This study compares the characteristics of regional cultures in Sichuan province and Zhejiang province in China. From an economic perspective, interest in regional culture is increasing day by day. In particular, as the level of regional economic deve...
This study compares the characteristics of regional cultures in Sichuan province and Zhejiang province in China. From an economic perspective, interest in regional culture is increasing day by day. In particular, as the level of regional economic development increases, the role of regional culture is becoming more important in efforts to find new driving forces for regional economic development. While the existing paradigm focuses on quantitative growth, the new regional economic development paradigm focuses more on qualitative development.In particular, the role of regional culture is very important in qualitative development. This is because regional culture affects not only an industry, but also the organic combination of various elements necessary for regional economic development. This study presents five scales to compare regional cultures with reference to existing research. The first is a comparison between groups and individuals in terms of collectivism. In general, collectivism and individualism can have a direct impact on human economic behavior.The second is a comparison of openness and conservatism in the relationship with power. It is believed that open regional cultures have a strong tendency to escape from centralized power, while conservative regional cultures have a strong tendency to move toward power. Third is the comparison between riskiness and stability in terms of uncertainty. In response to uncertain situations, regional cultures that are challenging take a proactive stance, while regional cultures that aim for stability have a relatively passive attitude. Fourth is a comparison of rigidity and flexibility in terms of gender differences. A relatively flexible regional culture can be seen as having an active ability to cope with situations, while a strict regional culture can be seen as having a passive attitude. Fifth, from a long-term perspective, there is a comparison between Physiocratic culture and mercantile culture. This study compares the regional cultures of Sichuan province and Zhejiang province in China through these five scales.Sichuan Province is located in the western region of China, especially the inland region, and Zhejiang Province is located in the eastern coastal region of China. Therefore, comparison of the regional cultures of these two regions is considered meaningful from a geographical perspective. From an economic perspective, Sichuan Province is a region leading the regional economic development of the western region of China, and Zhejiang Province is leading the regional economic development of the eastern coastal region. This study uses Wave 7 data from the World Values Survey to compare the regional cultures of two regions. The World Values Survey is constructing data that reflects the cultural characteristics of local residents by country or region. Wave 7 data of the World Values Survey is being investigated based on 2017-2021.In this survey, 153 respondents from Sichuan Province and 117 respondents from Zhejiang Province. According to the analysis results in terms of collectivism, the tendency of collectivism is relatively high in both Sichuan province and Zhejiang province.And the importance of family and work in Zhejiang Province appears to be slightly higher than that in Sichuan Province. Through this, it can be interpreted that the collectivist tendency in Zhejiang Province is slightly higher than that in Sichuan Province. According to the analysis results of openness and conservatism, Zhejiang Province's dependence on family and values are slightly higher than those of Sichuan Province. Therefore, it can be interpreted that Sichuan Province's conservatism is slightly higher than that of Zhejiang Province. Third, in terms of uncertainty, the degree of uncertainty avoidance in Sichuan Province appears to be slightly higher than that in Zhejiang Province. In other words, relatively speaking, Zhejiang Province is adventure-oriented and Sichuan Province is stability-oriented.Fourth, due to gender differences, Zhejiang Province has high masculine regional cultural characteristics,and Sichuan Province has feminine tendencies characteristics. Fifth, from a long-term orientation, both Sichuan province and Zhejiang province place importance on long-term orientation, but Sichuan Province places relatively more emphasis on the long-term orientation than Zhejiang Province.
Keywords: China, Sichuan Province, Zhejiang Province, Regional Culture,Region.