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Etiquette is an important part of culture and the foundation of establishing good relationships in the exchanges. (Hu Bo, 2011:10-11) And giving gifts, as an important part of social etiquette, plays an important role in interpersonal communication. However, due to the differences of histories and cultures between China and America, there are many different understandings of etiquettes between the two countries. Furthermore, the customs and taboos in the process of giving gifts are different, too. In this case, it is of great necessity and urgency to conduct a study of cultural differences in Sino-American ways of giving gifts.
One of the objectives of this thesis is to carry out a comparative study of the differences between Sino-American gift-giving etiquettes and explore the reasons that have caused these differences. Furthermore, this thesis is also aimed to reduce misunderstandings in the actual communications and achieve effective intercultural communications.
Focusing on the research of different aspects on giving gifts between Chinese people and American people, the thesis mainly consists of five parts. The first part discusses the significance and the objectives of the research. In the second part, the thesis explores the different gift-giving behaviors between Chinese and Americans. In third part, the thesis analyzes the major factors resulting in these different behaviors. In the fourth part, the thesis summarizes effective ways to instruct people to give gifts correctly. In the last part, based on the previous studies and discussions, the thesis comes to a conclusion that there are many differences between Chinese and American gift-giving etiquettes due to different kinds of cultural elements.
2. Literature Review源'自:优尔-'论.文'网"]www.youerw.com
With the enhancing communications between Chinese and American cultures, the etiquettes of the two countries are interacting with each other. The American people gradually accept the reasonable factors of heavy sentiment in the oriental cultures; the Chinese also accept the etiquette and communication modes in American culture. More and more people have realized that Sino-American cultures and etiquettes will gradually penetrate into each other and make joint developments in the future. Scholars home and abroad are engaged in the study of Chinese and American etiquette culture in order to promote better communications.
Generally speaking, the studies of Chinese scholars on Chinese and western gift-giving etiquettes are more specific than foreign scholars. They lay more emphasis on the cultural differences between Chinese and western etiquettes in their studies. In Cultural Differences between Chinese and Western Etiquettes on Giving Gifts, Du Jinxin focuses on cultural differences between Chinese and western etiquettes from the occasions of giving gifts, the selection of gifts and other aspects. (Du Jinxin, 2012:98) In Talk of the Chinese and Western Gift-giving Differences, Pan Hong discusses how to improve the skills of sending gifts in order to establish good relationships and reduce unnecessary troubles. (Pan Hong, 2012:252) In Cultural Differences between Chinese and Western Etiquettes on Giving Gifts, Hu Bo analyzes the causes leading to the cultural differences in etiquettes on giving gifts. He also describes the factors on the basis of talking about the cultural differences between Chinese and western etiquettes. (Hu Bo, 2011:11)
In terms of the current researches, foreign scholars’ studies on Chinese and western etiquettes on giving gifts are much less than Chinese scholars. What’s more, they pay more attention to analyzing the causes of cultural differences from the perspective of cross-cultural communications. For example, “Inpidualism and Collectivism” mentioned in Geert Hofstede’s Culture’s Consequences: Comparing Values, Behaviors, Institutions and Organizations across Nations is frequently used as a good interpretation of the causes of Chinese and western different ways of behavior. (Hofstede, 2008:92)