Traditional Chinese Culture in Todays Dialogue among World Cultures - Assignment Example

Traditional Chinese Culture in Today’s Dialogue among World Cultures Culture plays a larger role on the lives of citizens of aparticular nation and involves the sum of behavior patterns, attitudes and material things that is learned or shared through communication. Throughout the history of China, the Chinese culture has greatly been influenced by Confucianism which greatly shapes their thoughts and their philosophies. This means that most of the thoughts or values that are held highly within China and the nations that are neighboring it can be attributed to the significance of Confucian values. Confucianism has undergone socialization and popularization and has become the core of teachings and transformations that direct the social and cultural consciousness of the Chinese. Amongst the Chinese culture held in high regard in line with Confucianism is that of filial piety and the family as being the most important which forms the foundation of the family in traditional values. The Confucian philosophy also believes in harmony in the society through the respect to age, social hierarchy and people readily accept status differences as legitimate, and therefore the Chinese tend not to say what they really mean if they think it might hurt others in the group. The Confucianism has different effects on the interpersonal communication between Chinese such as the rules that dictate how people relate to their elders while the relationship between members of the same group is characterized by harmony. An emphasis on the virtue of peace and harmony is a significant feature of the traditional Chinese culture and plays a key role in the Chinese traditional philosophical thinking, which may also be applied to other nations in the international arena (Nan-Zhao and Bob 35). These form a comprehensive system of thought of moderation and harmony in line with the Chinese characteristics, exerting influence in both China and the world at large which have the possibility of imposing a new world order that is tolerant and universally accepted. The traditional Chinese culture covers the harmonious balance amongst individuals within themselves and others, the harmonious convergence amongst human beings and nature and the harmonious and peaceful coexistence between states (Nan-Zhao and Bob 36). In the present time, the traditional Chinese culture that propagates harmony thus tolerance is still ideal as the world is seen as one family that shares peace where everybody shares a common bond and is entitled to the enjoyment of that peace. The upshot of this is that we all have a filial duty, benevolence and peace and that an ideal world is full of world and kindness of all humanity without any form of bullying or acts of aggression directed at specific individuals. Therefore, the Chinese from their ancient culture have always pursued and love peace, equality and harmony in the society and the traditional moral and ethical thinking with harmony is important to further tolerance. Tolerance, peace and harmony are universal ideals and aspirations of human beings wherever they are and it is the shared responsibility of all humans to ensure that peace prevails and it is maintained whether a person is in China or anywhere in the world. Tolerance is especially important in creating a new and universally embraceable new world order as it helps in forestalling any incidences of wars, acts of violence, conflicts, inequalities and conflicts or any form of intolerance which may compromise the world peace. Each nation within the universe is therefore required to adopt a culture of tolerance just as it is in the traditional Chinese culture, which fosters peaceful coexistence and harmony in any given society. This requires tranquility and restraint of desires, moderation of the actions of the individual and self-discipline amongst the individuals concerned. Morality forms a core part of the culture of the traditional Chinese culture and forms an integral part of how a person is brought up or his well-being. In the modern times, the teaching of morals through the carrying forward of the traditional Chinese culture of morality in whatever one does has become important in improving the relationships amongst individuals as well as between societies and states (Nan-Zhao and Bob 44). The strengthening of the teaching of morals as was initially in the Chinese culture contributes to the development of a world where individuals are tolerant to the views of others as a matter of moral fact under a new world order. However, there is need to criticize and if possible abandon the traditional Chinese Confucian philosophy that states that the more a person, the more the person should be respected in the society. The implication of this belief is that children are raised to have high obedience and respect mostly to those who have a high status in the society which makes them believe that a person should be revered and admired simply because they are of a higher status in the society. This is quite wrong as any person earns respect by virtue of being human but not simply because of a status put on him by the society and obedience to what is right is expected from any other person. This problem affects Chinese students in schools as they believe that it is the teacher to provide all their educational needs and this affects their communication behavior and relationship with the teachers in school (Scollon, Rodney and Suzannee 8). Despite the positives about the traditional Chinese culture of peace and harmony that is desirable to all humanity irrespective of where they are, China continues to have other undesirable qualities and culture that cannot be applicable or be universally accepted. The fact that a few individuals as opposed to the suffering majority also hold the factors of production shows that the nation still applies the culture that does not aim at the protection of the fundamental rights of individuals to property and livelihood. It remains an unequal society with massive cases of poverty reported while it is majorly a patriarchal society where women continue to be downtrodden or subjected to chauvinistic acts. In conclusion, we can state that the ancient Chinese traditional cultures are only good towards establishing a new world order that is tolerant to each other only if they uphold respect for human rights and treat each and every person as equal. Works Cited Nan-Zhao, Zhou, and Bob Teasdale. Teaching Asia-Pacific Core Values of Peace and Harmony: a Sourcebook for Teachers. Bangkok: Unesco Bangkok, 2004. Print. Scollon, Ronald, Rodney H. Jones, and Suzanne B. K. Scollon. Intercultural Communication: A Discourse Approach. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell, 2012. Print. Read More