3Questions?

1.In Chinese, there are two expressions that seem to be contradictory: the first,
“Within the four seas, all are brothers (Si hai zhi nei, jie xiong di)” and the
second, “There is a difference between the inside and the outside (Nei wai you
bie)”.
Do you think these ideas are contradictory?
What do they say about Chinese culture and in/out groups?
What examples of in/out groups do you see in Parenthood and/or some
materials/media about other cultures?
How similar or different are they from your expectations or experience?
2.
Think about how Chinese generally 1) treat obligations toward friends or
families, 2) treat the elderly or people senior to them, 3) deal with conflict.
Talk about these with your group members and compare these with examples
from Parenthood and some materials/media about other cultures.
What generalizations could you make about American culture or other cultures
with regards to how they treat these relationships and how they deal with
obligations and conflict?
3.Consider how you would explain the difference between friendship (youyi) and
a guanxi relationship in China.
Compare and contrast these relationships based on what you have learned in
Parenthood and some materials/media about other cultures.
Describe and characterize the important relationships between and among
people, and how and where they are formed.
What generalizations could you make about friendship patterns in American and
some other cultures based on what you have read and watched?