ABSTRACT

The standard western anthropological notion is that culture is what has to be learned from other people and can be passed on. It contrasts with nature and what comes naturally to people. The contrast is complex because most natural human dispositions need also to be specified and shaped by culture, as the disposition to eat is culturally shaped by specific ways of finding and preparing food, or the disposition to procreate is culturally shaped by social habits of family life. Most elements of culture not only need to be learned but should be learned well, that is, cultivated: good cuisine, healthy and nurturing families. So most elements of culture can be assessed as to their appropriateness and their degree of excellent development. Societies acknowledge not only distinctions between high and low culture but also distinctions between degrees of appropriate acculturation. All these elements are present in the Chinese appreciation of culture.