoism advocates human reincarnation and returns to nature Taoist thought holds that every life has life and death but the definition of death is not absolute it is only a link in the process of life cycle in the universe Louis Gadi believe that Respect praise and worship for the ancestors and even the long dead have a structural impact on the psychology of the Chinese people (路易·加迪 1988 97) Taoist thought that all life has life and death it is only a link in the process of life cycle in the universe (李涛 2016(04) 382)
There are many reasons for the formation of the time systems the most important of which is the influence of Confucianism for thousands of years Confucian culture has always advocated taking history as a mirror to guide the present and the future by studying the past This is why Chinese people are used to following traditional ideas and methods of doing things people worship ancestors respect the elderly attach importance to experience (王秀琴 2011(15) 142)
The concept of monochronic time system in the United States is closely related to its Christian and biblical culture which advocates the evil human nature with its original sin In Christian culture Adam and Eve the ancestor of human being stole the forbidden fruit committed the original sin and were expelled from paradise forever and demoted to the world to suffer Paradise cannot go back only by hard work can Christian achieve the last trial
This is the religious origin of the American time system Under the longterm impact of this concept Americans seldom abide by the rules look forward and always focus on the future time focusing their energy and efforts on achieving their immediate goals They believe that only by trying to move forward and constantly transcend
To sum up the Chinese and American view of time is influenced by many factors which can also change the formation and development of the time systems Therefore the Chinese belong to polychronic time system used to take history as a warning and like review the past And the United States has developed into monochronic timing system cherishing time and focusing on work efficiency Both time systems have its merits and meaning and we must respect the differences
5 Conclusion
China and the United States are on behalf of two different cultures and the exchanges between these two countries belong to the category of crosscultural communication This paper compares and analyzes the differences and causes of time systems between two countries in order to improve people’s communication skills
Through the study of the differences time systems the author recognized that in the process of crosscultural communication participants not only need to understand each other’s cultural characteristics also respect for time system differences When conducting cultural exchanges with other countries it is necessary to know the local cultural system in advance and do as the Romans do so as to avoid cultural conflicts
The very important principle that we should always keep in mind is that we should eliminate of cultural superiority cultural centralism bias and determination and take a tolerant attitude to the time perspective of others Then we can better understand the differences in time systems Only in this way can both sides have equal and sincere communication so as to continuously discover and solve problems
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