Chapter 66 11. China and the West: Two Worlds

The oldest book on the art of war in the world comes from the Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu, five centuries earlier than our "Art of War".Since then, works on the same theme in Asia and the West have continued to emerge.According to these works, Chinese rulers follow the values ​​passed down from generation to generation, govern the country, and command offense and defense based on their knowledge, culture, and national strength.Businesses, social groups, families, friends all live by these values.Some people have unique norms, attitudes and behaviors, influenced by their education, surrounding environment or their own experiences, and they also live by these values.

The West has long ignored the Asian continent, including China, and knows little about its customs.So, over the millennia, China's own way of thinking, ideas, and collectivism—as distinct from our individualism—has been consolidated. If you want to understand China, you must first close your eyes, forget your own values, and open your mind to Chinese culture in order to understand them better.The same goes for other peoples who think differently than their own country. At present, the pace of economic globalization is accelerating, trade exchanges between various countries and regions are becoming more frequent, and new communication technologies are developing rapidly.Under this influence, the East and the West broke down all kinds of barriers in the past and enhanced mutual understanding.However, the ideological principles and strategic positions of Chinese and Westerners have never been unified.This is because trying to understand the other person does not mean clinging to, following, or adopting their point of view, but allowing them to have their own point of view, allowing their point of view to be different from ours.

Chinese cannot understand Westerners well, and Westerners cannot understand Chinese well.There are differences between the Eastern Hemisphere and the Western Hemisphere.Although the current international business trade has achieved great success, there are still many misunderstandings, incomprehension, lack of cognition and misjudgment in the communication process between the two parties. On the whole, "Asian-Chinese" culture and "Western-European" culture are like two cars meeting at a crossroads.No one wants to confront the other, but they all firmly believe in their own values, beliefs, laws and ideas. The 21st century will thus usher in a real challenge: to confront each other - as in the past - or to look at each other, to communicate with each other.

Therefore, when China talks about the blueprint of a "harmonious society" or some other words that only exist in their language and values, it is difficult for Westerners to believe the basis of these assertions, and it is difficult to understand their so-called purpose, so they usually attribute these words to For idle gossip or sermons. Similarly, the Chinese have always had a preconceived belief that the Western world is more idealistic. Under this influence, it is difficult for them to emulate the more direct, practical, and positive ideas of the West.French romance then became a charm appreciated by the Chinese.

We and the Chinese both have something to learn on this issue.We need to improve our understanding of Asia and China, and better understand their values: it’s not just about admiring their food, their architecture, their economic progress, their efforts, their history and culture… We need to try to better understand their philosophies, the inner meaning of their strategies, their class concept, their spirit of collectivism, as well as Chinese thought, Chinese image characters, Chinese thinking, Chinese complex society, culture and geography. The basic value standards of Chinese thought mainly include: collectivism, self-reliance, down-to-earth, pragmatic, unswerving, strong and courageous, flexible, modest and respectful, advancing with the times, increasing self-confidence, and building a small family based on relatives and friends. circle, money concept, success concept, and other potential value standards in social life.

In addition, we have to describe some more special aspects, such as the Chinese concept of "don't lose face" or "don't make others lose face".China still has many special features waiting for us to discover. In short, just like dealing with other countries in the world, if we want to better understand China and conduct trade activities with China, we must first learn to get out of our own thinking mode, even if it is only a short-term independence, it will help us deal with it. The problem of the duality of East and West.