发布时间 : 星期日 文章Chinese& Western culture更新完毕开始阅读
western civilization. Greek is a peninsula country, whose inland is mountainous, so people had to look seaward to find a living. As a result, people are out-going, open-minded, broad-minded like the sea, love life, love reason.
Its climate is neither hot, nor cold and always sunny, so people like to gather together outside in a square to talk about politics. As a result, people are democracy-minded.( Indian created Buddhism, because, India is very hot and it?s not very comfortable to do a lot activities in hot weathers, so meditation is the main way to practice the religion.) -Merchants are not like landowners who are tied to the land. Merchants, in a sense, citizens of the world. They are reformist. They had only one habit---- no habit at all. They are ready for any change, any new ideas, and had little hierarchical concepts.
2.Greek mythology， Roman Mythology The Olympian Gods
-Zeus is the ruler of the Olympian gods. He is also known as Jupiter and Jove (both Roman). His attributes in iconography形象 include the lightning bolt, the eagle, and the sceptre节杖.
-Hera:As the wife (and sister) of Zeus, Hera is the patron of marriage. She is also known as Juno (Roman). She has no unique attributes in iconography and so can only be identified by context or inscription. -Hermes:众神信使）Hermes? main role is as a messenger but he has many other functions as well. He is also known as Mercury (Roman). His attributes in iconography include the kerykeion (messenger?s staff), winged boots, and petassos (cap). -
Athena（智慧与技艺女神）:Athene (also spelled Athena) is the patron of wisdom, military victory, and women?s crafts. She is also known as Minerva (Roman) and is also called Pallas Athene. Her attributes in iconography include the aegis (a fringed cloak, sometimes decorated with a Gorgon?s head), the helmet, and the spear.
-Apollo（太阳神） is associated principally with music, prophecy, sickness, and medicine. He is also known as Phoebus Apollo and is called the Far Shooter. (He has no separate Roman name.) His attributes in iconography are the cithara, or sometime the lyre, the bow, the fawn, and the tripod. He is often depicted with his sister, Artemis.
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Aphrodite（爱与美的女神） governs desire and sexuality. She is also known as Venus (Roman). She is often pictured with a sceptre or a mirror. -Ares（战神） is the god of war and conflict. He is also known as Mars (Roman). Ares is depicted as a warrior but, as he has no unique attributes in iconography, he can only be identified by context or inscription. -Artemis（月神，狩猎女神） is the goddess of the hunt and animals, as well as of childbirth. She is also known as Diana (Roman). Her attributes in iconography include the bow and the fawn. She often appears with her brother, Apollo.
-Demeter is the giver of grain. She is also known as Ceres (Roman). Her attributes in iconography can include a torch, a crown, a sceptre, and stalks of grain. She is often portrayed with her daughter, Persephone.
-Dionysos（酒神） is the god of wine, intoxication, and creative ecstasy. He is also known as Dionysus, Bacchus (Roman). His attributes in iconography include a drinking vessel, an ivy wreath, grape vines, and a long fennel stalk topped with ivy leaves. -Hades（阎王爷） is the god of the underworld. He is also known as Pluto, Dis (Roman). His attributes in iconography are the cornucopia and the sceptre.
-Although - or because - lame, Hephaistos is the builder and craftsman for the gods. He is also known as Hephaestus and Vulcan (Roman). His attributes in iconography include the axe and tongs. -Hestia（灶神） is the goddess of the hearth. She is also known as Vesta (Roman). Although an important deity in Greek religion, she is rarely depicted in art, and has virtually no mythology and iconography.
-Persephone is the Queen of the Underworld and the daughter of Demeter. She is also known as Proserpine (Roman), and Kore, which is also transliterated as Core or Cora and translated as the Maid or the Maiden. Her attributes in iconography can include a torch, a crown, a sceptre, and stalks of grain. -Poseidon海神 is the god of the sea. He is also known as Neptune (Roman) and the Earth-shaker. His attributes in iconography include the trident and the fish.
Zeus - Hera - Apollo - Athena - Aphrodite
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This mythical family lives a joyful life, which showed the ideal social structure in the Greek?s mind. Mythology in the Greek?s mind is a system of concepts about the world. They just enjoy this life, not like the Egyptians caring so much about next life.Some related English expressions: Achilles? heel, Hercules, Pandora?s box, Cupid?s arrow
3. the Bible
宗教是被压迫生灵的叹息--马克思
Religion is the groan(sigh) of the oppressed soul. God is a light of comfort,their only hope, last resort. The Jews were bullied by their neighbors, so they created the almighty God who can punish those bad souls and awards the good ones.They place the golden time in the future, not in the past like other ancient peoples.Death is not the end of life, but the beginning of either a life in the heaven or in hell. The influences of the Bible are as follows:
1)Equality: everybody is equal before God. There are 3 meanings in this.a) there is no hierarchical difference between any groups. Everybody is the God people. whether he is a noble, or a poor peasant, they are equal as a person; nobody has any privilege as a person.b) God belongs to the whole human being. Before God, every nation, every ethnic group is equal.
Peace is what preaches. What God gave the shepherd is peace, not riches, nor enjoyment, nor honor, nor longevity, nor health, nor strength. God bless you peace. c) Everybody will face the final judgment before God when the Doomsday comes. God will decide whether you should go to the heaven or hell. So everybody should behave themselves, whether he is in a high position in society, or low in social status. No exception.
2) Original Sin
Its influences on the western culture:a) every person is born with it, so human beings are not perfect. b)every person is defective, so law is a must to restrict people?s behavior.c) to err is human, so westerners tend to be forgiving d)every person is not perfect in the sense that nobles, rulers, monarchies, president, everyone included are the same—they are no better than us, which encourages equality for everyone.
The Bible is for the poor, the humble in a way. The Bible has a saying that the rich goes to the heaven is as difficult as a camel goes
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through the eye of a needle, which encourages the poor to be optimistic.Some related expressions: last supper, Adam and Eve, Garden of Eden, original sin, doom?s day,
4.Socrates, Plato, Aristotle
These Greek philosophers also contribute a lot to the forming of today?s western culture. They created the rhetoric, which, according to Aristotle, is the study of persuading.They liked to change others? mind, the world by talking and persuading. Eloquence was a merit, something they cherished. The Americans like to talk people over.
“东西方文明有根本不同之点，即东洋文明主静，西方文明主动也。…一为自然的，一为人为的；一为安息的，一为战争的；一为消极的，一为积极的；一为依赖的，一为独立的；一为苟安的，一为实进的；一为因袭的 ，一为创造的；一为保守的， 一为进步的；一为直觉的，一为理智的；一为空想的，一为体验的；一为艺术的，一为科学的；一为精神的，一为物质的；一为灵的，一为肉的；一为向天的，一为立地的；一为自然支配人间，一为人间征服自然…” --李大钊：东西方文明的根本差异
接下来是中西比较了。
Part II Specific Differences Between Chinese and Western Cultures. This part includes differences in language, such as vocabulary, structure, power distance, time differences, spatial concepts, non-verbal communication, etc.
I. Differences in Language
1.Vocabulary:
Chinese and westerners may have different connotations when they are talking about the following words: individualism, landlord, labor, politeness, criticism, girlfriend, freedom, beauty, democracy, communist, proletariat
Some have negative meaning in Chinese, while they have positive meaning in US: ambition, 关系relation?
Some words have the same denotation, but different associative
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