Analysis of Different Cultures Between China and Japan through Power Distance

----An Interview with a Chinese-Japanese exchange college student

李龙兵 2007080028 余 涛 2006112033高铭遥 2006081065 罗洁珍 2007080179巫文婕 2007080175 陈文攀 2007150095时德圳 2007150100 匡海林 2007020451刘圆圆 2008080138

Power Distance

• Power distance is a dimension used to measure how countries differ from each other on cultures , which is put forward by a famous social humanities scholar , Dr. Geert Hofstede. This index indicates the extent to which less powerful members of institutions and organizations within a country expect and accept that power is distributed unequally. It suggests that a society's level of inequality is endorsed by the followers as much as by the leaders. From our research, power distance is more showed on society’s level and the affinities of interpersonal relationship.

Power Distance in China• China was a men-control state from the ancient time,

which focused on letting the emperor be an emperor, the minister a minister, the father a father and the son a son. However, with the development with the society, the change of social value and the implementing of one-child policy, Chinese children are getting more and more equal with their parents. In addition with the pushing of sexes equality, the expansion of masculinist is restrained to a certain extent, and the classes difference between male and female have got some balance. Therefore, in some Chinese temporary families, the power distance of sexes and seniorities is going down gradually.

• But since China had got through thousands of years of feudalism, and it holds the one-party dictatorship system nowadays, power and sanction is still the final issue pursued by most Chinese people or groups, which means the power distance index of China is still very high. The high PDI is mainly showed by the way that who and how much resources and right to say he occupies. No matter in government departments or private enterprises, power, classes and seniorities are still very important. And actually, China is now in a time of worshipping money, and the importance of power is more clearly.

Power Distance in Japan

• On the Japanese side, Japan is also a patriarchal state but based on small groups in which every group member works and lives together, and once someone leaves, regardless of the blood relationship, he will lose his membership. Consequently, there are hierarchical relationships everywhere revolved by various groups in Japan. Nevertheless, Japan not only makes a good consavertion of tradition but also learn and obtain a lot of cultures from western countries, and it is much more open-minded than China. In these ways, Japan has got a great impact from west country values.

• In Japanese families, men go out for work to earn money, and women take care of homes, children obey parents, and the grades of relations is very strict. But in social enterprises, they prefer to concern about individual abilities rather than the classes. The equality of competition is high, too. Those who onlly pursue power are not so many as before with the development of the timse.

Interview -Part1

In order to study the differences between China and Japan on power distance performances, we had an interview with a Chinese-Japanese exchange college student in Shenzhen University, Yuki.

In the interview, she told us why she chose to study Chinese, and her impress about China

Interview - Part2

• In the interview, she also told us such as the movie said

Interview - Part2

• We find that, the index of power distance influences the affinity relationship of interpersonal social contacts directly. The higher index one country has, the more separative their relationship are, conversely, the closer.

In daily communication, Japanese will use different respect depending on the extent of favor and status distance.

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• Most of time, they express themselves in an introverted way instead of direct words, and they often give possitive promises, recommends and guarantees.

Analysis

• When Japanese people have a conversation, they usually stop and keep silent for seconds, leaving a face expression with reservations.

• Besides, their varieties of ways of bowing and kneeling also imply that Japan is such a people that emphasizing age, seniority, sex and class.

Analysis

• On the contrary, when Chinese people talk to others or give a negative response, they are directer and franker. When they talk , they add plenty of facial expressions and others can tell their happiness, anger and sorrow from both their words and faces. While in the situation of power pressure, Chinese people will be very careful, reflecting the obedient to power.

• Then we can conclude that Japanese concern power a lot in daily life like in families and schools, which is very different from the equality in Chinese families.

• We consider that, if a religion is more developed, the citizens will consider more about individual life quality and self growing. China is a specially strong collectivistic country, so Chinese people have more desire for power in society or in group than Japanese.

• Range from daily life to social contacts, from individuals to society, we can conclude that, there are many differences between Japan and China. How to get over the culture gap when we come to each other?

• Yuki told us,” I won’t express what I can’t accept. If something can help my life here more convenient, I will change my life style and learn to get uesd to Chinese regulation. Of course, the most important thing is to learn more about Chinese cultures and customs, only then can I live a comfortable life in China.”

Interview – Part4

• This is a culture adaptation progress, There must be differences between two cultures. If you want to get along well with a foreign culture, you must keep the attitude of tolerance, and first accept the existent of different culture, then try to join in throngh studying and imitation.

Analysis

• Power distance is just one of the dimension to explain culture differences. How to accept different culture and how to integrate, that’s the problem remained to be abserved, and only then can we cover the difficulties of cross-cultural communication.

Thank you!