4．1 Differences between“Culture”in English and文化in Chinese汉英文化的差异
The term“culture”in English does not correspond perfectly with Chinese term文化．Chinese people think that文化is the concept that the instructions and civilized governing have been carried out since the ancient China．Whereas the term“culture”in English，coming from Latin，refers to planting，cultivating or tilling the land in old English，and it was later extended to the concept of civilization，including mental，moral，aesthetic，educational and intellectual activities．In Modern English its original meaning is still retained．In contrast，文化is a native word in Chinese．文and化were used together when the Warring States fought against each other．When the both Chinese characters are used together，they mean以文教化．They were combined into one word in the Han Dynasty，with its meaning contrasted with“nature”on the one hand and“primitiveness”and“savage”on the other hand．So文化was originally associated with mental activities alone．
The different definitions from some reference books may be helpful to show clearly the distinctions between the two terms．
《现代汉语词典》(北京:商务印书馆，1996．1318)defines“文化” :
1．人类社会历史发展过程中所创造的物质财富和精神财富的总和，特指精神财富，如文学、艺术、教育、科学等。
2．考古学用语，指一个历史时期的不以分布地点为转移的遗迹、遗物的综合体。同样的工具、用具，同样的制造技术等是同一种文化的特征，如仰韶文化、龙山文化。
3．指运用文字的能力及一般知识:学习文化，文化水平。
Webster＇s Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary(Beijing: World Publishing Corporation，1988．314)gives“culture”the following definitions:
When the term“culture”is used as a noun，it includes:
1．cultivation，tillage
2．the act of developing intellectual and moral faculties，esp．by education
3．expert care and training(beauty culture)
4．a: enlightenment and excellence of taste acquired by intellectual and aesthetic training; b: acquaintance with and taste in fine arts，humanities，and broad aspects of science as distinguished from vocational and technical skills
5．a: the intellectual pattern of human knowledge，beliefs，and behavior that depends upon man ＇s capacity for learning and transmitting knowledge to succeeding generations; b: the customary beliefs，social forms，and material traits of a racial，religious or social group
6．cultivation of living material in prepared nutrient media; also: a product of such cultivation
When the term“culture”is used as a verb，it has the following definitions:
1．cultivate
2．a: to grow in a prepared medium; b: to start to culture from
Comparing the definitions mentioned above，we can clearly find at least the following differences between“culture”in English and文化in Chinese:
1．Though the word class of文化is not specified，it is seldom used as a verb in Chinese，whereas “culture”can be used as a verb in English to refer to physical activities．
2．Senses 2 and 3 of文化correspond to none of the senses of“culture”in English．
3．Sense 1 of文化is more inclusive than any of the senses of “culture”and it stresses the academic development．As will be discussed shortly，literature，arts，social sciences，education and natural sciences belong to academic culture．
4．Senses 1 and 6 of“culture”have no equivalent in the dictionary entry for文化．
5．“Culture”emphasizes the moral，aesthetic，intellectual changes experienced by individual members of a group and the patterns of knowledge，beliefs and behavior．
These are differences in the everyday senses of the two terms．We would like to make sure that in their everyday senses“culture”and文化are not to be equated．