Thoughts on Time Across Culture: Chinese and American 我們的時間概念

Notice that these 2 photos are only tangentially related to time. The 1st is an old-fashioned time piece and the 2nd is of our peaches, 100s of which are ripening at the same time.

Time is something that everyone uses and yet each person seem perceives in an entirely different way. In my experience there are real cultural differences about the regard for time. For example, events in the United States generally start and end on time 一般來講, 在美國活動準時開始. It used to be that people were not allowed late into concerts or at least had to wait outside until a performance break 在外面等十分鐘或十五分鐘. I guess people in our generation arrive a little later, but the program still starts on time.

In my own life, I can see the differences especially clearly when invited to social occasions. If invited by Americans I know that especially for formal occasions, I must be on time or close to it and RSVP 請答覆 promptly or people will be upset 遲到家人會生氣. Wedding receptions are the same. With Chinese friends I know time is not that crucial which as a family seems to fit our time schedule well 比較適合我的時間概念. We often find ourselves late to almost every occasion. Wedding receptions for example, will often start at least an hour later than the printed time. But then again, they last longer and are a lot more fun too. We had the unique privilege of attending a Franco-Chinese (Chinese living in Paris 巴黎的華僑) wedding a while back. In a real mixing of cultures, the reception officially started at 7:00 but did not really start until 10:00 pm 遲到三個小時. Dancing started at midnight and was still going strong when we left at 2:00 am.