評論
打印
Jerry要去中國出差，找同事Amy請教。
Jerry: My book on Chinese culture says that the idea of shame is a big part of how society works.
A: That's true. Chinese culture places more value on the group and less on the individual.
J: Pretty much the opposite of the U.S. huh?
A: Yeah. In China your actions at work reflect on your employer and your daily conduct reflects on your family.
J: So if you shame yourself you're also shaming your employer?
A: In some cases, yes.
集體的概念在中國文化里很重要。Amy說，Chinese culture places more value on the group and less on the individual. 相對個人而言，中國文化更重視集體，the opposite of the U.S.，跟美國正相反。你工作時的表現會影響到你公司的形象，你的日常舉止行為能反映出你的家庭教養，to reflect on someone，是影響到某人形象的意思。
A: Chinese culture doesn't encourage showboating or aggressive self-promotion.
J: Ha! In America, we promote ourselves all the time! It's the only way to get noticed.
A: But in Chinese society, you might have a better chance at getting a promotion at work by being a real team player. The best advice I can give to a foreigner who wants to do business in China is this: be sincere, try not to offend and tone down the volume.
中國文化不鼓勵showboat，自我吹噓，也不鼓勵self-promotion，自我宣傳。在美國，只有自我宣傳才能得到上司的注意，然而在中國，最好的途徑是be a real team player，做團隊的一員。Amy說，她給外國人最好的建議是：be sincere，真誠；try not to offend，不要冒犯別人；以及tone down the volume，調低音量。
J: What do you mean when you say, "turn down the volume?"
S: Well, for one thing: don't talk so loud! Americans are loud and although China is a very noisy country, people don't like it when you draw attention to yourself.
J: Would that include how I dress as well?
A: Certainly. Try to blend in as much as possible. The locals will appreciate the effort.
J: Wow, Amy....I'm so glad I talked with you! You've been a great source of information.
A: Sure. Let me know if you need more specifics.
Amy建議Jerry講話不要太大聲，因為 People don't like it when you draw attention to yourself，大家不喜歡那些故意吸引別人注意的人。另外，穿著打扮也不要太醒目，Try to blend in as much as possible，意思是融入周圍的環境，也就是說，Jerry應該盡量設法跟周圍的人打成一片。
