论中西方文化中动物象征意义的差异
1 Introduction
“Language and culture，intrinsically dependent on each other，have evolved together through the history.”（Claire Kramsch，1998）“On one hand，language as an integral part of human bEing，permeates his thinking and way of viewing the world，language both expresses and embodies cultural reality. On the other，language，as a product of culture，helps permeate the culture，and the changes in language uses reflect the cultural changes in return”.（Claire Kramsch，1998）Language is the base of entire culture，and it is only in language that culture can be wellpresented and handed down from generation to generation. On the other hand，language is influenced and shaped by culture；it reflects language. Language reflects characteristics of culture and predicts the developing orientation of culture. 2 Comparison of the Symbolic Meanings of Animals in Chinese and Western Cultures 2.1 Similar Symbolic Meanings of Animals As the ecological environments of human life are roughly similar，people in China and the West will naturally produce the same or similar association，giving the same significance of the animal words when they understand animals from the basic attributes of the animals. For example，in Chinese，fox is the synonym for cunning and craftiness. When people use such phrases like as cunning as “a fox”，“old fox” to describe a person，they often consider him or her sly and tactful. In English speaking countries，fox is also associated with this kind of meaning. 2.2 Different Symbolic Meanings of Animals A few of animals have the same or similar symbolic meanings both in China and the West，but it is well known that the majority of animals are different in the symbolic meanings because of the different cultural backgrounds. Now，I’ll give several peculiar animals to testify my view. 2.2.1 Dragon and Phoenix Dragon has come to be regarded as the symbol of China and the Chinese，and China is called huge dragon of East. In China，the traditional symbols of royalty are the dragon and phoenix. The dragon stands for the emperor and the phoenix for the queen. Besides，as an auspicious creature that supposedly brings good luck，the dragon gave rise to the saying that parents“wang zi cheng long”—long to see one’s son become a dragon，that is，to be successful. To Westerners，however，the dragon is often a symbol of evil.They regard the dragon as a fierce monster that destroys some other things；therefore，in thEir opinion，it must be destroyed. 2.2.2 Bat To Chinese，the “bat” is a symbol of good fortune，wellbeing，and happinessall positive qualities. The reason for such associations is probably that the name of the creature is pronounced the same as the word“fu”. Thus the traditional design shows the bat and the deer together is very popular in China，because the words pronounced is the same as “fu lu”—good fortune，happiness，wealth and position. In the Western countries，the bat is usually associated with negative qualities.“As blind as a bat”，“carry as a bat”，“He’s a bit batty”typical expressions of the negative associations.They may be even worse.Mention of the bat often evokes the image of an ugly，sinister，bloodsucking creature.This may be caused by the “vampire bat”。 3 Factors Leading to the Different Symbolic Meanings of Animals There are many factors affecting cultural differences，which would cause different symbolic meanings of animals between China and the West.Such factors are as follows： 3.1 Diversity in Spiritual Culture 3.1.1 Belief Systems In the Western tradition people believe the universe is created and controlled by a spanine power.Man and the universe are separate entities.And therefore，there are laws of nature that must be followed.With such a view of the universe，people in the West developed a dualistic world view.Their goal of life is to be more objective and rational.Chang is considered progress. The scientific method is usually their approach to problems in life. People are considered as equal to one another. However，people in China regard the universe as a harmoniously selfoperating organism in which each part is related to other parts in a system of hierarchy. With this view of the universe，Chinese developed a holistic world view. They hold man and nature are interrelated；man is a part of nature and man’s goal of life is to keep harmony with nature.Stability is highly valued. Therefore，their attitude toward life tends to be more subjective. From the pattern of thinking，Chinese pattern of thinking is not the same as the Western. Chinese pattern of thinking is the threedimensional type，while the Western pattern of thinking is streamlined. 3.1.3 Value Systems Most Western countries value inspanidualism and people strive hard to achieve inspanidual identity in terms of possessions and achievement in their professions.China place high value on the collective.So group harmony and cooperation are preferred，rather than competition. 3.2 Diversity in Behavior Culture 3.2.1 Social Rituals Chinese people always like to ask the person’s name，age，unit and earnings，who he or she meets. While Westerners quite hate this kind of people who like to ask the other’s age，income，and other personal private matter. When Chinese people recEive gifts，they often let them on the edge，and don’t gaze at the gifts（for fear other saying they’re greedy）. On the contrary，Westerners will open the gifts in the front of the guests and express their satisfaction when they receive gifts. Hospitality is a kind of Chinese quality. 3.2.2 Customs and Habits In western countries，many people like pets. English people view dogs as human being’s best friends. Many English expressions with the dog can be found，such as：a lucky dog，a clever dog，a top dog；every dog has his day；Love me，love my dog；He works like a dog. To Chinese people，however，the dog is derogatory term.People have negative attitudes to the animal dog，such as rubbish，henchman. Western customs and habits are different from Chinese ones in many aspects. It is hard for English speakers to understand why servile follower is a pejorative term in Chinese. 3.3 Diversity in History Background Chinese history differs from British and American history. They have their own historical cultures，which reflect the national characteristic. China is an ancient country with 5000 years’agricultural cultivation.In ancient time，agriculture is the fundamental trade，so people are all familiar with farming and they have lots of vocabularies about farming.Besides，the animal cattle are the main farm labor，which do much farm work for people.Consequently，Chinese people cherish a deep affection for the cattle.As is known to all，the English people，traditionally，is a nomadic nation.They wandered from place to place，looking for pasture for its animals and had no fixed place. They like horses and they are good at riding. Horses play more important roles than cattle in England.They are not only as the main entertainments，but also as the main transportations for their lives. 4 Conclusion According to understanding the differences of the symbolic meanings of animals in Chinese and Western cultures，language learners can use the animal expressions in an appropriate and correct way，also they can avoid misunderstanding in communication and reading，and reduce mistakes in translation. What’s more，language learners can understand clearly the reasons why different countries have different cultures from the aspect of the symbolic meanings of animals. But this paper does not completely reveal the whole reasons，English learners should insist on reading a lot of books and publications to achieve the task.As foreign language learners，this study is helpful for language study and culture communication.