How people look, dress, do and so forth belong to the external side, which can exhibit people’s taste, interest, attitude and values of their internal space. The latter, pooled together, contribute to the interest and values of a society in which these people are. Thus in a macroscopic terms, a society is composed of the appearance and behavior of its people, which can also reflect ideas and values of its own.
In a chronically observed angle, the appearance of people has changed a lot, which can not be realized with social development. Ever since clothes were more than something covering human body, they have been deliberately designed and displayed to tailored and catered for people over centuries.Take an example of Chines clothes at the turn of 20th century , women wore long, sleeveless and tight dress to embody their figure and beauty while men wore long robes, which were a distinctive mainstream. At that time, both women and men had long hair but different hair style. With revolution, liberation and openness to the world, the outlook of Chinese has changed dramatically. They now look more “western” with suits, ties, T-shirts, jeans, commuter dresses, high-heel shoes and so forth. This evolution of outlook is the embodiment of changes from tradition to modern, from locality to globalization.
Similarly, the behavior of people can not be still and fixed【这里是相同的啊,adj。】 but developing in the same breath of society. With invention of television sets and manmade satellites, people are able to watch everything around the world, which has expanded their horizon. With popularization of computer and Internet, people can talk with whoever【后面那个分词短语做状语表明了是人】 they want, revolutionizing their way of communication. Correspondingly, people are more curious about the nature, people and life abroad and willing to learn foreign languages, in order to travel, study and live abroad. With increasing travelers and immigrants, people around the world gradually get adjusted to meeting foreigners. Their traditional codes or habits have been instilled with something new and exotic. This irresistible trend represents the general value of the society from closeness and isolation, like an island, to openness and interaction as a part of a continent.
In turn, the ideas and values of a society can be observed from the appearance and behavior of its people.【第一段想说的是外观变化缘于社会进步,第二段说的是举止行为变化缘于社会进步,这一段是社会价值观可以从外观和行为上观察出来?】 Both the “western” clothes and proficient foreign languages prove the inevitable trend of globalization, while traditional essence and native language or even dialect integrate and localize this wave with diverse features. It can be found that some Frenchmen are obsessed with Kongfu; local people like to eat dumplings in a brand chain of Chinese store open in Sydney; Chinese people dine in KFC which has added Chinese cuisine to their original hamburgers; Sushi is a popular food around the world. All of these are evidences of a society’s openness and willingness to accept something foreign and new.
In a conclusion, people’s inner world can be expressed by the outer means of wearing and doing, and their beliefs and values are interwoven with the society which they belong to. Therefore, it is natural to tell much about a society’s beliefs and values by observing the appearance and behavior of its people. |