1、Reflections of Time Concept,Linear extension and circular rotation 線伸環(huán)旋,Western: extension, sense of time shortage, future valued Chinese: rotation, sense of time abundance, past cherished,1,Time is a river, a torrent, a waterfall. Time is marching, flying and flowing.,Time is compared to water,Time

2、 and tide wait for no man,Time lost is never found again,2,“Time is the devourer of everything.” Ovid,Roman Poet 43 B. C.,English Poet (1608 1674),English Playwright (1564 1616),時間是一切事物的吞食者。 奧維特,“Time is the subtle thief of youth.” - Milton,“Time is most brisk and giddy-paced.” - Shakespeare,時間是竊走青春

3、的神秘盜賊 。 彌爾頓,時間步伐如此迅疾，令人眼花繚亂。 莎士比亞,Quotations from Poets,3,昨天,今天,明天,Times Paces When I was a babe and wept and slept,Time crept;When I was a boy and laughed and talked,Time walked.Then when the years saw me a man,Time ran.But as I older grew,Time flew.Soon, as I journey on,Ill find time gone.May Chri

4、st have saved my soul, by then,Amen.,Guy Pentreath(1902 - 1985),4,春與秋其代序。（屈原：離騷）Spring alternates with autumn.,日月光華，旦復旦兮。(尚書大傳上卷） The sun alternates with the moon;Days come one after another soon.,Time is like a circle,5,失之東隅，收之桑榆。 What is lost at sunrise can be regained at sunset. 馮異,Idiom: 時來運轉 Th

5、e favor of the time cycle brings good luck.,6,After extreme bad luck, comes good luck,枯木逢春猶再發(fā) A withered tree comes to life again,7,Americans believe time is a limited resource, they try to conserve and manage it. People do all they can to squeeze more life out of their time.,Do you love life? Then

6、do not waste time, for that is the stuff life is made of.,8,Subjective time and objective time Americans see time as a valuable resource. Maybe thats why they are fond of the expression, Time is money.,American sense of time shortage,9,deadlines,plans,appointments,pocket planners,calendars,accountin

7、gs,on time,in time,time managements,time tables,agendas,schedules,10,Americans seem tied to the clock.,11,The Blockbuster,12,American lifestyles show how much people respect the time of others. When people plan an event, they often set the time days or weeks in advance. Once the time is fixed, it ta

8、kes almost an emergency to change it. If people want to come to your house for a friendly visit, they will usually call first to make sure it is convenient.,13,To outsiders, Americans seem tied to the clock. People in other cultures value relationships more than schedules. In these societies, people

9、 dont try to control time, but to experience it. Chinese, for example, view time as a cycle. They find it easier to go with the flow than Americans, who like plans to be fixed and unchangeable.,14,Linear time concept,Time is marching forward,Lost time is never found again,Time is a limited resource,

10、Time is money, value it,Punctuality,Respect,Lifestyle,Cause and Effect,15,Chinese sense of time abundance,The Chinese nations concept of time is rooted in the culture of farming time; time has a close relation with the nature. Time is really fleeting, but it also circle like the constantly changing

11、of four seasons, and the sun and the moon cycle alternately, it will come back soon; so people usually think that the lost time could be back. This kind of view of time shaped people a sense that time is rich, and also nurtured a habit of leisure and slow living habit.,16,Cases,Time for Chinese is m

12、ore flexible and more human-centered. They usually schedule several activities at the same time They usually put interpersonal relations above the schedule The big shot usually is late,17,慢走,慢用,慢慢看,慢慢做,慢慢商量,慢慢欣賞,慢慢來,18,American future orientation,the westerners (especially the Americans) were influe

13、nced by the Christian “original sin”, tending to believe “men at their birth, are naturally evil. So most of them choose the futuristic time orientation. Such as: A.“跟上時代”(keeping up with the time) B.“關注未來”(keeping an eye on the future) as the action guidance. C. It was widely believed that equality

14、 in opportunities for everybody, insignificance in history. If they work hard, it will be successful; Change means progress, and new things are always better than the old things.,19,Chinese past orientation,China as the representative of Asians choose to look back in the time orientation Cultural fa

15、ctors: Asians (especially the Chinese) was influenced by traditional Confucian culture, so tending to believe “Men at their birth are naturally good”. And social guidance incline to tradition. Expressions : A. considering whether this matter has been done over the past and what the successful experi

16、ence and lessons from failures is. B. worshipping of ancestors, respecting the elderly and teachers, attaching importance to experience, age, which has relation with the past.,20,21,The word “Lao” in China used to show respect to those who are more experienced and usually older, like “Lao Li”, “Lao

17、Wang”. In this way we show respect and amity to the old people, which indicates a past time orientation.,22,Chinese belong to the “past time orientation”, and the Chinese nation have a long history for five thousand years, so people in China attach great importance to history and tradition. Although

18、 contemporary Chinese people also pay attention to look forward, “past” also take an important role in peoples deep heart. On the other hand, people hold a different attitude on the predecessors. This is because the clear difference in the attitude to the word “old”. So you must use some euphemism,

19、such as “senior” ,“aged”, “veteran”，“citizen”, ”golden ager”, “elder”, etc. All these reflect the Americans “future-oriented” conception of time indirectly. They think that past thing are just the past, they never treat past thing as a good thing.,23,Old means maturity, full of wisdom and experience

20、,24,“old” means “useless”, “hopeless”,Old means useless, hopeless, fragile, approaching to death,25,昨天,今天,明天,In The Silent Language, Hall lays emphasis on the voices of time. “Time talks. It speaks more plainly than words. The message it conveys comes through loud and clear. Because it is manipulate

21、d less consciously, it is subject to less distortion than the spoken language. It can shout the truth where words lie.”,Edward Twitchell Hall,26,Changes,With the acceleration of the Chinas modernization, and the increase of foreign exchange, we are constantly absorbing in the essence of the foreign

22、culture, and the concept of time also gradually changed. The linear sense of time gradually engaged into the Chinese culture. Meanwhile, westerners understanding and acceptance degree to traditional Chinese culture is constantly improving, with the increase of various cultural communication, the phenomenon of cultural fusion also increased, Chin