Some Asian Culture Traits

Since 1967 IBM had been conducting worldwide comparative attitude surveys of its employees. By 1973 they had collected 116000 answer forms in 20 different languages from 72 countries. The analysis of these data showed that there were four dimensions on which the culture differences between countries could be measured. The researchers identified these four dimensions as (1) Power Distance; (2) Individualism-Collectivism; (3)Masculinity-Femininity; (4)Uncertainty Avoidance.

(1) Power Distance represents the extent to which the less powerful members of an organization or institution (e.g. the family) accept and expect that power is distributed unequally. The inequality is defined from below, not from above; and a society's level of inequality is endorsed by its followers as much as by its leaders.

(2) Individualism - Collectivism describes the degree to which individuals are integrated into groups. In individualist groups the ties between individuals are loose, and everyone is expected to look after himself / herself and the immediate family. In collectivist societies people from birth onwards are integrated into strong, cohesive in-groups. Often their extended families continue protecting them in exchange for unquestioning loyalty. The word "collectivism" here has no political meaning. It refers to a group, not to the state.

(3) Masculinity - Femininity. The distribution of roles between the sexes is a fundamental issue in any society. In some societies men's values differ very much from women's values, while in other societies this difference is not very great. In Western societies men are supposed to be very assertive and competitive, while women are supposed to be modest and nurturing. On the basis of the degree of assertiveness and competitiveness we can speak of masculine countries and feminine countries.

The above three dimensions refer to three types of expected social behaviour: Behaviour towards people higher or lower in rank (Power Distance), behaviour towards the group (Individualism-Collectism), and behaviour according to one's sex role (Masculinity-Femininity). If we compare the three dimensions with the teaching of Confucius, it will be no surprise that the dragon countries are high on Power Distance, low on Individualism, and mid-range in Masculinity-Femininity.

(4) The fourth dimension was Uncertainty Avoidance. This indicates to what extent a culture programmes its members to feel either uncomfortable or comfortable in unstructured situations. Uncertainty-avoiding cultures try to minimize the possibility of novel, unknown, surprising situations by adhering to strict laws and rules, safety and security measures, and a belief in absolute truths. People in uncertainty-avoiding countries are also more emotional and motivated by inner nervous energy. Uncertainty-accepting cultures are more tolerant of differences in behaviour and opinion; they try to have as few rules as possible, they are relativist in their beliefs, and allow many currents to flow side by side. People in these cultures are more phlegmatic and contemplative; their environment does not expect them to express emotions. The dragon countries are weak in uncertainty-avoidance.

Two other studies independently designed and conducted also attempt to measure cultural differences. The Rockeach Value Survey designed in the U. S. A. surveyed nine Asian countries among others; and the Chinese Value Survey designed in Hong Kong surveyed 82 different countries of the world. The overlap between the findings of the three studies was remarkable because they used completely different questionnaires on different populations during different years. The reason may be that the three types of expected social behaviour towards senior / juniors, towards the group, and as a function of one's sex role are so fundamental to any human society that they are found regardless of whether the value surveys were designed by a Western or an Eastern mind. They are truly universal human traits in the sense that all societies share the same problems, but different societies have "chosen" different solutions. Unfortunately these cultural traits and corresponding resistances have never been properly understood or taken seriously in the response of the local churches of Asia.

A more serious consideration of the Asian cultural traits is crucial for the inculturation of Christianity and for the rejection of West-imposed attitudes and institutions as part of Christian faith. The Church in Hong Kong may need to do such an exercise to adapt its institutions to its cultural traits and shed the cultural values that alienating it from the masses of its people (not just "common" Christians) by being too much of a mix of Christian faith and Western colonial values.