Abstract

 University mottos reflect the campus cultures and education orientations. The university mottos in different countries will reflect their own peculiar characteristics as they are cultivated in different national cultures. Therefore, university mottos of Chinese and American universities will definitely show their own cultural features. By comparing Chinese and American university mottos through the evolution and development of history, composition and source of words and cultural connotation and stability, the thesis finds out that most Chinese and American universities attach great importance to summarizing a special and vivid precept, and they also make full use of the mottos in terms of school running. Also, the thesis analyzes the cultural differences between China and America from the following aspects: morality tendency and knowledge tendency; collectivism and individualism; indirect thinking mode and direct thinking mode; past-orientation and future-orientation. This thesis is aimed to find a new way for university motto to play its function in education, and to find a new point of view to understand the cultures profoundly and to promote cultural interactions.

Keywords: -university mottos; cultural backgrounds; Sino-American cultural    ----differences

Contents

Abstract

摘要

1. Introduction-1

1.1 The Definition of University Motto-1

1.2 The Objectives of This Study-2

2. Literature Review-2

3. Comparisons of Sino-American University Mottos-4

3.1 Differences in the Historical Developments-4

3.2 Differences in the Composition and Sources of Words-5

4. Factors Leading to Sino-American Cultural Differences in University Mottos-6

4.1 Morality Tendency vs Knowledge Tendency-7

4.2 Collectivism vs Individualism-8

4.3 Indirect Thinking Mode vs Direct Thinking Mode-10

4.4 Past-orientation vs Future-orientation-11

5. Conclusion-13

Works Cited-14