英國文化英文dissertation

本文作為一篇英國留學生term paper，文章主要對比分析了中英兩國人民休閑娛樂差異和相似。文章首先介紹了中英兩國近年來社會變化，文章主體部分從戶外戶內兩方面對比分析休閑活動主要形式，最后文章對此作了總結，并提到如果與更多來自某個文化群體人們溝通交流，那么有利于更好了解其文化。

Term Paper  Submitted for

British Culture

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Leisure in the UK and China

Thesis: In the UK and China, countries belonging respectively to the western and eastern culture, people have their own entertainments of difference during their leisure time. Yet with the communication and mutual impact between the two cultures, people, in this respect, also share similarities.

英國dissertationOutline:
I.An Introduction to the social changes in the UK and China
A. Situation in the UK
B. Situation in China
II.Major forms of leisure activities in the UK and China
A. Leisure at home
1. British indoor leisure activities
2. Chinese indoor leisure activities
3. Analysis of the two
B. Leisure outside the home
1. Activities the British engage in
2. Activities the Chinese engage in
3. Analysis
III.Conclusion
        
Leisure in the UK and China

Though ages, people living in the UK and those living in China, a country in another quarter of the globe have respectively developed their way of living and beliefs. In the aspect of entertainments during their leisure time, the two groups of people show differences. Yet with the cross-boundary communication and mutual impact between the two cultures, people also share similarities in this aspect of life.

Due to the development of the society and the advancement of science and technology, people are working less hours yet having promising salaries both in the UK and China. The Working Time Directive, implemented in UK since 1998, provide for “A maximum 48 hour working week averaged over a reference period”, “A minimum daily rest period of 11 consecutive hours a day” and “A statutory right to annual paid holiday of 4 weeks”. Yet the British workers are living much better than that. By 2004, the average working hours for all full-time workers in the UK are less than 8 hours per day, around 37.5 hours per week, besides workers are having more long holidays. What’s more, with the inventions and applications of efficient machinery and management system, thus efficiency of the companies are increasing, so the companies are producing greater profits, and as a result, employees are being paid more for their work. These have endowed the British people with more colourful leisure activities.  #p#分頁標題#e#

The same situation has happened in China. China introduced the five-day work week in May, 1995. It is regulated by the Labour Law of the People’s Republic of China that “labourers shall work no more that 8 hours a day and no more that 44 hours a week on the average”, and that “labourers who have kept working for one year or more shall be entitled to annual vacation pay.” The Spring Festival, Labor Day and the National Day holidays have been extended to seven days in October 1999. Chinese people now enjoy 114 days of leisure/holiday time each year. This means one-third of Chinese people’s time is devoted to leisure and recreation. Although, due to the developing level, there is still some gap between the working systems of the UK and that of China, yet they are both moving in the same direction, that is less working time and more money for the people.

In UK, among all the indoor leisure activities, watching television is by far the most popular. According to National Statistics’ UK 2000 Time Use Survey, people of all ages, on average, spend
168 minutes per day in front of the TV set, which takes up about 45% of their total leisure time. Britain's regular weekly dramas or “soap operas” such as Only Fools and Horses, Eastenders and Coronation Street are the favourite of most of TV viewers. Also TV series such as Little Britain, and The Simpsons, etc., and shows, The Apprentice, for example, are popular among the British people. Other regular activities the British engage in during their leisure include listening to the radio and to recorded music, reading books, gardening, do-it-yourself home improvements and doing puzzle. Pop and rock albums are the most common type of music the British listen, especially by the young, and pop is up to now the most popular form of musical expression in Britain. 

Similar to the situation in the UK, watching TV takes the peak in the ranking of the top leisure activities among the Chinese people, who actually spend even more time on watching TV than the British, about 60% of their total leisure time. The favourites of the TV viewers are mostly TV series, either ancient romances or adapted historic stories involving with fantastic Kung fu of the ancient Chinese people, or stories depicted various aspects of the modern people’s lives, such as love, marriage, crimes etc. However, TV shows are making their way into the main stream. More and more people, especially the youngsters, prefer shows, either entertaining or educational, to those lengthy TV series. A very important reason for this trend among the youngsters is that in the shows, they can see some pop stars, which they might admire, which is due a great deal to the idolization of pop stars among the youngsters. According to the Blue book of China's culture, The Development Report of China's Cultural Industry:2005, released by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, reading books, playing Mah-jong, listening to music, and gardening are also top leisure activities among the Chinese people. Pop music, like that in UK, maintains its dominance among the Chinese favourite music genres. Also such activities related to the net as surfing online, playing games, chatting with friends are also becoming a fashion among the people, especially those under 65.  #p#分頁標題#e#

The reasons why both the British and the Chinese spend most of their leisure time watching TV lie in the availability of a mixture of diversified elements, of dramas, light entertainments, films, sports, educational, children’s and religious programs, news and current affairs, and documentaries that TV provide, and that after a whole day of work or caring for the family, people prefer to do less-energy-demanding activities, which provide them with relaxation and fun. On thewhole, the common leisure activities among both the British and the Chinese are mostly home-based, or social, such as watching TV programs with family members, or entertaining or visiting relatives and friends, or playing Mah-jong, a game, when, applied with wits, will provide a nicer atmosphere in the family or among the friends. Both the British and the Chinese place home and family as the main focus of interest.

