1、,in different cultures,The Time,“Time is the devourer of everything.” Ovid,Roman Poet 43 B. C.,（吞噬者）,English Poet (1608 1674),“Time is the subtle thief of youth.” Milton,“Time is most brisk and giddy-paced.” Shakespeare,（敏锐的）,（眼花缭乱的）,日月光华，旦复旦兮。尚书大传上卷,The sun alternates with the moon; Days come one a
2、fter another soon.,俗语：枯木逢春犹再发,A withered tree comes to life again.,This is a line.,This is a circle.,The western believe time is a limited resource, they try to conserve and manage it. People do all they can to squeeze more life out of their time.,Do you love life? Then do not waste time, for that i
3、s the stuff life is made of.Benjamin Franklin,They see time as a valuable resource. Maybe thats why they are fond of the expression, “Time is money.“,deadlines,plans,appointments,pocket planners,calendars,accountings,on time,in time,time managements,time tables,agendas,schedules,American lifestyles
4、show how much people respect the time of others. When people plan an event, they often set the time days or weeks in advance. Once the time is fixed, it takes almost an emergency to change it. If people want to come to your house for a friendly visit, they will usually call first to make sure it is
5、convenient.,To outsiders, Americans seem tied to the clock. People in other cultures value relationships more than schedules. In these societies, people dont try to control time, but to experience it. Chinese, for example, view time as a cycle. They find it easier to “go with the flow“ than American
6、s, who like plans to be fixed and unchangeable.,The Chinese nations concept of time is rooted in the culture of farming time; time has a close relation with the nature. Time is really fleeting, but it also circle like the constantly changing of four seasons, and the sun and the moon cycle alternatel
7、y, it will come back soon; so people usually think that the lost time could be back. This kind of view of time shaped people a sense that time is rich, and also nurtured a habit of leisure and slow living habit.,Time for Chinese is more flexible and more human-centered. For example： They usually sch
8、edule several activities at the same timeThey usually put interpersonal relations above the scheduleThe big shot usually is late,慢走,慢用,慢慢看,慢慢做,慢慢商量,慢慢欣赏,慢慢来,慢慢吃,The word “Lao” in China used to show respect to those who are more experienced and usually older, like “Lao Li”, “Lao Wang”. In this way we
9、 show respect and amity to the old people, which indicates a past time orientation.,Past time orientation,But in western country, you must use some euphemism, such as “senior” ,“aged”, “veteran”，“golden ager”, “elder”, etc. All these reflect the Americans “future-oriented” conception of time indirec
10、tly. They think that past thing are just the past, they never treat past thing as a good thing.,Future orientation,With the acceleration of the Chinas modernization, and the increase of foreign exchange, we are constantly absorbing in the essence of the foreign culture, and the concept of time also
11、gradually changed. The linear sense of time gradually engaged into the Chinese culture. Meanwhile, westerners understanding and acceptance degree to traditional Chinese culture is constantly improving, with the increase of various cultural communication, the phenomenon of cultural fusion also increa
12、sed, Chinese and westerners respective increasing exchange their original traditional concept of time gradually. As for the above phenomenon, we can do as follows:,Respect for cultural differences and reducing communication barriers.,Respect cultural customs mutually.,Abandon national center -cultural ideas,Thank You ！,
