Although people from different nations have different attitudes towards time, people can have opportunities to exchange with others of different culture。 That is the reason that different cultures are being a process of integration。 

3。 The Features of Time Concept in Chinese Culture

3。1 Past-orientation文献综述

China is an ancient civilization with more than five thousand years of history。 Chinese reverence and veneration toward tradition make people adopt past-orientation time。 Chinese people attache great importance to the history and regard the past experience as the important reference to present action, for that Chinese people have been considering the past experience as wealth。 Adopting past-orientation time affects Chinese national character。 Generally speaking, China is a society for the static stability, for which unity and stability are a top priority of every dynasty, as well as the guarantee of social development。 The concepts, such as “People esteem the past over the present”, “Laws of the fathers are immutable” are all the embodiment of past-orientation time (Chen Horizon 367)。

For thousands of years, China has no unified religious beliefs and Confucianism has been occupying dominant position。 Confucianism, the belief of the Chinese people, has produced a huge influence on political, economic and cultural fields。 The Chinese time concept is also closely related to Confucianism。 Confucians emphasize on filial piety, with a saying “filial first of the hundred good”, which require to respect for ancestors and to be filial to parents (Zeng and Liao 32)。 As a result, Chinese people attach more importance to the historical experience。 That is why Chinese people stick to past-orientation time。

3。2 Circular time concept

Circular time concept refers to that time is like a circle which are always doing the eternal cyclical movement (Jia 71) based on natural laws。