A Tentative Study on Differences and Integration of Sino-Western Filial Piety Culture

Abstract

Filial piety has become an important cultural symbol of civilization in Chinese national vitality which is different with others’. For thousands of years, it has been regarded as a traditional virtue and permeated into the national blood and bone. The Chinese filial piety culture and thought are limited to the nature and influenced by the Confucian ideology. There is also filial idea in the Western culture, which is lean to surpass the nature, and is affected by the Christianity; however, due to various reasons they are in obviously different forms. In the wave of globalization, a large-scale importation of Western thoughts and culture has collided with traditional Chinese thoughts and culture, filial piety is no exception. The paper focuses on exploring the differences and integration of filial piety between Chinese and Western cultures, and the factors contributing to this dissimilarity would be identified. The paper indicates that there are huge differences of the Sino-Western filial morality culture due to their diverse social and historical backgrounds as well as the reasons lie behind geography, nature and values. Bearing these differences in mind can not only reduce unnecessary conflict and clash but enhance mutual understanding and respect in cross-cultural communication, hence seek to the possibility of narrowing the cultural gap. Meanwhile, the two filial ideas could find ways to form the complementarities and coexist harmoniously.