2024年3月14日发(作者：)

语言文化研究

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2018年01期总第389期

A Comparative Study of Chinese and Greek

Classical Heroic Views on the Dimension of

Cultural Values

文/

Ge Zhen

【Abstract】Mainly under the framework of value dimensions, a comparative study of the heroic views in the ancient

Greek myth epic “Odyssey” and Chinese supernatural novel of Ming Dynasty “Journey to the West” is conducted

well as the long-term and short-term orientation.

【Key words】heroic views; value dimensions; culture; similarities and differences

【作者简介】葛震(2000.9.15- )，男，湖北省武昌实验中学高三(4)班学生。

1. Introduction

As two literary classics of the eastern and western ethics,

from five aspects individualism and collectivism, power distance, uncertainty avoidance, masculinity and femininity as

rights and responsibilities, privacy, voicing one’s own

opinion, freedom, innovation, and self-expression.

ancient Greeks pay great attention to the development of the

individuals, the pursuit of personal honor and the realization

scale of all things. Ancient Greek hero with adventurous spirit

of personal values. Everything is man-centered, man is the

pay attention to freedom and independence, which reflects

the Western classical culture of individualism and humanistic

cultural values. When Odysseus returned to Poseidon, who

furiously tried to set Odysseus to death. Odysseus first thought

down my name” (Homer 2012). “Journey to the West”,

Sun Wukong pursuit of Confucian ethical values “self-

cultivation, family harmony, country management and world

peace.” They have a strong sense of social responsibility

and mission, to solve problems for other people as their own

responsibility. They are justice and serve the country through

the realization of the ideal of social groups to achieve personal

value. Sun Wukong accused the princess, ＂treasure like you

not miss their parents？“ After they extinguished the the king

protect you from the territory.” ( Wu 2009)

2.2 Uncertainty avoidance

are ungrateful, cover father come with me; so filial piety, all

good in this, but how will the body with the demon and do

and ruler, Sun Wukong told the king, ” thanks, I hope you will

combine three religions together and also nurture talent, I will

Hofstede (2001) defines the extent to which people within

had just returned from Ethiopia on his way to return, Poseidon

obscure at sea Death is really a sad, “I should also be killed

in the Trojan, so that Aokai Si people will be my funeral, pass

According to the “Odyssey”, we can see that the

the ancient Greek myth epic “Odyssey” and the Ming

Dynasty novel “Journey to the West” left numerous stories

them are enormous. The rich ideological content and cultural

a glimpse of the society, culture, and local customs of their

a further exploration on the cultural differences behind.

dimension

connotations contained in the two famous works provide us

times. (Tang 2013) Therefore, this paper tries to compare two

to future generations. The relative theories and works on

with an encyclopedic guide for future generations to have

typical heroes Odyssey and Sun Wukong in two works, to have

2. The embodiment of different heroic views in value

Hofstede (1991) proposed the use of the national cultural

dimension model to explain the impact of different cultural

backgrounds on employee values, namely individualism

and collectivism, uncertainty avoidance, power distance,

masculinity and femininity and long-term and short-term

can be traced back to one or more of these basic dimensions.

the heroic images formed in two works under the framework

of Hofstede’s theory.

2.1 Individualism and collectivism

In Hofstede’s five-dimensional cultural theory,

Therefore, this article tries to analyze the different origins of

orientation. He (2001) points out that all cultural differences

individualism and collectivism refers to how individuals

perceive their relationship with others as well as the society,

namely, it is more concerned about personal interests or

the traits of individualism and collectivism continuum：

collective interests. Andersen and his colleagues (2008) define

collectivistic cultures emphasize community, collaboration,

shared interest, harmony, tradition, the public good, and

maintaining face. Individualistic cultures emphasize personal

a culture are made nervous by situations which they perceive

as unstructured, unclear, or unpredictable, situations which

they therefore try to avoid by maintaining strict codes of

behavior and a belief in a absolute truths. High-uncertainty

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2018年01期总第389期

avoidance cultures try to avoid uncertainty and ambiguity

by providing stability for their members through established,

behaviors, emphasizing consensus, and resistance to change.

formal social protocols, intolerance of deviant ideas and

While low-uncertainty avoidance culture more easily accept

unusual, and are not as threatened b different ideas and

the uncertainty inherent in life, tend to be tolerant of the

people.

uncertainty avoidance, while ancient Greece belongs to a

Chinese traditional values belong to a culture of high

culture with lower uncertainty avoidance. In the journey to

the west, Sun Wukong’s behavior is always constrained

model of life. Sun Wukong knows what to do and what not.

by his master, and his master provides Sun Wukong with a

They show mercy to others all the way, never indiscriminately.

himself, without other external constraints. He plays his own

In the Odyssey, Odysseus’s adventure was controlled by

subjective initiative, resourceful coping with all kinds of

setbacks and difficulties. But Odysseus and others on the way

after Ismaros City, they shamelessly ransacked the city, looted

legitimate means.

and massacred the inhabitants, plundering the wealth as a

2.3 Power distance

and low-power distance. Hofstede (2012) summarizes the

Power distance classifies cultures on a continuum of high

concept of power distance in the following manner：power

distance as a characteristic of a culture defines the extant to

which the less powerful person in society accepts inequality

dimension deals with the extent to which a society prefers

in power and considers it as normal. The premise of the

distributed equally or unequally.

that power in relationships, institutions, and organizations be

ancient Greece belongs to a low power distance culture. In

China is a typical high power distance culture, while

＂Journey to the West＂, Sun Wukong is awed by both the

master and Avalokiteshvara. Although he is mischievous,

he will always follow the rules of his master. In the Odyssey,

personal charm.

Odysseus did not fear much of the gods and enjoy showing his

2.4 Masculinity and femininity

to refer to the degree to which masculine or feminine traits are

Hofstede (2012) uses the words masculinity and femininity

valued and revealed. His rationale, and one that is supported

by most anthropologists, psychologists, and political

learned and mediated by cultural norms and traditions.

scientists, is that many masculine and feminine behaviors are

culture. Whether it is “Journey to the West” or “Odyssey”,

Both ancient Greece and China belong to masculinity

the emergence of women is just to highlight the hero’s

personal image and charm. It seems women always associate

However, there are also some difference between them. In

with beautiful monsters and regarded as Helen of Troy.

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“Odyssey”, women seem to play a more significant role in

society than in “Journey to the West.”

2.5 Long-term and short-term orientation

on long-term orientation would likely have employees who

According to Hofstede(2012), cultures that rank high

differences. While those cultures that rank low on the long-

reflect a strong work ethic and show great respect for statues

term orientation index often do nor place a high priority on

results, and seek quick gratification of their requirements.

status, try to postpone old age, are concerned with short term

oriented culture, while ancient Greece belongs to a culture of

By comparison, China belongs to typical long-term

short-term orientation. “Journey to the west”, Sun Wukong

for the benefit of future generations. For the long-term goal,

et al go on a pilgrimage for the Buddhist Scriptures, serving

they overcome tremendous difficulties, and ultimately get

scriptures to realize their value. In the Odyssey, Odysseus’s

adventure is short-term, individualistic goal of returning home

and reuniting with his wife. Through to reunite with their loved

family union.

ones, he eventually achieve his value for the happiness of a

3. Conclusion

with the example and paradigm of ideal heroic behavior,

In conclusion, Odysseus in the Odyssey provides people

the requirement for people to survive in a particular period.

“Journey to the West” by establishing the image of the

who were disorientated, to improve materialistic world.

heroes of the Sun Wukong hopes to set an example for those

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