ABSTRACT
Cultural changes cause the old and the new cultures to collide with each other, resulting in the differences or conflicts of concepts among generations. This is because the significance of the old and the new cultures is different for social members of different ages. Social age is a kind of age symbol that represents individuals’ social views, attitudes, and participation based on their physical and psychological ages. It is different from physical age, which represents a physical structure, function, and metabolism of the human body. “Generational cultures” are one type of subcultures that exist in modern societies. It can be assumed that the cultural integration of modern societies is actually an integration of subcultures. This chapter examines the practice of reform and opening up as well as the flourishing of the market economy in China. The market economy in China, as an establishment of a new cultural style, requires significant changes in the planned economic system, the corresponding value systems, and the cultural norms of the entire society. It is predicted that when the accepted standard system and behavior patterns of people were unable to cope with the changed social realities, social members would face unavoidable and enormous pressure from resocialization.
