China vs Japan Cultural Issues - Essay Example

Culture and communications China and Japan share a lot of similarities despite the fact that they are neighbors in the eastern Asia. A country’s culture comprises a number of elements, which include religion, literature, customs, law, knowledge, and the way of life and group organization. Japan and China have demonstrated that cultural elements can be shared across two countries since most of Chinese elements can be observed in Japanese culture and at the same time, Japan has some influence on the Chinese culture. Many people believe that Japan has borrowed most of its culture from China. People meeting these two Asian groups get confused because their outlook is also remarkably similar to differentiate them (Howe 1996, p. 222). China Vs Japan It is necessary to have a look at elements in each of the country as it will give a clear picture of similarities and differences present. This will also help in understanding the differences and similarities between Chinese and Japanese cultural elements. The first similarity evident in the culture of the two Asian countries is on how they do their naming. The culture of the two countries dictates that a person’s first name should be that of the family and the preferred name should be the last. The family name should resemble the community and this simply indicates that these two cultures do not take their interests first but focus on communal interest first. The norm of using family names has also been extended in Chinese and Japanese businesses, and they name their companies after family names. Employees view their businesses as an extended family where people working in their companies are considered as members of the extended family. This is indicated as one reason why Japan is growing at a high rate in its corporations and can withstand the financial crisis that sweeps economies of most world powers (Howe 1996, p. 225). The other similarity is in their language. Japan’s written language is mostly borrowed from Chinese culture. The Japanese did not have a written language, and they only got it when they started interacting with the Chinese. Japan’s written language, referred to as Kanji, is created from characters that originated from the Chinese symbol language. People from the countries who cannot communicate effectively verbally rely on the symbol language for their communication. Japanese students who studied in China impacted the development of the Kanji language in Japan once they returned back. In addition, Japan is credited for coming up with new words, which refer to similar things and situations described initially using Chinese language. This has seen the evolution of the Chinese language in a whole new level during the second industrial revolution and it has facilitated trade between the two countries (Gleeson 2004, p. 8). There are also similarities in their way of worship. The two Asian countries practice the Buddhist faith, which they initially borrowed from the Indian community. China was the first to adopt the Buddhist religion, which later spread to Japan after a period of interaction between the two communities. Buddhism has affected other cultural elements present in the two countries for almost two thousand years. Despite the fact that Buddhism was introduced in Japan after its establishment in China, Japan is currently the world’s largest Buddhist country. The main difference in Buddhist religion, in China and Japan, is evident from the way they do their artistic work. This was as a result of Japan borrowing heavily from the Chinese and Indians and coming up with a unique brand of their own art. The element of realism is common in both countries, but it only differs on the way they present it. The Chinese focus mainly on the use of statues in expressing their faith while the Japanese focus on the use of paintings and poetry to express their faith (Gethin 1998, p. 296). China and Japan have demonstrated a similar trend on the way the Western cultures influence them. A greater population in the two East Asian countries has adopted the Western way of dressing, and their traditional outfits are reserved for use only during celebrations and festivities. The western music has also found its way into the two countries, and Japan is showing to be the most affected by the western music compared to China (Howe 1996, p. 226). China and Japan share similarities in their arts, music, architecture, sculpture and poetry. This has resulted from the continued interaction between the two nations. These similarities can be observed from the way art work is presented in the Buddhist religion through painting, sculptures, songs, poems and dances. Construction of temples also shows significant similarity with a pagoda-like appearance on their roofs. Martial art is also particularly common in China and Japan. Moreover, martial art work originated from there although differences in the way they do it may exist. Japan pays more attention in its martial art than China does. In Japan, war warriors and professional fighters attract more respect than in China. The form of martial art that is usually adopted by the Japanese is Sumo while the Chinese have adopted dragon boat race as their martial art. China is famous for its Kung-Fu and Shaolin monks while Japan is better known for its Bushido and Samurai war styles (Gethin 1998, p. 307). Major differences Despite the vast similarities shared between China and Japan, there are other aspects that are not similar among the two neighbors. The differences occur as a result of variations in economical powers between the two countries, which have occurred for the last one century. A remarkable difference evident between the two cultures is their spoken language. Despite the fact that the two countries use similar symbols in their written language, they have totally different languages. For example, the Chinese use Sino Tibetan language while the Japanese use Altaic language (Gleeson 2004, p. 16). Food habits observed in China and Japan also vary considerably depending on some regions in each country. The Japanese are known for their unique cuisine called the sushi, which may be comprised of small rice served with raw fish. The other cuisine common in Japan is the sashimi, which purely comprises of raw seafood. The Chinese food habits vary among different communities in China; it has largely borrowed from the Western cultures. Chinese foods are prepared to use a lot of spices, and the cooking process mainly involves frying of foods. Their cooking methods and range of food choices are also highly diverse compared to those in Japan (Hatasa et al. 2010, p. 350). Japanese are described as people who strongly uphold their cultural values, unlike their counterparts. Japanese people put a lot of emphasis in maintaining harmony in the society through maintaining a high level of personal discipline. It is extremely rare to come across people quarreling with each other openly in Japan. The Chinese culture is getting eroded by the western culture and the level of upholding their cultural values is declining. China is currently portraying an image of a developing nation, which has abandoned some of its cultural practices (Hatasa et al. 2010, p. 377). Government systems that had initially been adopted by China and Japan were similar, and it is believed that China influenced current government system in Japan. The countries had adopted the use of emperors as part of their government system. Over time, changes occurred in their government systems and each country has adopted their own government style. The government of Japan is made up of a constitutional monarchy that gives the Emperor extremely limited powers. Apart from being a state symbol, the Emperor is viewed as a symbol of unity for the people of Japan. Power is held by the Prime Minister and the elected members. The sovereignty of the country is for the Japanese people. The Emperor appoints the Prime Minister, who heads the government. Before the appointment, members designate the emperor with the mandate to appoint the Prime Minister. It is the duty of the prime minister to head the cabinet, appoint and dismiss ministers (Oecd 2001, p. 264). On the contrary, China has a different government style. China’s government structure comprises of three main organs, which include National people’s congress, the president and the state council. The National People’s Congress is the highest state organ, which elects the president and vice president who serve the people of the republic of China for five years. The presidium of the National People’s Congress proposes the candidates to be elected for the Presidency as well as Vice Presidency posts. The Communist Party of China influences membership in the National People’s Congress. The two governments show a significant difference in leadership styles. China can be described as communist while Japan has a constitutional monarchy (Oecd 2001, p. 266). Conclusion It is evident that China and Japan share a lot of similarities. Nevertheless, most of these similarities may fade off due to the continued influence by the western culture. The issue of differences in economic power between the two Asian countries has also been pointed out as the other reason likely to cause many differences in future. Modernization is also playing a role in the erosion of some traditions that used to be common in the two countries. References List Gethin, R. (1998). The Foundations of Buddhism, Oxford, Oxford University Press. pp. 295-310. Gleeson, J. (2004). Japanese Hiragana: An Introductory Japanese Language Workbook, Tokyo, Tuttle Publishing. pp. 6-15. Howe, C. (1996). China and Japan: History, Trends, and Prospects, London, Clarendon Press. pp. 220-230. Hatasa, A. E., Hatasa, K. & Makino, S. (2010). Nakama 1: Introductory Japanese: Communication, Culture, Context, Tokyo, Cengage Learning. pp. 350-400. Oecd, O. (2001). Insolvency Systems in Asia: An Efficiency Perspective, London, OECD Publishing. pp. 260-272. Read More