Chinese Notion of Privacy

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【摘 要】“隐私”这一概念在英语文化中有着悠久的历史但在中国的文化中却刚刚起步，本文从历史和文化以及社会方面分析了产生差异的原因，并对此概念在中国的现状进行了分析。

【关键词】隐私；文化；历史

[Abstract] This paper presents a brief survey of chinese notions of private space. This paper mainly talks about the origins of the word “privacy” and its developed meaning， the reasons of Chinese poor awareness of private space and the current circumstance of people’s notions of privacy in China as well.

[Key Words] privacy； culture； history

Ⅰ Introduction

It is universally acknowledged that Chinese have weaker awareness of privacy by comparison with western people. Such kind of viewpoint results from people’s attitudes towards Chinese customs and culture etc. through highlighting exposure of mass media， writers’ copious surveys and theses.

Ⅱ Explanation of “privacy” in English

The English words “privacy” come from the Latin privates， meaning “withdrawn from public life， deprived of office， peculiar to oneself”（Pearsall 2001：3549）， and the generally negative sense is continued into the early understanding of the English word “private”（whose first recorded appearance goes back to 1450）. By the end of the 19th century， “privacy” had become related to legal and political rights， associated with modernity and advanced civilization， and attributed relatively or very high value.

“Privacy” can be traced back to the emergence of fifteenth century， whereas this notion of privacy did not be injected into Chinese thoughts until in the latest half of this century influenced by western consciousness stream. Mikhail Bakhtin， locates privacy and a sense of self solely in terms of Western civilization in his discussion of narrative forms that introduce private lives into fiction. Starting with the Greek romance， he notes that in contrast with all other genres of ancient literature， it represents people entirely as individuals and as ‘private persons’. It seems that the western have more privileges and authorities than Chinese to treat this matter.

Ⅲ The reasons of Chinese poor awareness of privacy

China has a long history under the rule of tyranny. In feudal society， people were oppressed and virtually under the tyranny of the king. They had no freedom and human rights， not to mention owned private space. With the corruption and subversion of feudalism and long hardship for freedom， People’s Republic of China had founded. People attained the same proportion of land， clothing， food， living space etc. People lived in a warm collective family all day long. Private space was absolutely futile for them. Critically， in that particular period， people might be more embarrassed at being observed defecating than by having one’s diary read by others. From then on， less and less people have recognized that they ought to have the right of their private space.

Ⅳ The current circumstance in China in terms of private space

With the affect of western concept， more and more Chinese people gradually realize their rights of private space and endeavor for pursuing such kind of living style. In modern societies， the good life requires privacy. As a consequence， the fashionable living pattern called petty bourgeoisie are flourishing near every corners of China and acquired as a symbol of one’s status. It is now a popular logo flashing through magazines and TV advertisements. As an anonymous writer once had it， our present concepts of life is related to private space， that is， a room of one’s one or； at least， a home spacious enough to allow areas of quiet， the private possession of books.

On the other hand， the contents of privacy extend from basic one’s living space to medical and business confidentiality， jury deliberations， executive privilege and finally the secrets of confessional. A good example of this is the rights to privacy in law have been accepted. People have aware the necessity of preventing their privacy from illegal exposure by secret photographing， plagiarizing， and stealing. If someone’s private space is hindered or attacked， he or she will spontaneously and immediately resort to the law for help and protection.

Another good example is SOHO. People can do everything without going outside via computers and Internet. Just with a click of the mouse in a few second he or she can complete the task. There is no need for people to be afraid of others snooping about one’s diaries and documents. The indispensable of it is that people have access to surf on the Internet with anonymous name and make friends with unknown net-mates. People feel at ease when communicating with unknown persons and do not worry about others’ gossips and mutual deceptions.

Ⅴ Conclusion

On the whole， Chinese people’s notion towards private space has changed a lot. They do not limit their former concepts of it， but catch up the fresh ideas emanated from the western countries. Chinese people have overthrown the outmoded means of thinking and cared for their happiness and pursuing their endowed rights.

References：

[1] Faul， S. Xenophobe’s Guide to the Americans. Hanying译.北京：外语与教学研究出版社 ，2001

[2] Pearsall， J. The New Oxford Dictionary of English 新编牛津字典.上海：上海外语教育出版社，2001

[3]Yapp，N & Michel. S. Xenophobe’s Guide to the French .Hanying译.北京：外语与教学研究出版社，2001

[4]贺丹.国外风情面面观.北京：外语与教学研究出版社，2002