Abstract and Key Words

Abstract: This paper is a study of differences in "Face" Concepts between Chinese and Westerners, which aims to analyze different understandings on 'Face' between different cultures, which makes the readers comprehend the different conceptions between both counterparts, so that they can make full use of the intercultural expressions to organize communication with westerners in order to shun the cultural conflicts and interest collisions. The process is analyzed by means of stating the characteristics in "Face" concepts between China and western countries, comparing the different interpretations between them to save face, and indicating the main causes which influence the different ways of saving face. It is found that both "Face" concepts in China and western countries count, and their understanding of each other in intercultural communication is needed. The result demonstrated that the better understanding of "Face" in different cultures serves as a mainstay to the success of intercultural communication.

Key words: face; different understanding ; intercultural communication

摘要： 本文是一篇关于中西方面子观差异的研究，旨在分析解读中西方对“面子”的理解不同，让读者了解中西方不同的文化观念，以便充分地利用中西方跨文化表达方式与西方人交流，以避免文化冲突和利益冲撞。文章通过列举中西方各自“面子”观的特点，以及对比两者在“挽回面子”方式解读上的差异，分别指出影响两者“挽回面子”不同方式的主要原因。研究发现在中西方的面子观重要性平分秋色，在跨文化交际中还需两者相互理解。文章认为，更好地理解不同文化下的“面子观”对跨文化交际的成功起到了中流砥柱的作用。

关键词：面子；差异理解；跨文化交际

1. Introduction
The "Face" conception has been used to analyze the diversity of social phenomenon by many linguistic scholars social science researchers, including social anthropologists, social linguists, sociologists and psychologists. What's more, it is a vital factor in maintaining good relations with other people in both Chinese and western cultures. Face theory in this essay has something to do with the psychological aspect, but not the physiological one.It is so abstract and exquisite that nowadays it has become an approach to dealing with social affairs, consisting of business relations, kinship, and friendship, etc.
Tracing back the Merriam-Webster Dictionary and Wikipedia defines "Face" as a fundamental concept in the fields of sociology, sociolinguistics, semantics, politeness theory, psychology, political science, communication, and Face Negotiation Theory.