It has been a widely accepted motto that “everyone has a share of responsibility for the fate of his country.” In present-day China, prioritizing community interests remains the mainstream value, in spite of the importation of different values from other cultures. Jean Brick, as an outsider who has come inside for some time, has observed the circular group-oriented Chinese value with keen cross-cultural awareness. She says in her book China, “Private interests are vested in the group, that is in the family or in the community, and not in the individual. True self-fulfillment for the individual lies in fulfilling social responsibilities to the greatest extent possible. In fact, the establishment of harmonious social relations is seen as an absolute necessity, without which any development is impossible.”

Outlook on Time: Linear Extension and Circular Rotation
A line extends and a circle rotates. Western culture looks upon time as the extension of a line going ceaselessly forward and never returning, and therefore holds the future in high regard and plans for it. In contrast Chinese culture thinks of time as the rotation of a circle, going repeatedly round and round, day in and day out, and thus cherishes and reveres the past.

好学英文网