Th is paper reviews the historical household saving trend of selected economies at the take - off stage , and identifies the emerging themes of the cultural aspect of household saving. It develops a framework to research the cultural influence on China’s household saving. The framework centers on Keyne sian saving theory incorporating Institutio nal E conomics concepts and Lu Xiyue’s Chinese cultural system. The paper argue s for an appreci ation of the cultural influence and discusses its implication for China’s sustainable development.