Revisiting Chinese Values Through Self-Generated Proverbs And Sayings

Recent research findings have suggested a need to move beyond the prevalent individualistic-collectivistic dichotomy to look at other aspects of Chinese values (Garrott, 1995; Kulich, Zhang & Zhu, 2006; Schwartz, 1992, 1994; Xu, 1999). New social realities emerging in the ever-changing world make it imperative to update our systematic understanding of value priorities of mainland Chinese college students, who are presumably at the leading edge of social change, and link their values to stimuli as value changing agents. Toward this end, theoretical and methodological exploration of values studies is also pertinent. Being a universal discourse, proverbs and sayings are one of the major carriers and transmitters of cultural values and beliefs, qualities that render them especially useful in analyzing values.Building on Kulich's (1997, 1998) earlier research papers, this empirical study primarily examines the completeness of self-generated value-laden proverbs and sayings in reflecting Schwartz's (1994) 45 near-universal value items to further test the viability of the proverb/saying sampling method in values studies; based on the findings, proposes a tentative master list of sayings for Chinese values research and intercultural training purposes; and examines key operative values as reflected in respondents'saying priorities. Also addressed are questions inherent in the research process concerning the impact of pop culture on respondents'saying preferences and value shifts revealed in a comparison between the present data and those generated in 1997.One hundred and forty women students majoring in English at a mid-sized national language university in Shanghai were asked to come up with eight proverbs and sayings that are important to them as guiding principles in their lives. Value-saying match and content analysis suggest 1) that self-generated proverbs and sayings have the potential to fully represent a near-universal value set in the Chinese context, 2) that achievement is of supreme importance to the respondents, while security, power, conformity and hedonism appear to be of least significance, 3) that pop culture, advertisements and pop music in particular, have manifested a significant influence on respondents'value preferences, and 4) that the respondents'value priorities exhibit a stronger tendency toward individualism compared with 1997. A tentative master list of sayings is proposed using a mix of etic and emic approaches. Theoretical implications for future values studies and intercultural training are discussed.