An Analysis of Chinese and WesternWord下载.docx

1、 culture on the surface, deeper implications will be revealed. This paper first introduces the definition and value of ghost culture, then presents different ghosts concepts of Chinese and western people. Usually, literatures and folk customs are the means culture used to interpret the world. In thi

2、s case, this paper analyzes the differences of Chinese and western ghosts culture from the perspectives of literature and folk custom, and probes into the reasons of the differences. From this special perspective of ghosts culture, people can have an understanding about the differences between Chine

3、se and western cultural so as to promote cross-cultural communication.Key Words: Chinese and western culture; ghosts culture; literature; festival; funeral.摘 要鬼文化是世界性的文化现象，中西方都有着生动、悠久的鬼文化历史。受文化背景的影响，每个地域鬼文化都有着不同于其它地域鬼文化的鲜明特点。对中西方鬼文化的比较研究，是从表层次的异同进入到更深层次的文化分析。这篇论文首先介绍鬼文化的定义以及价值。其次，分别介绍中西方人对鬼文化的认知。从文学

4、和民俗的角度对比中西方鬼文化的差异，并在此基础上分析总结出中西方鬼文化差异的原因。从鬼文化这个特殊的角度出发，人们了解中西方文化差异，从而促进跨文化交际。关键字：中西方文化；鬼文化；鬼文学；鬼节日；葬礼ContentsTOC o 1-3 h u HYPERLINK l _Toc30604 1. Induction 1HYPERLINK l _Toc29385 2. Introduction to Ghosts Culture 2HYPERLINK l _Toc11137 2.1 Definition of GhostsHYPERLINK l _Toc10176 2.2. Value of Gh

5、osts Culture 3HYPERLINK l _Toc3775 3. Ghost Concepts in Chinese and Western Culture 4HYPERLINK l _Toc6593 3.1 Ghosts Concepts in Chinese Culture 4HYPERLINK l _Toc32557 3.2 Ghosts Concepts in Western Culture 5HYPERLINK l _Toc10302 4. Analysis of Chinese and Western Ghosts Culture 6HYPERLINK l _Toc690

6、8 4.1 Chinese and Western Ghosts Culture in Literature 6HYPERLINK l _Toc19237 4.1.1 Chinese Ghosts Culture in Literature 6HYPERLINK l _Toc27375 4.1.2 Western Ghosts Culture in Literature 7HYPERLINK l _Toc24178 4.1.3 Differences Between Chinese and Western GhostsHYPERLINK l _Toc8248 4.2 Chinese and W

7、estern Ghosts Culture in Folk Customs 8HYPERLINK l _Toc1834 4.2.1Chinese GhostsHYPERLINK l _Toc2551 4.2.2 Western Ghosts Culture in folk Customs 9HYPERLINK l _Toc25942 4.2.3 Differences Between Chinese and Western Ghosts Culture in Folk Customs 9HYPERLINK l _Toc18388 4.3 Reasons for the differences

8、in Chinese and Western Ghosts Culture 10HYPERLINK l _Toc8892 4.3.1 Religious Reasons 10HYPERLINK l _Toc10831 4.3.2 Social Reasons 12HYPERLINK l _Toc11359 4.3.3 Ideological Reason 12HYPERLINK l _Toc30401 5. Conclusion 13HYPERLINK l _Toc5397 Bibliography 15An Analysis of Chinese and Western Ghosts Cul

9、ture1. Induction culture is a worldwide phenomenon. Although it is the most special part of culture, ghosts culture is closely connected with many other parts of culture, such as literature, folk customs, philosophy, psychology, religion, etc. It is an important part of cultural not to be ignored.Ac

10、tually, the existence of ghosts culture can be dated back from the appearing of human civilization. It has influenced human social ideology greatly. In China, ghost research has now become a specialized subject. In the western world, ghost research is very popular and has formed its own branch of le

11、arning.From the religious ghost belief to various taboos in daily life; from all kinds of literature works on ghosts theme to various horror movies; from Chinese ghost festival to western Halloween; from scientific research to popular entertainment, such as the Haunted House, ghosts culture maintain

12、s enduring status wherever and whenever throughout the history. It attracts a lot of scholars from different academic background in the world. Then how is it formed?People think that their thoughts and feelings are not physical behavior but behavior of the soul in their body and disappear after thei

