A Comparative Study Of The Sino-American Daily Life From The Cultural Perspective

The sociology of daily life, a branch of sociology, studies the social relations, social activities and social behaviors of the people in their daily life. Here, daily life refers to the consumptive activities of the material and spiritual products of the people, covering the fields of clothing, food, housing, mobility, use, healthcare, cultural studies, physical exercises, recreations, visits among friends and relatives, marriage, customs, ceremonies, and rituals. It does not include people's productive activities and social public activities. Daily life is an integral part of people's way of life.This dissertation chooses costumes, food, residence, child education and social morality as the focuses of the comparative study from the cultural perspective because clothing, food and housing come first in people's life. Child education, an important activity of the family, has an immediate connection with the future of the nation, and it is thus attached great importance to by people throughout the world. This is also the case of America and China. Social morality has direct influences on social living conditions and the quality of life.Ethnology is a subject studying ethic groups or nations, particularly the ethnic or national cultures and societies. As defined in The Chinese Encyclopedia—--the Volume of Nations,"ethnic or national cultures" refer to the cultures peculiar to one's ethnic group or nation, created and evolved in the long course of history. They include material and spiritual cultures. Food, clothing, residence and productiveinstruments belong to material culture while language, words, science, arts, philosophy, religion, customs, festivals and traditions fall in the category of spiritual culture.This dissertation is made up of six chapters. Chapter 1 introduces the purpose and significance of the study, followed by the research review, the main contents of the dissertation, definition of the key terms, the approaches, and the creative points of the research.Chapter 2 is a comparative study of Sino-American costumes, focusing on the cultural notions embodied in the costumes of the two countries. In China, cultural diversity finds expressions in its numerous ethnic groups (including their branches) and the long history. The typical examples are seen in the Tibetan and Miao costumes. On the other hand, the American cultural diversity is seen in its multi-racial situations typical with individual fashions and social distributions of work.Chapter 3 comes to a cultural comparison of residence and architecture between China and America. The Chinese residence bears great ethnic and regional differences while the American one highlights environmental protection and beautification. The American architecture has inherited the traditional European style and attaches great importance to the spacious patterns while its Chinese counterpart is profoundly influenced by the idea of feng shui ("wind" and "water" ). Chapter 4 makes a comparison of diet between China and America. The Chinese diet culture owes greatly to the country's long history and it highlights artistic value and nutritious collocation. Moreover, the Chinese tea culture and alcohol culture enjoy a unique system of their own. On the other hand, the American diet culture has its typical features, being fast, hygienic, nutritious and scientific. The American cultural diversity is seen in the cuisines from different countries while that of the Chinese, from different regions or ethnic groups.Chapter 5 goes on to the comparison of Sino-American child education. In America, child education means to develop the survival skills, thus underscoring individuality andcreativity, while in China, child education emphasizes memory and inheritance of knowledge, ignoring creativity. Further, the principle of how to conduct oneself properly has become essential in China's child education. Unfortunately, the principle has been misinterpreted by many young people so much so that they pay more attention to the pursuit of money and power, which is also the consequence of bureaucratic influences in the society.Chapter 6 ends with the comparison of Sino-American civil morality. The Chinese citizens seem to make fewer donations and take on less voluntary labor services than their American counterparts. In China, fake commodities become prevalent and many Chinese people take advantage of laws. Moreover, the sense of social responsibility of the Chinese citizens appears to be not as strong as that of the Americans who also cherish credit much more than their Chinese counterparts.The comparative study attempted by the author intends to promote the mutual understanding and communication between China and America. The findings will help both countries to draw on each other's merits and raise the level together and to make further progress side by side.