Reflections of Time Concept
Linear extension and circular rotation 线伸环旋
Western: extension, sense of time shortage, future valued Chinese: rotation, sense of time abundance, past cherished
time tables
pocket planners
on time
agendas
appointments
time managements plans
in time
deadlines calendars
schedules
accountings
Americans seem tied to the clock.
Quotations from Poets 时间是一切事物的 “Time is the devourer of 吞食者。 — 奥维特 everything.” — Ovid
Roman Poet 43 B. C.
时间是窃走青春的神秘 “Time is the subtle thief of 盗贼 。 youth.” -- Milton — 弥尔顿 时间步伐如此迅疾，令人 “Time is most brisk and 眼花缭乱。 giddypaced.” — 莎士比亚 -- Shakespeare
失之东隅，收之桑榆。 What is lost at sunrise can be regained at sunset. — 冯异 Idiom: 时来运转 The favor of the time cycle brings good luck.
枯木逢春犹再发
A withered tree comes to life again
English Poet (1608 – 1674)
English Playwright (1564 – 1616)
Time’s Paces
When I was a babe and wept and slept, Time crept; When I was a boy and laughed and talked, Time walked. Then when the years saw me a man, Time ran. But as I older grew, Time flew. Soon, as I journey on, Guy Pentreath (1902 - 1985) I'll find time gone. May Christ have saved my soul, by then, Amen.
Do you love life? Then do not waste time, for that is the stuff life is made of.
American sense of time shortage
Subjective time and objective time
Americans see time as a valuable resource. Maybe that's why they are fond of the expression, "Time is money."
To outsiders, Americans seem tied to the clock. People in other cultures value relationships more than schedules. In these societies, people don't try to control time, but to experience it. Chinese, for example, view time as a cycle. They find it easier to "go with the flow" than Americans, who like plans to be fixed and unchangeable.

Time is compared to water
Time is a river, a torrent, a waterfall. Time is marching, flying and flowing. Time and tide wait for no man
Time lost is never found again
The Blockbuster
• American lifestyles show how much people respect the time of others. When people plan an event, they often set the time days or weeks in advance. Once the time is fixed, it takes almost an emergency to change it. If people want to come to your house for a friendly visit, they will usually call first to make sure it is convenient.
Time is like a circle
日月光华，旦复旦兮。 (《尚书大传》上卷） The sun alternates with the moon; Days come one after another soon. 春与秋其代序。 （屈原：《离骚》） Spring alternates with autumn.
After extreme bad luck, comes good luck
Americans believe time is a limited resource, they try to conserve and manage it. People do all they can to squeeze more life out of their time.