To See Ourselves: Comparing Traditional Chinese And American Values

This fascinating study is the first to compare the dynamic and ever-changing cultural values of contemporary China and the contemporary United States. Surveying 2,000 Shanghai-area residents and villagers as well as 2,500 U.S. citizens from all points of the compass, the authors examine the extent to which traditional Confucian values have persisted in China despite massive governmental attempts to obliterate them and, similarly, the extent to which there has been a loss of "traditional" values in the United States. The result is a sophisticated yet readable account of the value systems of two complex and powerful national cultures.The book looks at value systems in both cultures associated with family and kinship ties, male-female relationships, and general interpersonal relationships - the fundamental relationships comprising the social fabric of a society. The authors conclude that although both societies have experienced changes in this century, they have followed quite different paths. In exploring how this process has differed, the authors address the following questions: What traditional Confucian values persist in China after forty years of communist indoctrination and the recent "invasion" of Western culture? How are fundamental human relationships viewed in the United States? How do these two societies differ today, both in adherence to traditional values and in the dynamics of value change? These and many more issues are explored in this unusual study.