The Peace Corps' Cross Cultural workbook states, "Culture has been aptly compared to an iceberg. Just as an iceberg has a visible section above the waterline, and a larger, invisible section below the water line, so culture has some aspects that are observable and others that can only be suspected, imagined, or intuited. Also like an iceberg, that part of culture that is visible (observable behavior) is only a small part of a much bigger whole.
A few examples:
Observable Behaviors | Underlying Cultural Components | |
Food | Values | |
Clothes | Importance of Time | |
Gestures | Concept of Self | |
Holiday Customs | Rules of Social Etiquette | |
Music | Concept of Personal Space | |
Art | Leadership Ideas | |
Literature | Work Ethic | |
Facial Expressions | Concept of Beauty |
You can see that there is a relationship between some of the items that appear above the waterline and those that appear below it. In most cases, the invisible aspects of culture influence or cause the visible ones. For example, the concept of beauty is clearly manifested in the style of clothes; and rules of social etiquette are portrayed through gestures and facial expressions."
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Culturally, China and the United States are extremely different. In most cultural aspects, China is on one side of the spectrum and the U.S. is on the other end.
The most distinct cultural issues I have experienced include: the concept of time, the concept of self (individualists v. collectivists), and communication styles (direct v. indirect, and the importance of “face” and relationships).
As someone who values punctuality, efficiency, and organization, I admit that there are days that I struggle with the Chinese concept of time. In America, “time is money” right?! Schedules, deadlines, and to-do lists, fill our lives. We expect people to be on time, and we anticipate that things will go according to plan. Unfortunately, China (rural China especially) has the converse idea of time. Time here is focused on people and relationships, rather than on tasks or appointments. Plans are always changing, and scheduling something in advance is literally unheard of. (For example, you should usually not book a plane ticket more than three weeks in advance; and school holidays or start/end dates are never set more than a month prior to the date). Schedules often seem unreliable, and plans are always subject to change. For this reason, many aspects of life feel unpredictable (definitely not good for my Type A personality; although, I am really learning to let go of the control and be a little more relaxed… I know the ross street girls won't believe this, but for real : )
Personal identity is another major difference between China and America. Americans are classified as individualists because we value independence and self-sufficiency. A person should not rely on anyone but themself. We have mottos such as, “Stand on your own two feet,” “Look out for number one,” and “Pull yourself up by your own bootstraps.” Americans encourage their children to think for themselves and to make their own decisions.
On the other hand, Chinese people are usually collectivists. Their identity is based on their role and membership within a group (family, friends, work). The needs of the group come before one’s personal needs. Interdependence is valued and desired. If you are a member of a group, expect that your fellow members will do anything for you (and they expect that it be reciprocated) – loan you money, allow you to live in their home, help raise their children, etc. (I experienced this when my co-worker offered to sell me her bike. She insisted that I only pay half of her asking price; the reason being that we were coworkers and friends – part of the same group). Conversely, if you do not belong to the group, do not expect people to assist you.
(Side note: this is why our service projects make such an impact. The villagers cannot comprehend why we would help them because we are not part of their group).
The importance of group membership is highlighted in another major cultural component in China: relationships (or guanxi). Relationships are the key aspect in Chinese culture. Without relationships, you have no influence, “pull” or connections. (This is true in many cultures; think along the same lines as our motto, “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know,” but the significance is magnified by a million in China). In China it is not just about who you know; it is also how the other person sees his or her obligations toward you. The more favors you do for someone, the more obligations they have toward you – and vice versa. Returning favors is paramount to maintaining one’s web of relationships. Failure to reciprocate a favor, no matter what they ask, is committing a major moral transgression (It’s All Chinese to Me). Without guanxi, it is nearly impossible to get anything done in China.
Communication styles are another fundamental difference between China and the United States (another thing I struggle with). As Americans, we practice direct communication. We adhere to sayings such as, “Don’t beat around the bush” and “Tell it like it is.” Again, China is on the opposite end of the spectrum because people are indirect communicators. Saving face/not losing face takes precedence over the truth; maintaining harmony is the overriding goal of the communication exchange. Confrontation is avoided. Criticism is handled very delicately, and people rarely respond with a straightforward no. What a person says and what a feels are often not the same. (Peace Corps Culture Matters)
Here in lies the ever-important concept of “face.” Difficult to specifically define, “face” includes a person’s pride, dignity, reputation, and self-esteem. A person can either gain face from a positive situation or lose face from a negative situation. In China, it is very important to not cause someone to lose face. If you cause someone to lose face, even if it is unintentional, your friendship, customer/client relationship will severely suffer. A person should take great lengths to ensure this doesn’t happen.
Here are some examples from “It’s All Chinese To Me” of how to gain face and how to lose face, respectively.
Ways to Gain Face (you’ll notice that some of these are very similar to our idea of achieving success in America):
1. Give someone a sincere compliment
2. Praise someone publicly
3. Treating someone to a meal (which is why we often take our work partners out to dinner; and also why I feel pressure to "act right" and be culturally sensitive during dinner... which also means that I cannot refuse food when someone offers it. Saying 'No' is incredibly rude and will cause someone to lose face. Don't worry, I've discovered the trick of burying the food that I don't like in my rice - one of the positives of only eating out of a bowl).
4. Going out of one’s way to do something for a friend
5. Receiving an expensive gift, especially an imported one
6. Being wealthy
7. Earning a degree from a prestigious university
8. Marrying well
9. Having a son
10. Having a successful child
Ways to Lose Face:
1. Not showing respect to elders or authority figures
2. Criticizing someone publicly
3. Turning down an invitation with an outright “No.” In China, there are 3 proper ways to say no: a) Maybe; b)Yes, maybe; and c)I will discuss it with so and so.
4. Interrupting someone when they are talking
5. Threatening to fire someone or actually firing them (Donald Trump and The Apprentice definitely never gained popularity in China : )
6. Exposing someone for lying
7. Becoming angry with someone
8. Not being able to do something
9. Admitting to having made a mistake. Try to avoid forcing anyone into doing this. Always leave them a way out, even if it means accepting a lie. (NOTE: I recently experienced this with one of my coworkers. I recognized that there was an error in a document we were working on; rather than directly stating, “that number is wrong; it should be ___.” I delicately brought it to their attention by saying, “I think I made a mistake and told you this number, but maybe we should try another number).”
10. Admitting to not knowing something can also result in a serious loss of face. Often, misleading information is given as a means of preserving face. (Hence, why I NEVER trust a Chinese person when they give me directions! lol).
As you can see, the cultural adjustments to living in China encompass about every aspect of daily life. Some days it is incredibly frustrating and mindboggling, but it is so interesting to experience how differently things work in China (for better and for worse).