As for leisure activities outside the home, going to the pubs are the most popular among the British people. Pubs are the focal point for community life, especially for men. There are over 60,000 pubs in the UK (53,000 in England and Wales, 5,200 in Scotland and 1,600 in Northern Ireland). Pubs, namely public house, are places for people of various ages and walks of life, both men and women. Nearly all pubs sell pub lunches, cheese, bread, pie fried potatoes, and chicken. Various games, such as dartboards, snookers, bar billiards, skittles, dominoes, and especially darts, are common features of pubs. Gathering a large crowd talking, eating, and drinking there, a pub can provide all services such as a meeting site, information centre, for employment exchange, currency exchange, cheque cashing facilities, alibis, even a post office, and so on. People are enjoying themselves with conversations and information exchanges there. Apart from going to the pubs, the British will also, during their leisure, go to cinemas and theatres to enjoy the latest films and plays and pantomimes, or go to try their fortune in the horse racing and the weekly football pools, or go in for some sporting activities, such some rough sports as soccer, cricket, etc., which is especially for those who are energetic enough, or some of less energy demand, jogging, walking, yoga, for example, and when time and money are available, they may go to travel abroad, to enjoy the scenic beauty and adventures of other countries, or for the sake of educational and cultural pursuits.

As for the Chinese, a place, acting, in their daily life, as the counterparts to pubs in the UK, should be the parks. Up to the year 1999, there are 4219 parks around the nation and the number is still increasing. According to the survey carried out by Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, people living in three quarters the 21 cities which have been investigated by the experts of the academy, will take going to the parks as their first choice for outdoor leisure activity. A park provides an environment with fresh air and friendly surroundings. People have their relaxations through chatting with friends, walking around, singing and dancing, playing chess, or doing some sports such as playing Taiji, badminton or kicking shuttlecocks. Parks comparing with the pubs,are even more encompassing, the non-adults might be prohibited in the pubs in Britain, whereas the parks are open to people of all kind without any limitations. It is common that a family with both parents and children would go for a picnic or even barbecue when it is available in the park. Other outdoor activities most of the Chinese people will prefer to do during their leisure are shopping around, which is not just about buying commodities, but also tasting food and getting some entertainment, or just for the sake of meeting some friends, and going to the cinemas to enjoy the special effect and environment, and traveling, among the interviewed citizens, one fourth says that traveling is their major leisure activity, and doing sports in the gymnasiums or doing exercises in the pubic facilities. #p#分頁標題#e#

While the British people often go to the pubs, most of the Chinese go to the parks during their free-time. The cause for this difference may lie fundamentally in the different climates of the two countries. While the changeable weather deprives people in the UK of the right to entertain themselves in the parks, the Chinese are enjoying mild sunshine and winds, and friendly surroundings in them. Though the British are considered as a nation of reserve, they also need a place for communication and entertainment activities, which the pubs have been always promoting. Parks, without roofs yet much more capacious and open, provide the Chinese with a place of harmony for more sharing and entertaining with others and more closed contact with the nature.

This paper has discussed the differences and similarities of the activities that the British and the Chinese People take up during their leisure time and provided some probable reasons for these differences and similarities. In order to achieve better understanding of the British culture, we need to look at it with a close view, and through the comparison with the Chinese culture. Culture means a complex system of beliefs, mode of behaviours and thoughts, art and customs etc. that are shared and accepted by people in a particular society, it should be comprehended through the close examinations of basic elements of the culture, and through comparison with another culture he knows fully, otherwise, he will never get the lowdown of it. With careful observation of leisure activities, one of the basic aspects of the daily life of the common people, and a direct comparison with that of the Chinese, we can get more insights into the British culture and as a result, achieve more mutual respect and understanding when we are dealing with a person coming from that culture.

Reference: 
Contemporary British Culture and Society
http://www.statistics.gov.uk (UK National statistic) Labour Law of the People’s Republic of China
http://www.stats.gov.cn (National Bureau of Statistics of China)
http://www.cass.net.cn (Chinese Academy of Social Sciences)