This paper mainly has four parts: part one explains the definition and development of taboo, and the main framework of this paper. part two makes a comparative analysis of Chinese and English taboos based on cultural backgrounds; part three comes up with three strategies of avoiding taboos in cross-cultural communication ; part four draws a conclusion of this study.

Ⅱ. Comparative Analysis of Chinese and English Taboos Based on Cultural Backgrounds

2.1 The Convergence of Chinese and English Taboos and Their Cultural Factors

Although different countries and cultures have different taboos, there is still a convergence of taboos between two different cultures, because we are all human beings, we live in the similar natural environment and we share something in common to some extent.

2.1.1 Taboos on Death and Disease

Generally speaking, death is not talked directly among the Westerners. They prefer to talk about the scary truth in a traditional and mild practice. In English, taboos on death are deeply influenced by Christianity. According to the Christian religious view, human beings are, to some extent, depraved due to Adam’s sin. Everyone is sin, no matter noble or humble, rich or poor. Due to the original sin, human beings are doomed to encounter all kinds of pains, including death and disease. It is said that, before the salvation of man by Jesus Christ, there is no remedy for original sin. People don’t want to talk about death and disease, because these words can remind them of their guilt and doomed sufferings.

As a result, the Westerners created many euphemisms to replace the word “death”. Some of them have expressed people’s attitudes toward death and the next life, such as be out of pain, be at peace, be with God, go to a better world, go to one’s long home, go to heaven, etc. Some of them have the sense of joking, such as crashing, bombing, and kick the bucket and so on. In addition, things related to death also have euphemisms. Many people think that it is too callous to put the dead in morgue and cemetery, which sound a little bit melancholy(Zhang  Xinjuan, 34).

The same case is with disease, which is also tabooed in English. People usually don’t like talking about disease. There are mainly two reasons: one is superstition and another is that people are shame of it. When one goes to see a doctor, they often say “I am very sorry to bother you, Doctor”. Hutton Webster once said “To the savage, sickness is sin or the result of sin”. That is a traditional view on disease, which people reserves even in today.

There are also many taboos on death in Chinese. Nevertheless, the psychology behind them is quite different from that of Westerners. Chinese taboos on death are created, not only due to the horror of death, but also by many other factors. The most important one is the concept of harmony between human and nature, which is the core of Chinese traditional culture. This concept originated from Zhou Dynasty. It was proposed in the great work, Zhou Yi. According to this book, all substances in the world, including mankind, change with two basic elements: heaven and earth, which are represented by two basic symbols as “yin” and “yang” in Chinese. The rule of universe is not in man but in nature. Hence, man has to abide by the rules of nature in order to survive. The existence and development of universe lie in the harmonious state of the basic elements yin and yang, which also ought to be the way of movement of man’s life. Since human beings are part of the universe, all the physical phenomena of man, including death, is natural too.

Zhou Yi has exerted a great influence on many schools of Chinese traditional culture, including Confucianism and Taoism. Confucius considered Zhou Yi as the principles for people to cultivate his moral character. He laid stress on the state of living people not on gods and ghosts, on life in this world not the afterlife. He emphasized the current not the future. Accordingly, unlike the Western religion of Christianity, death, for the majorities of Chinese people, is not so horrible and terrible. On the contrary, death after longevity is regarded as bliss.