On the other hand, as it is said that “Advertising is not only a commercial activity, but also a kind of cultural exchange。 It contains the wealth of culture。 And advertising as an  invisible hand plays its role in our life styles and habits of consuming” (Song 246)。 Nowadays, people are living a more colorful life with the rapid development of economy。 The change of consumption concept and aesthetic standards has increased the need of cosmetics。 Cosmetics have become an important part in people’s life especially in women who desire good looking。 The development of Chinese and western cosmetic are in sharp contrast with each other in international cosmetic competition。 And the cosmetic advertisement is the most attractive way except the quality of productions。 Because of different history development and cultural background, it is the fact that Chinese and western cosmetic advertisement are not the same which shows the cultural differences between China and western countries。 论文网

     We are able to watch various kinds of commercial advertisements everyday but we  cannot certainly analyze all of them in this short thesis。 So the thesis mainly focuses on the study of cosmetic advertisement。 Whenever you turn on the TV, you will watch at least on  cosmetic advertisement。 It is well known that cosmetic advertisements have entered into every aspect of our life。 

     Based on cultural dimensions by Hofstede, Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck and Edward Hall, this thesis aims to analyze the differences in cultural values reflected in cosmetic  advertisements between China and western countries。 With the remarkable tendency of globalization and frequent international commodity exchange, it is necessary to grasp the cultural differences accurately。 Only in this way can we help to give advice to expand global market and enhance international competitiveness。

2。 Literature Review

      The focus of this thesis is the different cultural values of China and western countries  embodied in cosmetic advertisements。 Thus, it is necessary for us to understand  some concepts related to the thesis, such as culture, cultural value and cosmetic advertisement。 What’s more, the literature review of these research achievements will be presented in this chapter。 

2。1 Culture 文献综述

     Culture is a very broad concept。 So many scholars gave their own definitions of “culture”。 However, none of them could give a satisfactory definition so far。 According to statistics, there are at least 200 different definitions of “culture”。 Generally speaking, culture is a social phenomenon, as well as a historical phenomenon。 It contains a nation’s history, geography, traditions, literature and art, ways of thinking, values and so on。 

     Many scholars have defined culture differently。 an English anthropologist named Edward B。 Tylor firstly defined culture in his book, Primitive Culture, published in 1871。 He indicated that culture includes knowledge, morals, custom, belief, art, law, and any other habits and abilities gained by man as a social member。 Taylor’s definition of culture is described as a milepost, which opens up a broader vision for the study of Chinese and western culture in the future。 

     In modern China, with the increasing communication of Chinese and Western culture, the studies about culture have been done by our Chinese scholars。 Some Chinese modern scholars have proposed a more complete definition of culture。 Zhang Zhanyi pided culture into knowledge culture and communication culture according to the function of the culture in his book Discussion on Communication Culture and the Knowledge Culture。 According to the Chinese scholars, their definition of culture combines culture with communication, and they regard culture as a dynamic developing process。