淺析中西日常禮貌原則及其差異 英文

ContentsTOC\o"1-3"\h\uChineseAbstract 2EnglishAbstract 31.Introduction 42.LiteratureReview 53.DifferencesBetweenChinaandtheWestfromthePerspectiveofDailyPolitenessPrinciple 73.1AddressForms 73.2Greetings 83.3TheReactionofAppreciations 94.TheCausesofDifferencesBetweenChineseandWesternDailyPolitenessPrinciples 104.1DifferencesintheHierarchyView 104.2DifferencesintheConceptofPrivacy 104.3DifferencesintheConceptofModesty 115.Conclusion 12References 13淺析中西日常禮貌原則及其差異摘要在人們的日常交際生活中，或多或少都會遵循一定的原則以維系人際關(guān)系，如合作原則，禮貌原則等。但是由于不同的文化背景，中國人和西方人在日常交流時會自然而然地按照各自的禮貌原則方式對待他人并將本國的禮貌原則作為評判他人行為的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)，這也就導(dǎo)致了雙方在跨文化交際時勢必會造成誤解。近幾十年，隨著語用學(xué)的快速發(fā)展，禮貌原則的差異性不斷被國內(nèi)外學(xué)者關(guān)注并進(jìn)行深入研究學(xué)習(xí)。本文主要對禮貌原則在日常交際中的三種常見表現(xiàn)形式（稱呼語、問候語、對稱贊的反應(yīng)）進(jìn)行對比分析，進(jìn)而從等級觀、隱私觀和謙遜觀三個方面展開原因分析。旨在加強(qiáng)人們對不同國家和不同文化背景下的日常交流的深層了解，幫助人們避免在跨文化交際中的不適感，幫助人們更順暢深入地溝通。關(guān)鍵詞：禮貌原則；日常交際；文化差異；對比分析ABriefAnalysisoftheDifferencesBetweenChineseandWesternDailyPolitenessPrinciplesAbstractInthedailylife,mostpeoplewillfollowcertainprinciplestomaintainharmoniousinterpersonalrelations,suchasthecooperationprinciple,politenessprincipleandsoon.However,duetodifferentculturalbackgrounds.ItisnaturalfortheChineseandwesternerstotreatothersaccordingtotheirownpolitenessprinciplesinthedailycommunicationandtaketheirownpolitenessprinciplesasthecriteriaforjudgingothers’behaviors,whichwillleadtounavoidablemisunderstandingincross-culturalcommunication.Inthepastdecades,withtherapiddevelopmentofpragmatics,thedifferencesofpolitenessprincipleshavebeenpaidmoreandmoreattentionbyscholarsathomeandabroad.Thispapermainlymakesacomparativeanalysisofthethreecommonexpressionsofpolitenessprincipleindailycommunication(formsofaddress,greetings,thereactiontothepraise),andthenanalyzesthereasonsfromthreeaspects:hierarchyview,theconceptofprivacyandhumility.Itisaimedtostrengthenpeople’sdeepunderstandingofdailycommunicationunderdifferentnationalandculturalbackgrounds,helppeopleavoiddiscomfortincross-culturalcommunicationandbeabletocommunicatemoresmoothlyanddeeply.Keywords:Politenessprinciple;Dailycommunication;Culturaldifferences;comparativeanalysisIntroductionPolitenessisaverycommonbehaviorindailylife.Itrunsthroughhumancommunicationbehaviorandplaysanimportantrole.Nowadays,withtheclosereconomiccooperationandtradebetweenChinaandthewest,scholarsaroundtheworldpaymoreattentiontothedifferencesofdailypolitenessprinciplesbetweenthetwosides.Politenessinthewest,especiallythoseEnglish-speakingcountries,suchasAmerica,Britain,Australiaandsoon,etymologicallyspeaking,originatedfromLatin“politus”,whichmeans“easygoing”,andthengraduallyevolvedinto“culturedpeopleandpolitebehaviors”inthe17thcentury.AccordingtoOxfordhighlevelEnglish-Chinesedictionary,politenessis“apersonwhohasorshowsgoodmannersandconsiderationforothers”.R.Lakoff(1979)definedpolitenessasawaytoreduceinterpersonalfriction.R.Wats(1992)pointsoutthatpolitenessisakindofsocialbehaviordeterminedbyculture,whichaimstoestablishandmaintainabalanceofinterpersonalrelationshipsinasocialgroup.Leechdefinespolitenessastheinteractionbetweensocialcommunicationandcompetenceofparticipantsincommunicationinarelativelyharmoniousatmosphere.InChina,politenesscanberetrospectedtotheproprietyproposedbyConfucius(551