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Total entries in this category: 24
Published On: Mar 07, 2006 03:02 PM
Total entries in this category: 24
Published On: Mar 07, 2006 03:02 PM
Miss Mannners's View of China
When I teach western customs to the Chinese, I am
careful to emphasize that one culture is not more polite than another; it's just
the rules that are different. However, sometimes it's hard to avoid thinking
one's own culture actually is more polite.
For instance, on my way home from school one day, I
stopped to buy a pomelo from a vendor with a horse cart full of them. These
pomelos are bigger than soccer balls, with a thick skin that the vendor will
peel for you. While he peeled my pomelo, I saw an old woman pedal by on a
sanlunche, a three-wheeled bicycle with a wagon behind the seat. She was
carrying a pile of different vegetables and as she maneuvered along the rutted
road, one head of cabbage bounced out. I was not the only person to notice this,
but not one person picked up the cabbage nor drew her attention to her loss. I
waited to see if someone would surreptitiously claim the cabbage once she was
sufficiently distant, but that didn't happen
either.
Once my pomelo was peeled, I dashed across the road, picked up the runaway cabbage and began chasing after the woman who lost it. Since she was much less concerned than I was about negotiating the mud puddles and rocks in that unpaved portion of the road, it took me nearly a block before I could catch up with her. I handed her the cabbage and explained in Chinese that it had fallen from her wagon.
She declined to even touch it. "Bu yao le!" she snapped and continued pedaling, indicating she didn't want it. Okay, so it did have a bit of mud on it, but this is China, a country that simply doesn't permit too much fastidiousness. I admit I expected gratitude, or even if she didn't want the slightly muddied cabbage, a polite expression of thanks for my effort.
I dropped the cabbage right then and there, and as I retraced my steps, it seemed to me that everyone was watching the crazy foreigner who was stupid enough to pick up a fallen cabbage. Sometimes, I really don't understand the rules of courtesy here.
Once my pomelo was peeled, I dashed across the road, picked up the runaway cabbage and began chasing after the woman who lost it. Since she was much less concerned than I was about negotiating the mud puddles and rocks in that unpaved portion of the road, it took me nearly a block before I could catch up with her. I handed her the cabbage and explained in Chinese that it had fallen from her wagon.
She declined to even touch it. "Bu yao le!" she snapped and continued pedaling, indicating she didn't want it. Okay, so it did have a bit of mud on it, but this is China, a country that simply doesn't permit too much fastidiousness. I admit I expected gratitude, or even if she didn't want the slightly muddied cabbage, a polite expression of thanks for my effort.
I dropped the cabbage right then and there, and as I retraced my steps, it seemed to me that everyone was watching the crazy foreigner who was stupid enough to pick up a fallen cabbage. Sometimes, I really don't understand the rules of courtesy here.
Posted: Tue - November 11, 2003 at 05:49 AM