中英基本价值观的差异On Basic Values Between Chinese and BritishContentsAbstract.1Key words.1I. Introduction.2II. Why I Choose This Topic. 3III. The Comparison of Chinese Values and British Values.31. Innately good vs. innately evil.32. Oneness vs. dividedness between man and nature.53. Past vs. future orientation.64. Being-who you are vs. doing-what you are doing.75. Group vs. individualism orientation.8IV. Harmonious Culture.8V. Conclusion.10References.11 Abstract: Culture is an extremely complex concept and an enormous subject. But however complex, culture can roughly be divided into three categories: material culture, which refers to all the products of manufacture, institutional culture which refers to various systems and the theories that support them, such as social systems, religious systems, ritual systems, educational systems, kinship systems and language; and mental culture, which refers to peoples mentality and behaviors, their thought patterns, beliefs, conceptions of value, aesthetic tastes. And people who come from different cultural patterns are still pursuing a better understanding between each other. Though misunderstanding happens sometimes, we cannot deny that people know each other better and better now compared to thousands of years ago especially in recent years as globalization became a realization but a choice. This article will discuss such a home truth in a more practical way so that misunderstanding would happen less and less since basic values are the most basic creed when communicating.Key words: cross-cultural communication; comparison of basic values; harmonious culture摘 要: 文化是一个相当复杂的概念也是一个相当大的主体。但是尽管复杂，文化本身大致可以分为三个方面：物质文化，是所有物质生产的产物；意识文化，是支持物质生产的各种各样的体系，理论，例如社会系统，宗教系统，礼仪系统，教育系统，血缘关系和语言；精神文化，是指人的精神和行为，他们的思维方式，信念，价值观和审美观。同时来自不同的文化体系的人们仍孜孜不倦的追求以更好的了解彼此。尽管误解时有发生，但是我们不能否认与几千年前相比现在人们的交流正在加深，特别是最近以来随着全球化的实现，人们之间的了解正在加深。这篇文章将讨论的是一个老生常谈的话题跨文化交际，我将从一个更加实用的角度来探讨这个话题以减少误解的发生。所以我选择了基本价值观来讨论，因为是他们一直在指引着人们的行为。关键词：跨文化交际；基本价值观的比较；和谐文化I. Introduction “Values” are ideas about what is right and wrong, desirable and undesirable, normal and abnormal, proper and improper. “Assumptions” here are the postulates, about people, life, and the way things are. Most people who grow up in a particular culture share certain values and assumptions. As people grow up, they learn certain values and assumptions, which will influence and formulate their way of life. These values and assumptions overlap and support each other. They fit together. A culture can be viewed as a collection of values and assumptions that go together to shape the way a group of people perceive and relate to the world around them. All communication is cultural no less than cross-cultural communication. Our experts have spared no effort on it and the differences of basic values between Chinese and British. So it is not surprising to find that the scopes of basic values in different books are not the same when comparing the basic values between cultures. Someone says it can be analyzed from the following sides: individual freedom and self-reliance; equality of opportunity and competition; material wealth and hard work; goodness of humanity and improvement; time and efficiency. And in the book Intercultural Communication Professor Jia Yuxin integrates all the cultural facts and divides basic values when we do cross cultural communication into 6 aspects, which are: the relationship between human and nature: oneness or dividedness between man and nature; human relationships; attitude towards change: the seeking of change or the seeking of stability; innately good or innately evil; past or future orientation; group or individualism orientationAnd here is comparison of Chinese values and British values by Linell Davis:OrientationChinese valuesBritish valuesHuman NatureBasically GoodBasically EvilRelationship to NatureHarmony with NatureHumans control natureSense of TimePast OrientationFuture orientation ActivityBeing-who you areDoing-what you are doingSocial RelationshipsHierarchy Individual However, to analyze the different values in my thesis is unrealistic and too general to be done, so my thesis will focus on some essential and basic values from 5 aspects, which are human nature, relationship to nature, sense of time, activity and social relationship since they speak louder than any other point.II. Why I Choose This TopicAs the development of science and technology, we are proceeding into an information age. Globalization is a reality but not a choice. More and more British people come to China for commercial or entertainment aims or something else, and Chi