-479B.C.),whichinitiallymeanscorrectbehaviorandcanmaintainsocialstatus.ProfessorGuYueguo,alinguistinChina,thinksthattheconnotationofChinesepolitenesshasnotchangedinthedevelopmentofChinesehistory.Inthebookofpolitelanguage（陳松岑，2001）,itiswrittenasfollows:“therightandwronginthoughtisinternal,whiletheappearanceandbehaviorisexternal.Theinnerritescanonlybeperceivedbypeoplethroughtheouterrites.Thiskindofritesfromtheheartandreflectedinthebehaviorispoliteness.”Inrecentdecades,manyscholarshavetriedtoexplainanddeveloppolitenessprinciple,suchasLeech,BrownandLevinson(1987)inEnglish-speakingcountries,CaoChunchunandPengZenganinChina.ThepolitenessprinciplewasproposedbyLeachinthe1980sasasupplementtocooperativeprinciple.InLeech’sview,inmanycases,theconcealmentofthespeaker’sspeechcomesfromtheconsiderationofpoliteness,whenexplainingwhypeoplesometimesdeliberatelymakearoundabout,Leachregardsthepolitenessprincipleastheprimaryfactor.Differentwesternscholarshavedifferentviewsonthedefinitionofpoliteness.LeechoncedefinedthepolitenessprincipleasMaximsdealingwithpolitebehavior.CaoChunchun(1998)pointsoutthatPolitenessprinciplesarethosethatrestrictspeechactsinthedailylife.Intheapplicationofpolitenessprinciplesindailyconversationofcross-culturalcommunication,scholarsputforwardthatdifferentemphasesonpolitenessprinciplesinEnglishandChinesemakepeopleeasilyfallintoembarrassmentindailycross-culturalconversation(李水清，林麗雪，2005(11):166).Haugh（2007(39):86）mentionedthat“Ifyouwanttotalkasfluentlyaspossible,firstofall,youshouldhaveagoodgraspofpolitenessprinciplesinthetargetlanguage,soastoreducethenegativeimpactoflanguagebarriers.”Scholarsproposedthatpolitenessisnotonlytheindirectmeaningofthelistener’scognitionofthespeaker’sintention,butalsothemeaningofthecommoncooperativeinteractionbetweenthespeakerandthelistener.Therefore,heproposedacommunicationmodethatcanreplacepolitenessprinciple,thatis,thejointcooperativemodelofcommunication.Thedailypolitenessprinciplesisusedeverywherearoundtheworld,nomatterinnormalconversationorinimportanttalks.Indailylife,thepolitenessprincipleismainlyshowedintheattitudetowardsothersandthewayofspeaking,Nowadays,withtheformationofworldeconomicintegration,moreandmorepeoplebegintohaveahandincross-culturalcommunication.Theyrealizetheimportanceofstudyinghowtobettercommunicatewithforeignerswiththecorrectaddress.Therightaddresscanpromotetherelationshipbetweenpeople,andtheinappropriateaddressmayhindertherelationshipbetweenthetwosides.Peoplecanconsciouslyavoidinappropriatebehaviorsincross-culturalcommunicationwhentheyunderstandthedifferencesofdailypolitenessprinciples,whichisamethodandmeanstoachievegoodinterpersonalrelationship.Differentculturebringsupdifferentkindsofpolitenessprinciple.Asthesayinggoes:Knowingone’sownandknowingtheothercanwinallbattles.Onlywhenwehaveabetterunderstandingofthepolitenessprinciplesofothercountriescanweachieveourgoalsintheprocessofcross-culturalcommunication.Ifpeopledonotpayattentiontothisdifferenceintheprocessofinterculturalcommunication,thereisahighprobabilityofemerginginterpersonalconflict.Soinordertoavoidunnecessarycross-culturalcommunicationbreakdown,thebestwayistounderstandthepolitenessprincipleofbothsidesasmuchaspossible.LiteratureReviewThestudyofpolitenessinChinastartedwiththeestablishmentoffeudalsocietyinChina.InRites,“Politeness”areunderstoodas“humbleoneselfandshowrespectforeachother”.AnditisgenerallybelievedthatmodernChinesepolitenessoriginatesfromthisconcept.Inordertohaveabettermanagementofthesociety,theemperorsofalldynastiesestablishedasocietyofetiquettewithdifferentdignityanddifferentinferiority.Chinesepolitenessprinciplescanbemainlydividedintotwocategories.OneisundertheinfluenceofConfucianism,whichemphasizesthesocialandclassnatureofhumanbeings.Itismainlyreflectedintheanalysisofaddresstermsandhonorifics,suchasPengJiaqiang’s(1986)Ancientpolitewordsandetiquetteculture.Theotherkindofpolitenessprincipleistoformthepolitenessprinciplewith“Chinesecharacteristics”onthebasisofforeignpolitenessprinciples,suchasHeZiran’s(1547)PragmaticsandEnglishlearningandLiuRunqing’s(1994)OnLeech’spolitenessprincipleInmoderntimes,GuYueguo(1990)publishedhispaperpragmaticsandcultureaccordingtothehistoricaloriginof“Courtesy”and“Politeness”,andthenputsforwardfivepolitenessprincipleswhichincludestheself-denigrationmaxim;theaddressmaxim;elegantmaxim;thebalancemaxim;thegenerosityandtactmaxim.AccordingtoLeech’spolitenessprincipleandtheparticularityofChineselanguagephenomenon,PengZengan(1998)sumsupthebasiccharacteristicsofpolitenessprinciple,whichareappropriateness,humility,intimacy,eleganceandstrategy.InthewakeofChinesecontinuousimprovementnationalpower,thereareagrowingnumberofChinesegoingabroad,andforeignersarewillingtocometoChinatodobusinessorstudynowadays,whichleadstotheincreaseofcross-culturalcommunication.ThissituationattractstheattentionofChinesescholars,suchasChaoChunchun(1998)andChenSongchen(2001).TheyareactivelyanalyzingandcomparingtheparticularpolitenessnormsinEnglishandChinese.ThestudyofpolitenessprincipleintheWestcanbetracedbacktothe18thcentury.In1702,Theophrastusdefinedpolitenessasakindofsocialbehavior,akindofskilltoachieveaspecialpurpose.Inthe20thcentury,theWestbegantofocusmoreonthestudyofpolitenessprinciple.Inthe1960s,AmericanscholarGoffman(1967)putforward“facebehaviortheory”fromthesociologicalpointofviewandestablishedtherudimentofpolitenessprinciple.BritishscholarsBrownandLevinson(1987)furtherputforwardthetheoryof“facepreservation”accordingtotheexplanationofGoffman(1967),pointingoutthatpolitenessmeansthebehaviorwithnormalcommunicativeabilityinthesocietywithinsomeone,thatis“arationalpersonwithfaceneeds”,andvariousrationalactionstakentomeettheirfaceneeds.BritishlinguistLeech(1983),therepresentativeofthisfield,publishesthebookPrinciplesofPragmatics.Inthisbook,basedontheprincipleofcooperation,Leechproposedsixfamouspolitenessprinciples:(1)TactMaximtoreducethelossofthelistenerandmakeitmorebeneficial;(2)GenerosityMaximtomaximizethebenefitoftheotherparty;(3)ApprobationMaximtoincreasethepraiseforotherpeople;(4)ModestyMaximtoreducethepraiseforoneself;(5)AgreementMaximtotrytobeconsistentwiththatforothersPartyAholdsthesameview;(6)SympathyMaximtopromotepeople’spolitecommunication.Thispaperwillintegratepersonalexperiencebasedontheresearchresultsofscholarsaroundtheworld,focusonthedailycross-culturalcommunicationbetweenChinaandthewestthroughalargenumberofexamples.ThepragmaticdifferencesbetweenChineseandWesternPolitenessPrinciplescanbesummedupbycomparingtheseexamples.Afterunderstandingthedifferencesofpolitenessprinciples,wecanbetterunderstandthecausesofdifferences.Itcanhelpreaderstoavoidpragmaticfailureorcommunicationfailureincross-culturaldailycommunication,soastopromotetheprogressanddevelopmentofthewholesociety.DifferencesBetweenChinaandtheWestfromthePerspectiveofDailyPolitenessPrincipleThereisasayinggoes:WheninRome,doasRomansdo.However,whenweareincross-culturaldailycommunication,becauseoftheculturaldifferenceswewillencountermoreorlessdifferencesandmisunderstandings.Dailypolitenessprinciplesarealwaysmanifestedindifferentformsofexpression,andthispaperwillmainlyintroducethedifferencesofaddress,greetingsandthereactionofthecompliments.Theauthorwillaimatanalyzingthosediversityinpolitenessprinciplestohelpreadershaveabetterunderstandingoftheirdifferencesathomeandatabroad.3.1AddressFormsInourdailylife,appellationisoneofthemostcommonusedpolitenessprinciple,whichcontainssocialandculturalconnotationsandisasymbolofstatus.AccordingtoBritishBrown’s(1987)research,therearetwotypesofaddressforms:reciprocalandnon-reciprocal.DuetoChina’ssocialstructure,religiousreasonsandsoon,theaddresssysteminChinesesocietyisfarmorecomplicatedthanthatofEnglish-speakingcountries.Chinaadoptednon-reciprocaladdressformstoexpressitsrespectandaweforpeoplewithhigherstatus.WhiletheWesterncountriesadoptthereciprocaladdressformstofullyexpresstheequalculturalorientation,whichisasignofequalrelationship.InChina,it’simpoliteforchildrentocalltheirparents’namesdirectlyorcalltheirteachers’namesdirectlyatschool,too.Thesebehaviorsareconsideredasanimpolitebehavior.Chineseliketousekinshipwordstoaddressfamilymembersorstrangers.Forexample,wewilladdresssomeonewedon’tknow爺爺奶奶whoareofthesimilarageasourgrandparents,or叔叔阿姨whoareofthesimilarageasourparents.Inwesterncountries,thewayofaddressingsomeoneolderismainly“title+surname”.Ifwedon’tknowabouttheirtitle,wecanreplaceitwithMr.orMiss.Andthewayofaddressingaparent’snamedirectlywillnotbeconsideredtobeimpolite.Inwesternsociety,therelationbetweenpeopletendstobeequal.Forexample,whenwewanttoaskfordirections,andtheobjectisamiddle-agedmale,wewouldsay“叔叔，請問一下圖書館怎么走？謝謝。(Uncle,howcanIgettothelibrary?Thankyou.)”inChinaand“Excuseme,wouldyoumindtellingmethewaytolibrary?Thanks.”inEnglish.Inaddition,thereisanotherdifferenceofaddressbetweenChinaandtheWest,whichliesintheappellationofposition.InChinese,peoplewilluseheadshiptermstoaddresssomeonetheydon’tknowtoshowtheirrespect.ButChinesedon’tuseheadshiptermsalone.Weusuallyaddthesurnamebeforetheheadshipterm.Thosetermsincluding王醫(yī)生(DoctorWang),張導(dǎo)演（DirectorZhang),李老師(TeacherLi)andsofortharewidelyusedinChina.Generallyspeaking,peopleusedtouseteacherstorefertosomeonewhoteachandeducateatschool.Nowtheycanalsobeusedtoaddresssomeonewhohasgreatachievementsinacertainfield(卜曉陽，2006:25).InEnglish,theywouldn’tsay“teacherLi”or“DirectorLin”,andmostheadshipswillnotbeusedinthedailylifeexceptpresident,professor,chairmanandsoon.Instead,theywillcallthenamedirectlyorMr.LiorMiss.Lintoaddressothers.3.2GreetingsWhenwehaveadatewithourfriendsormeetthestrangersforthefirsttime,theproblemofhowtogreetthemiscoming.DuetotheculturaldifferencesbetweenChinaandtheWest,whenweareinacross-culturalcommunication,ifwedon’tunderstandthewayandcontentofgreetingintheirways,itislikelytocausemisunderstandingbetweenthetwosides.It’sbetterforustounderstandthegreetingswhenwetrytounderstandthedifferencesofpolitenessprinciples.ThecontentofgreetingisgreatlydifferentbetweenChineseandWestern.WhenChinesegreettotheirfriends,theyusuallyask“你吃了嗎？