Abstract: The relationship between mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law has been an issue since old days, especially in China where people pay great attention to social status. It is an egoistic war between the mother-in-law and the daughter-in-law to establish superiority. Comparatively, overseas Chinese families and the western families tend to be more stable and have better in-law relationship than families in Mainland China. This paper offers a panorama of mothers- and daughters-in-law relationship home and abroad, probes into the emotional and financial reasons, and attempts to advance solutions to better the relationship. Keywords: cultural difference, mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationship, intercultural communication

摘要：婆媳关系历来是家庭中的一大难题，尤其是在中国这个注重社会地位的国家，这是一场婆媳之间的以自我为中心的，为了在家庭中赢得优势的战争，相比而言，华侨以及西方家庭比起大陆家庭较稳定而且有较好的姻亲系。这篇论文对国内外婆媳关系的概貌作了一个阐述，研究了这一问题的情感和经济原因，试提出对这一问题的解决之道。

关键词：文化差异，婆媳关系，跨文化交际