13、r death. In Engelss opinion, the reason why people think like that is that human of high antiquity do not know their physical structure and they are influenced by the scene in their dream. （Wang 173）. In remote antiquity, people began to think about the relationship between the soul and the world: n

14、ow that souls exist even after death, they will not disappear by themselves. Then the idea of immortal souls and ghosts gradually forms. Ghost is a fruit bared by human thoughts. There must be some relationship between the mysterious ghost phenomenon and human society. （Fiske 6）. That is to say, gho

15、st is a mirror that reflects human world. Once the concept of ghost exists, it will permeate into peoples thoughts and influence their view of world. （Wang 169）. Besides, ghosts culture involves many other aspects of culture. Just as Xu Hualong mentioned that ghost was related to many academic circl

16、es such as literature, folk-custom, art, philosophy, psychology and religion. （Xu H L 1）. Hence, research in ghost culture provides a good foundation for research of literature and folk-custom. （Feng 32）.In ancient, attempting to communicate with ghosts, people created witchcraft, which formed the b

17、asis of later ghost-related folk-customs. Their attempt to express ghost feelings in literature and art formed the basis of later corresponding parts of ghosts cultureThis paper analyzes different ghosts phenomenons under different culture background and how significant is the impact of ghosts on cu

18、lture. This paper interprets the ghosts culture in terms of literature and folk-custom. Through revealing different values hidden in different ghosts culture, it benefits cross-cultural.2. Introduction to GhostsAccording to Oxford Advanced Learners English-Chinese Dictionary, “ghost” was defined as

19、the spirit of a dead person appearing to somebody who is still living person. （Ghost, def. 620）. culture is mysterious, and always arouses great curiosity of human from ancient times to our times. After thousands years of exploration, plenty of significant achievements are made, such as ghost fictio

20、ns, ghost festivals, ghosts art works. It is all these things composed the ghosts culture of an area.2.1 Definition of GhostsIn late 19 century, anthropologist Edward Burnett Taylor found that before the religion came into being, man was scared of death. They were surprised at not only the differenc

21、es between dead body and living human body but also the phenomenon of breath and dream. （Xu X L77）.As a result, they suspected that a man was consisted of two parts: the body and the soul. Thus ghost concept came into being.The ancient Chinese philosopher Xun Zi thought ghost was a product created b

22、y human. People think that they actually see the ghost, in Xun Zis view, always under the condition of jadedness. Hence ghost is a part of humans imagination. （Xu C C 52）.As for the ghost culture, as its literal meaning suggests, it refers to the part of the culture related to the ghost. Specificall

23、y speaking, ghost culture is a kind of illusory cultural phenomenon that derived from mans death, funeral, necromancy and cult. And ghost culture also refers to a union part of mans belief, opinion, mentality and action toward ghosts including its social influence. （Huang 1）.So ghosts culture is mor

24、e like a kind of belief in a real sense. Superficially, it can be referred to different manifestations human used to express ghosts feelings.In a word, human created ghosts culture. It is an expression of human thoughts about death and a reflection of the real world.2.2. Value of GhostsResearch of g

25、host culture provides a good foundation for literature and folk-custom research. Ghost culture research can promote the development of literature and folk customs. （Xu H L10）. Dull and rigid art and literary works are countless throughout the history. However, they can be given a new life and become

26、 creative after ghost elements are injected. Because of ghosts, plenty of artistic forms are produced, such as Japanese ghost dance, Chinese ghost Opera, paintings created by Spanish vampire painter Victoria Frances. Artists created these art works based on their understanding of ghosts culture. Tha

27、t is to say, these innovations could not be made without the addition of ghosts culture.Moreover, the research of ghosts culture can reveal the ridiculous superstitions and help people to deal with it in a scientific way. For a long time, the superstition of ghost is popular in China. Even today, mo

28、re than a few people are still possessed by ghost superstitions. Take a real tragedy happened in Haian county of Jiangsu province for instance. The government published that ground burial is banned permanently for the citizens living in the county since March 5, 1993. Consequently, about forty peopl

29、e committed suicide before the date so to ensure that their bodies can be perfectly buried into the ground. They believed that that would let their souls find peace. And if they accept cremation, it would not only destroy their remains, but also ruin the chance reincarnate and live their human life continuously. Superstitions are also existed in the western countries. According to the latest survey, 57% Americans confess that they believe in superstitions. And 24% Americans