Brief Analysis of the Differences in Chinese and Western Kinesics

Abstract： Kinesics plays an important role in communicating. Some are universal in the world； some are peculiar to the specific cultures. Understanding the differences of kinesics in different cultures can better eliminate misunderstanding.

Key words： kinesics； understanding； different cultures

Kinesics includes facial expressions， gestures， postures and eye contact，etc. Kinesics is an important form of non-verbal communication. Using Kinesics wrongly can lead to failure in interpersonal communication， or even conflicts in international communication.

I. Communicative Problems Caused by the Differences in Chinese and Western Kinesics

1. Misunderstanding

Some kinesics in different cultures may have different meanings or even totally contrary meanings. For example， in terms of interpersonal space， in China， being close in distance means being intimate in relation； in the west， appropriate distance means respect.

Especially when comparing Chinese and Western gestures， it is easy to find that there are many same gesticulations that have different meanings in Western and Chinese cultures. If an American keeps his fingers crossed before his chest， Chinese usually take it as the number ten rather than the symbol of praying. If a Chinese rotates his ring to show off his wealth before his American communicator， he may be understood as being nervous while talking. If an American uses his hand to draw circle around his temple， Chinese understand it as the meaning of thinking hard instead of the meaning of looking down. If a graceful woman in China leaves her little finger aside when handing a cup to her American guest， the guest thinks that the woman is afraid of making her hand dirty. If an American is invited to a Chinese family， after the meal， the American may have the habit of crossing and moving the hand near the neck to express the meaning “I am full”. However， this gesture in China means to kill oneself.

2. Communication gap

Because of different cultural backgrounds， sometimes a certain meaning is expressed by different kinesics， which may cause communication gap. In expressing numbers with fingers， Chinese tend to use the fingers of one hand. For example， Chinese usually reach out the thumb and the little finger to indicate number six. But Americans will use one hand plus one finger of the other hand to symbolize it. Under this situation， Chinese and Americans are far more likely to cause communicative barriers.

Also， unique kinesics to one culture can also result in communication gap in intercultural communication. For instance， if an American tourist puts his or her thumb up by the road in China， no car will stop. If a Chinese pinches the thumb on the little finger， a little part of which is left out， his or her American partner may take it as nothing.

II. Cultural Analysis of the Differences in Chinese and Western Kinesics

Most kinesics is formed during the process of growing up and can be transferred from one generation to another. At the same time， different nations have different histories， religious beliefs， values and modes of thinking. The differences in Chinese and Western kinesics are determined by different cultural backgrounds.

1. Collectivism vs. Individualism

To Chinese， collectivism is more important than individualism. At any time， the individual should obey the collective. When the personal interest contradicts with the collective interest， the individual should give up or sacrifice his interest to protect the interest of the group. In the hierarchy of priority， the group is always prior to the individual. However， in Western culture， the conception related to “I” （self） is grained and omnipresent. There are many terms， such as self-absorption， self-admiration， self-cultivation and self-image， etc， whose meanings are self-centered in English. This is especially true with Americans who emphasize individualism. In their opinion， everyone is a unique individual， they should have individual freedom and personal interest.

In traditional culture， Chinese hold the attitude of oppressing personal desire and being tolerant towards others’ mistake. Confucius taught people to be tolerant and broad-minded. A saying goes that to carry forward the heaven’s justice and to wipe out the personal desire. In other words， using the manners of the sage constraints the personal desire. However， in the west， under the influence of Christianity， people pay more attention to personal feeling and need.

So in public， Chinese are tolerant about being pushed by other people. For example， on the bus， people stand closely to other passengers. On a crowed bus， you may even feel the breath of others. When meeting something funny， if the leader doesn’t smile， it is impolite for the inferiors to laugh first. In the USA， what people can’t tolerate is being intruded into their private space. Even between parents and children， intrusion is impolite and improper. Before entering children’s room， parents should knock the door. So the behavior of almost zero body contact seldom happens in the USA.

2. Linearity vs. Spirality

Generally speaking， the mode of thinking of Chinese is spirality. Part of the reason is that China has been under the impact of Confucianism， Taoism and Buddhism for a long time. These three thoughts emphasize the power of understanding， which lead to that Chinese are implicit and emphasize euphemism. At the same time， the behavior and mode of thinking of Westerners are greatly under the impact of Aristotle logic and rational thinking. So in contrast， the mode of thinking of Americans is linearity， which means that Americans like to show and expose themselves in public. Unlike Chinese who have the habit of guessing what others are thinking， Westerners prefer to be frank and speak what they are thinking directly.

