摘 要

家庭作为社会最基本的细胞，给每个人带来一种归属感。家庭文化由于文化背景差异而各不相同，进而成为社会文化的缩影。近年来，随着中国和美国政治、经济、文化等方面交流的日益频繁，中美两国之间的跨国婚姻与跨国家庭也屡见不鲜。尽管人们对中美两个国家的家庭文化也有所了解，但由于两国家庭文化的差异，在一定程度上也导致了误解与冲突的发生，甚至导致了跨国婚姻与家庭的解体。本文从文化差异的角度探析了霍夫斯坦德所提出的集体主义和个体主义在中美家庭中的体现。中美两国都十分重视家庭以及对下一代的家庭教育，然而在家庭成员关系、家庭称谓与成员联系、以及在子女的教育方面存在着较大的差异，并对这些差异背后的原因进行了探究。对于中美两国来说，这一对比研究既有助于中美文化相互学习、取长补短，同时又有助于人们了解中美家庭之间的差异，尤其有助于解决中美跨国婚姻与家庭中的文化冲突。

关键词：家庭；个体主义；集体主义

ABSTRACT

Families, as the basic cells of a society, bring every one of us a sense of belonging. Family culture which differs in line with different cultural background has come to be a miniature of social culture. In recent years, there has been an increase in contact and communication of politics, economy and culture between China and America. And it is very common for mixed marriages and families in China and America. Though people have some understanding of different family culture in China and America, arising has been misunderstanding and conflicts, even the breaking-up of mixed marriages and families, largely due to the different family culture in the two countries. This paper tries to explore Hofstede’s collectivism and individualism which is embodied in the differences of Chinese and American family and then compares and then analyzes similarities and differences in Chinese and American family. Through comparison and analysis, both Chinese and American people attach much importance to family and education on the next generation. However, there still exist differences in the following aspects: the relations between family members, family ties and kinship terms and family education on children. And reasons behind the differences are explored in the paper. This comparative study provides an opportunity for two countries to learn from each other’s culture. Meanwhile, it helps to fully understand the differences between Chinese and American family, and to solve cultural conflicts in mixed marriages and families in China and America.

Key words: family; individualism; collectivism