Individualism and Collectivism

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Abstract： individualism and collectivism are one of the core values of western and Chinese cultures. This article intends to summarize the conceptions of individualism and collectivism and single some representations of the two different ideologies in order to clear up the misunderstanding which exists in today’s view of individualism of Chinese people， and the essence of individualism will be concluded to deepen the understanding of individualism.

Key Words： individualism；collectivism；value

【中图分类号】 H31 【文献标识码】 A 【文章编号】 1007-4244（2014）07-294-2

1. The Definition of Individualism

What is individualism? The definition of the individualism differs from China to western countries.

Here is the definition of individualism in Modern Chinese Dictionary: “Individualism is a wrong thought that put individual’s own interest over the collective interest and think of themselves before anybody else”.

The definition of individualism in The New Encyclopaedia Britannica is as follows: “individualism is a political and social philosophy， which pays high attention to the freedom of individuals and widely emphasizes the individual or oneself that are free from external constraint…”

From the definition of individualism in The New Encyclopaedia Britannica， we can see that individualism emphasizes the equality， freedom and democracy. The value of individuals themselves is supreme and country should do as little as possible to intervene individual life. Country should only be a tool that protect the freedom of individuals， and prevent the individual rights from being infringed by others. Every independent person is an independent individual rather than a member of the same group， and the society is also made up of those independent individuals. The country is an organized form of society， which obligation is to protect the freedom of individuals in the name of law.

2. Individualism and Collectivism

The Chinese people seem familiar with the word “collectivism”. They always think that “collectivism” means “selfless” or “self-giving”. Collectivism holds that the individual is the part of the society， and when the individual interest conflict with the collective interests， the individual should subordinate his or her own interests to that of the collective. All action and speech of individuals are not as important as collective. Collectivism resolutely opposes and condemns that individuals put their own interests over collective.

Collectivism is rooted in traditional Chinese culture. In our Confucian culture， the highest personality standard is “be loyal to the sovereignty and the nation”， which requires individual to sacrifice everything to achieve that， even the life of his own. This is the typical thought of collectivism， and also shows that the fundamental goal of Confucian culture is to protect the ruling of the feudal class. Legalists stressed the centralizing of the King’s political power and implementing dictatorship and obscurantist policy. Ordinary people seemed all the same and had no individuality in their eyes. Above all， collectivism was prevalent in traditional Chinese culture， which took individual as part of the collective. The general situation was always heavy and individual’s rights were not given much attention.

From my point of view， what opposes collectivism is not individualism but egoism. Namely， individualism does not run counter to collectivism. Individualism can inspire individuals to acquire wealth through legal means to improve their living standards. The most important thing is that individualism appreciates personal values， which is undoubtedly beneficial to the development of individuals.

3. Representations of Individualism and Collectivism

3.1 Literary Work and Film-Television Programs

Most Chinese literary woks reflect the spirit of collectivism. They emphasize that collective is prior to individual and that individual should obey collective unconditionally. For example， Journey to the West， one of the four great classic novels of Chinese literature， tells the story of Xuan Zang， a monk in the Tang Dynasty， travelling to ancient India for Buddhist scriptures. As a whole， Xuan Zang’s journey to the west was motivated by a desire to relieve people from misery and pain， not for the sake of his own fame and fortune. He left his own safety out of consideration and overcame hardships with the aim to “serve the public”， which reflected the collectivism in traditional Chinese culture. At the same time， The Monkey King has great power and is afraid of nothing. He refuses to obey the Jade Emperor and comes up with the democratic thought: “every dog has his day and my turn is coming by the next year”. However， he is eventually suppressed by the “ruling class” and is punished by deprivation of freedom. These explain an old Chinese proverb: “the outstanding usually bear the brunt of attack”. Deep in Chinese people’s thoughts， not obeying regulation would come to no good end.

Many Chinese novels， such as The Water Margin， The Romance of the Three Kingdoms， Red Crag and so on， are overflowed with keen collectivism. They all hold that individual is part of the collective， and he or her should serve the collective.

However， most western literary works are overflowed with individualism. They stress individual courage and the perseverance for their dreams， such as The Odyssey， Robinson Crusoe， A Tale of Two Cities and so on. Films and televisions in Europe and America， such as Spider-Man， Superman， 007， Captain America and so on， often reflect personal heroism and individualism. The protagonists can always turn the tide on their own.

3.2 Education

Influenced by collectivism， Chinese students are always passive in classes. They just memorize what the teachers say and seldom ask questions actively. Because they are afraid of being scolded by their teachers or being asocial. I think that is one of the reasons why Chinese students lack of creativity and innovation. However， in American schools， students often answer questions of their teachers proactively. They always have the courage to express their own thoughts and feelings， and even dare to query what their teachers say. They usually come up with some “strange” ideas， which are appreciated and encouraged by their teachers or parents. Moreover， their teachers’ ways of teaching are also manifold. From my point of view， it is because the encouragement of individual struggling and creativity that the American students are full of innovation. What they are told is that being different is a good thing， and they ought to have their own personalities. However， such kids may be treated as intractable children in China.

3.3 Life Style

Westerners think highly of individual freedom. They do not like their lives be interfered and attach great importance to their privacy. For example， westerners greet each other by asking “how are you”， “how are you doing?” and so forth. Unlike Chinese， they often say “have you had your meal”， “where are you going?” When westerners have meal with their friends or relatives， they often order and pay their own meal. However， the Chinese usually have the same meal with their friends or relatives when eating together， and the meal is often paid by one person. Westerners like the feeling of adventure， novelty and excitement， and they prefer different life experiences， while the Chinese tend to choose a stable and comfortable life. As to choosing a job， westerners usually take their hobbies and idealities as the principle things， and want to realize their value of life through their efforts. On the contrary， the Chinese people prefer a job which costs less but bring more.

作者简介：杨婕（1990-），女，汉族，四川泸州人，兰州大学硕士研究生，研究方向：MTI笔译。