An Analysis of Cultural Differences between China and the West from Mythologies

于洋 陈海华

【Abstract】With the continuous improvement of China’s opening to the outside world, many cultural differences between Chinese and Western civilizations have emerged. For the same object, two cultures have different definitions. As we all know, ancient civilization began with the struggle between human beings and floods. In this paper, the author begins with two well-known flood mythologies, Dayu Flood Control and Noah’s Ark, from which we can see many cultural differences between China and the West.

【Key words】mythology about flood control; cultural differences

【作者簡介】于洋，陈海华，中国石油大学(华东)。

1. Preface

Myths originated in primitive society, and given different physical geography situation and history process, we can see many differences between Chinese and Western civilization.

Ancient civilization began with the struggle between human beings and flood. In this connection, the combat between mankind and flood gave birth to Chinese civilization and Western civilization. And the flood was the trial and tribulation to the mankind. Comparing the two myths, Dayu Flood Control and Noah’s Ark, seems to be far apart, because they were not originated from the same country. However, we can feel the different cultural characteristics between China and the West through comparison.

2. Introduction to the Myths

At first, we are going to talk about Dayu’s Flood Control. Confronting flood, Dayu led his people and won this struggle against it, a ferocious natural disaster. Dayu learned lessons from the failure of his father, Gun, and changed the way to dredge the flood. In order to tame the flood, Dayu worked with his people all year round without paying attention to his personal interests and passed his home many times without entering. In this process, it showed that he had the wisdom to lead people to overcome difficulties. After 13 years of diligent efforts and strength, they had completed the great feat of flood control.

When it comes to the myth of Western civilization, it was totally different. The God saw that the earth was full of evil acts of corruption, violence and malfeasance. So the God planned to destroy the wicked through flood. In the meantime, the God also found that there was a good man named Noah among human beings. So the God instructed Noah to build an ark and took his wife, son and daughter-in-law into it. In addition, the God ordered Noah to bring animals including livestock and birds, into the ark, and these animals must include both male and female. In this way, Noah’s family and these animals survived in this destructive flood.

3. Differences Occurring in the Myths

3.1 The difference in causes of the flood viewed by different civilizations

In Chinese civilization, the ancient people thought flood was a natural phenomena, while in Western civilization, flood was the punishment to mankind according to God’s inspiration. Dayu led his people to combat the flood through dredging, leaving the thoughts on harmony and struggle between man and nature, while Noah’s story provided a precedent for human to confess to the God. This also mirrors the differences between Chinese religion and Western religion, and different thoughts of philosophy. Different traditions and different way of thinking must result in this issue. We regard things in different sides, so we have totally understanding about the same object. Different causes of the flood can inspire us to know that there exists differences in philosophy in these two civilizations.

3.2 The difference in philosophy

The philosophy embodied in these two myths is distinct. In China, we deem the origin and development of the universe as a vigorous and continuous natural process. Man is only a component of the universe and man must conform to the universe. The thought of Taoism is embodied in Dayu’s Flood Control. Taoism believes the harmony between man and nature. The universe is a big space, while man is a small one. Man and nature are essentially interlinked, so all things should follow the law of nature, thus achieving harmony between man and nature. While in the Western civilization, people believe in Christianity, which holds human rights enshrined by God. They think the universe remains static. And in this way, their ancestors concluded basic nature of all living things. This religion believes that the God creates and dominates the world. It holds that, human beings have sinned for not obeying the God’s law since their ancestors, so they must suffered and died in sin. Only by believing in the trinity of the God and with the help of Jesus Christ can they be saved. They believe the God saved Noah and deducted the Western civilization.

3.3 The difference in the attitudes to the flood

The attitude to the flood in these two myths is different. From my point of view, Chinese people are positive when encounting the flood. They chose to tame the flood from generation to generation and complied with the nature. Dayu found the solution to tame the flood in the process of thinking and utilized various primitive knowledge and skills at that time. This coheres the typical oriental cultural features and forms the core concept of Chinese culture. But the Western people are negative. They escaped the disaster and only protected a few species as well as complied with the God’s will. Facing the sin of people, the God chose to destroy mankind, which can break established balance to make new progress. This is the salient feature of western culture.

3.4 The difference in solutions to the flood

Their solutions to the flood are also different in these two myths. As we can see in these two myths, our Chinese forefathers opted for dredging the flood. Dayu led the people to tame the flood and ensured that more people can survive in this disaster. In the struggle against flood, a great nation has been formed. It not only emphasized the collective role, but also embodied the protection of individual human rights. On the contrary, the Western ancestors selected to evacuate a part of its people. Shipbuilding brought Noah’s family members and a couple of male and female animals on board, thereby preserving the seeds of natural reproduction. But only Noah’s family and the life in the ark survived in this flood. So this deed did not reflect the protection of human rights. Given this, we can see that Western civilization emphasizes individualism and Chinese civilization underpins collectivism.

3.5 The difference in leaders’ moral characters

The moral characters of the leaders in these two myths are also different. Dayu and Noah are two vital leaders in these two myths. Instead of hating Emperor Shun for punishing his father, Dayu embraced the task of taming the flood and worked diligently. Four days after his marriage, they led the people to combat the flood. Under the tough condition and harsh environment, he still lived in a simple manner and concentrated on the people and flood control. He passed his home many times without entering once. While Noah was on the flip side. Following the instructions of the God to build an ark, Noah took his wife and offspring into the ark, and brought animals such as livestock and birds into the ark, including both males and females. As a result, his family was spared from the flood, but all the other living things on land died.

3.6 The difference in the ethical ideologies

Finally, the ethical ideologies in these two myths are not be mentioned in the same breath. The Western civilization attaches great importance to conjugal relation, while Chinese civilization thinks highly of blood lineage. Noah took his wife to escape from the flood, while Dayu went to flood control four days after marriage. This also reflects different ideological and cultural characteristics both in Chinese and Western civilizations: closure and openness. In ancient China, even today, there are  clan shrines and many other organizations, which reflects that kinship plays an important role in Chinese history. This deep-rooted tradition is a double-edged sword. In this tradition, people can easily band together but it will also generate many problems including factions fight and marriage in proximity of blood. But in western world, this can be avoided. In general, we should analyse the problems in a dialectical way. Only by this can we see the essence of things and know about them in a  more comprehensive and systematic way.

4. Conclusion

Just as the early development of different nationalities is different, so are the myths and stories of different countries. In this thesis, by illustrating two myths both in Chinese civilization and Western civilization named Dayu Flood Control and Noah’s Ark, we have known that there are many differences between different civilizations.

Our findigns enrich the study of Chinese and Western mythology, show the charm of mythology, and help us to understand the root of Chinese and Western culture. At the same time, we should pay attention to the differences in these aspects, respecting each others’ traditions and civilizations.

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