In China， during a talk， even if one communicator dislikes the topic， he will not appear to be bored. Instead， he will pretend to be very interested in the topic. Also this is the reason why Chinese and Americans have different opinions towards one action. For example， the action of rotating one’s fingers in China means showing off， but in America， it means being nervous.

3. Modesty vs. frankness

The values of Westerners and Chinese are totally different. In daily life， Chinese people pay much attention to modesty and harmony of interpersonal relations and dislike head-on collision. When talking， Chinese like to circle around the core meaning， which leaves Americans a deep impression that they don’t know what Chinese are talking about. In contrast， Americans always give the priority to “getting things done”. They will speak what they are thinking in their mind to reach their goals. Accordingly， Chinese dislike frankness of Westerners and regard this frankness as being impolite. Because the value is the core of the culture and is a decisive power of the action， this difference has great influence on kinesics. So kinesics of Chinese is formal and implicit， while that of Westerners is direct and casual. In Chinese opinion， much talk means more errors. In daily life， they are cautious about their behaviors and words. These differences in values lead to differences in gestures. As discussed before， Chinese gestures are moderate while Western gestures are exaggerating.

Chinese always think highly of being modest. When others praise you， you should not appear to be very happy， even if you feel joyful in your inner heart. Otherwise， you will be regarded as being too proud. Chinese have the habit of saying “I am not doing well enough.” and pretend to be calm. In contrast， in America， people will be frank enough to express what they are feeling both in words and kinesics. Under this same situation， an American will smile and say “thank you！”

4. Vanity vs. honesty

Since ancient times， Chinese people have been paying special attention to their faces. Especially during more than two thousand years’ feudal period， face can not be offended. Face is an important principle to adjust and control social behavior. Face behavior is an instrumental behavior to maintain the harmony of social relationship and stability. Chinese have attached too much importance to their faces. Sometimes， in order to save their face， they would do something against their will. This over-stress on faces can easily lead to vanity. For example， in order to save face， Chinese will not easily reject the request of others. Even if he can not meet the request temporarily， he will also take some compensatory action.

When you ask a Chinese for help， he is usually reluctant to say “no” even if he could do nothing to help for fear of losing face. But in America， people would honestly say “sorry， I can not help you” under the same circumstance.

However， it doesn’t mean that Americans don’t care about their faces. Compared with Americans， Chinese are much cared about this.

5. Long power distance vs. short power distance

Power distance is a dimension that distinguishes one culture from another. Power distance is the range of how the power that is socially recognized and accepted is distributed among the organizations unevenly. Different nations hold different attitudes towards the importance of power， the power distance. Americans don’t pay much attention to power and emphasize individual ability. However， because of the influence of more than two thousand years’ feudal system， Chinese prefer power and its great influence. So America belongs to the nation of short power distance， while China belongs to the nation of long power distance. People in the nation of long power distance reckon that power is a fact beyond the good and evil and has no relationship with legitimacy. The person who has the power has privilege and has priority over the inferiors. The conception of power distance affects interpersonal distance in communication.

In China， the person in power gives others the impression of seriousness interpersonal distance is long. Also there are strict regulations about body movement. For example， the monarch sits while his courtiers stand. Father sits while his son stands. The leader sits while his employees stand. While in America， interpersonal distance is short. Namely， China belongs to the nation of high body contact； America is in the queue of low body contact.

III. Conclusion

After the analysis of the differences of Chinese and Western kinesics， it can be concluded that kinesics of different cultural backgrounds create different interpretations. Difficulties arise if the receivers are unaware of the type of kinesics messages the senders are encoding. It is aimed that such comparison of kinesics can provide readers with awareness of such differences and proper interpretations of some Chinese Western kinesics so as to ensure smooth intercultural communications. Only when we have a clear understanding of the similarities and differences on kinesics， we can use kinesics to make an efficient communication and avoid misunderstanding.

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作者簡介：

鄭波（1976～），男，湖北天門人，學士，河南農業大學外國語學院講師，主要研究方向為英美文學。