（Haveyoueaten?）”.ThiswayofgreetingiscommoninChina.However,intheWesternsociety,suchawayofgreetingcanbeseenasaninvasionoftheirprivacy.Theymaythinkyouareinvitinghimtodinnerwithyouoraskinghimtoinviteyoutodinner.Onthecontrary,theyprefertotalkaboutweatherwhenmeeting.Forthereasonthatwhytheyliketodothisisthattheythinkitreluctanttoconverseaboutpersonalmattersforthefirstmeeting.Forexample,whenwemeetourhighschoolclassmateinthebusstation.Chinesewillsay:張三，好久不見，你要搭車去哪里??？(ZhangSan,Ihaven’tseenyouforalongtime.Whereareyougoingbybus?)BritishorAmericanswillsay:Goodmorning.Henry,howdoyoudorecently?InEnglish,it’simpolitetotalkaboutmarriage,income,age,etc.Thus,thosefollowinggreetingsshouldbeavoidedinthedailylife:“Howoldareyou?”“Haveyoumarried?”“Howmuchisyourincome?”“Whatdidyoueatthismorning?”“Whatisyourreligion?”andsoon.What’smore,ifthereissomeoneillaroundthem,theyusuallysay“Takecareofyourself.Ihopeyouwillfeelbetterlater.”ratherthan“你今天臉色看起來有點蒼白，你是生什么病了嗎？(Youlookalittlepaletoday.Areyouill?)”inChinese.That’sbecausetheydon’twanttoletothersfeelstressedontheillness.Whenwegreetaforeignerwedon’tknowormeetthemforthefirsttime,inordertomakeagoodimpression,we’dbetterthinktwiceabouthowtogreetthem.Comparedwithverbalgreetingwetalkedaboutabove,weoftenignoretheexistenceofnon-verbalgreeting,butitappearsinourdailylifeallthetime.Itcontainsphysicalactions,facialexpressions,touching,dressingandsoon.Sometimesthenon-verbalgreetingscanbetheauxiliarytoolsoftheverbalgreetinginthedailylife.Informaloccasions,Chinese,thesameasthewestern,alwaysshakehandswitheachothertoshowourrespectbeforespeaking.Ininformaloccasions,Chineseprefertosmiletootherswhentheyaremeeting,whileBritishandAmericanwouldliketohugeachother.Therearemanydifferencesinnon-verbalgreetingbetweentwosides.Forexample,thedifferencebetweentheFrenchcheekkissingandtheJapanesebowetiquette.Hug,asacommonnon-verbalgreeting,generallyusedbetweenacquaintancesandfriends,sometimes

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etiquettethanshakinghandswithinfriendsin

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America.Hand-kissingwasoriginatedfromtheancientVikingcustomofhandinggiftstotheirGermanicmonarchs.ItwaspopularintheupperclassesofEuropeandAmerica.InArabcountry,whentwooldfriendsmeet,theynotonlyshakehandsandhug,butalsokiss.Iftheyarecloseenoughtoeachother,theywillalsomakethesoundofkissingatthesametime.ComparedwithChina,whichcommonwayofgreetingishandshaking,thewestern’snon-verbalgreetingsismorecloseandmultifarious.3.3TheReactionofAppreciationsWhenChineseandWesternersgetcomplimentfromothers,theywillrespondindifferentways.Westernerswillbewillingtoacceptcompliments.However,Chinesewillrespondmodestlytocompliments.Forexample:AChinesegirlworeaverynicedresswhenshewasgoingtohaveadatewithherfriends.Atthattime,herAmericanfriendspraisedherforhergood-lookingwhentheymet.Herfriendsays:“Doris,Youlookprettytoday.Thisdressisperfectforyou!”Thegirlanswers:“No,you’resoexaggerating.Iwearthesameasusual.”SuchananswerwillmakethewesternerfeelillusoryaboutthisChinesegirlandthinkthegirlisahypocrite.Onthecontrary,thewesternwillreactlikesaying“Thanks,youlookpretty,too.”Chineseareusedtopreparingallkindsofdishesandtakinggoodcareoftheirguestsinsomeimportantoccasions,suchasweddingandbirthdayparty.Butwhentheyarepraised,theyalwayssay:“therearenotmanydishesandIamnotgoodatmakingthem.Ihopeyoucanenjoyit!”Thisbehaviormaymakeforeignersthink“Ifthefoodisnotgood,whyinviteme?”Theywillfeeldisrespected.Infact,Chinesepeoplefollowthe“ModestyMaxim”incommunication,whileforeignersfollowthe“AgreementMaxim”,thatis,whentheyarepraisedbyothers,theyadoptthewayofcateringtotheaffirmationandgivingthanks(趙勤，2019(2):3).Theuseof“Thankyou”isalsodifferentinChinaandtheWest.IntheconceptofChinese,weseldomsay“thankyou”tothewaiterorthesalesperson.Wethinkthatwehavepaidfortheirservices,andthat’stheirjobtoserveus.Besides,wedon’thavethehabitofsayingthankstoourfamilymembersinChina.“謝謝(thankyou)”inChineseismostlyusedbetweenstrangerswhodon’thavebusinessrelationshipwithus.InWest,“Thankyou”canbeusedeverywhere,nomatterwhoevertheymeet,theirparents,classmates,teacher,servicestaffandsoon,sayingthankstothemisthebestchoicetoshowtheirgratitude.Tosumup,politenessprincipleisacomprehensiveconcept.Theaddressforms,greetings,andthereactionofappreciationsthispapertalkedaboutarejustthreecommonformsoftheexpressionofpolitenessprinciplesinourdailylife.Inordertohaveaneffectivecommunicationwithothersfromothercountries,wewouldbetterhaveadetailedlearningoftheirpolitenessprincipleandtheircustomsintheirlifestyle.TheCausesoftheDifferencesBetweenChineseandWesternDailyPolitenessPrinciplesDifferencesintheHierarchyViewIntraditionalChineseculture,peoplehaveadeepfeelingofhierarchy.InthepasttwothousandyearsoffeudalsocietyinChina,therulingclassachieveditsgoalbystrengtheningpeople’ssenseofhierarchy.Forinstance,Rites,whichisanimportantcollectionofancientChineselawsandregulationsaswellasacollectionofConfucianthoughts,hasrecordedthehierarchyofpolitenessatthelevelofnationalconstructionandsacrificeinancientChinatoconsolidatetheruleofEmperors.Althoughthetraditionalhierarchyofpolitenesshasbeenabolishedintoday’ssociety,thisconcepthasdeeplypenetratedintoallaspectsofsociety.Nowadays,nomatterintheworkunitorinthefamilylife,thehierarchy,whichdeeplyaffectsChinese,isalsoexistedeverywhereinChina.Itisgenerallybelievedthateveryonehasafixedidentityandstatusinthesociety.Forthesakeofstabilizingsocialorderandachievingtheharmonyofsocialrelations,everyone’sbehaviormustcomplywiththeirownidentity.Sowhenaddressingothers,Chinesewillconsidertheidentity,socialstatusandmanyotherfactorstoexpressthepoliteness.Forexample,theyoungergenerationshoulduse“您(you)”toaddresstheelderorchildrencan’tcalltheirparents’namedirectly.Westernsocietyyearnsforfreedom,advocatesequality,andtakesfreedom,democracyandequalityasthepremiseofsurvival.ThereisasentenceinDeclarationofIndependence:Allpeoplearebornequal,andthecreatorgivesthemanumberofinalienablerights,includingtherighttolife,freedomandthepursuitofhappiness.InfluencedbytheChristianconceptof“everyoneisequal”,therelationshipbetweenWesternersismainlyequitablerelationship.Therefore,mostoftheEnglish-speakingcountriesareunlikeChina,theyhaven’tnumeroushonorificsandmodesty,besides,youngergenerationcanaddresstheelders’namedirectly.4.2DifferencesintheConceptofPrivacyDuetothedifferentvaluesbetweenChinaandthewest,theWesternerspaymoreattentiontoprivacythanChinese.Intheculturesofbothsides,theconnotationofprivacyisquitedifferent.InChina,thebehaviorofpolitenessislikelytoberegardedasaninvasionofprivacyintheWest.AncientChinawassubordinatetofarmingcivilization,familyisthebasicunitofthecompositionofthecountry,individualsneedtobeattachedtothefamilytosurvive(袁自聰,2004(10):8-12).Chinesecultureattachesgreatimportancetotheemotionsandinterpersonalrelationships.AnditisgenerallyacceptedthatbeingwarmtoothersisasignofpolitenessinChina.Thus,Chinesepeopleareusedtoaskingaboutageormaritalstatuswhentheymeetforthefirsttimetoshortenthedistancebetweeneachother.Mostofthewestcountriesbelongtomarinecivilization,whichhasopennessandcompatibility,meaningexpansionandplunder.Westernersinsistthatthesurvivalanddevelopmentofindividualsaredecidedbytheirown.Besides,aftertheRenaissanceandreligiousrevolution,theideologicalworldviewofindividualisminwesternculturedevelopstotheextreme.Sotheyhaveastrongsenseofprivacyabouttheirpersonalaffairsnowadays.ThereisacommongreetinginChinese:“你要去哪里？(whereareyougoing?)”,whichisaviolationoftheprivacyforwesterners.ThroughtheanalysisoftheprivacyconceptsinChinaandtheWest,wecanrealizewhytherearesomanydifferencesingreetingsbetweentwosides.4.3DifferencesintheConceptofModestyBothChineseandWesternculturesregardmodestyaspoliteness,buttheconnotationandimportanceofmodestyinthetwoculturesaredifferentfromeachother.Inwesternculture,modestyisachievedmainlybyimprovingothersbutnotbelittlingoneself.InChina,modestyisexpressedbybelittlingoneselfandimprovingothers,whichisbasedontheConfuciandoctrineofthemean.Undertheinfluenceofthedoctrineofthemean,Chinesedon’tliketobeapersonbeyondothers,andtheydon’twantotherstobesuchaperson(王珊珊,趙春秋,2015(5):544-547).Therefore,Chinesepeopleprefertomakeupthegapbetweenpeoplebybelittlingthemselves,sothattheywillnotbethetargetofpublicconcern.WhenitcomestoWesternmodesty,wecan’thelpbuttalkabouttheBiblefromChristianity.ChristianityisoppositetopridebutWesternersdon’tadvocatemodesty,andtheBiblejustrequirespeopletoshowhumilitytoGod.Westernersadvocateindividuality,thatistoshowthemselveswithoutconcealmentratherthantosuppressthemselves.Besides,theWestemphasizesindividualism,whichshowsstrongaffirmationandself-evidentincross-culturalcommunication.Sowhenwesternsarepraisedfromothers,theydaretoacceptitnaturally.Throughtheanalysisofmodesty,wecanexplainwhythereactionofappreciationisdifferentinthethirdsectionofchapterthree.Inconclusion,itistheculturaldifferencesbetweenChinaandtheWestthatleadtothedifferencesofpolitenessprinciples.Thefundamentalreasonisthedifferenteconomicprioritiesofthetwosidesinthepast.Undertheinfluenceofgeographicallocation,Chinawillnaturallyformafarmingcivilization,whichleadstotheclosedmind,whiletheWestformsmarinecivilization,whichwillbemoreopenandindependentinmind.Thisdifferenceisreflectedinthehierarchy,privacyandmodestybetweenChinaandtheWest.ConclusionPoliteness,atoolandmeanstomaintaininterpersonalharmony,andasocialphenomenonsharedbyallcultures,playsanindispensableimportantroleinhumancommunication.Differentcountriesandregionshavedifferentpolitenessprinciplesduetodifferentvalues,thinkingpatternsandcommunicationstyles.ThemaintaskofthispaperistoshowthedifferencesofthepolitenessprinciplebetweenChineseandEnglish,sothatwecanmakelessmisunderstandingswhenwearehavingacross-culturalcommunicationinourdailylife.Italsohaverealisticmeaningtoestablishandstabilizeharmoniousinterperson