Chapter 4 - Saving face

Now for a more sociological post.

"Saving face" is a Chinese social concept that any westerner in China must, and will unavoidably learn. I experienced it quite qickly as I arrived here, just by asking for directions. If you ask for the way, Chinese people have a certain tendancy to just tell you something, even though they really have no idea were it is. One reason for this must be to avoid the loss of face. As a Chinese being asked by a westerner, you are supposed to know the way. If not you lose face.

Let's say you are waiting for someone who is late, he will definately give you some excuse to avoid the fact that it was his fault. And these "white lies" seem as though they are accepted, it not even expected. If you airline has trouble witht the plane, they will instead say that some other airline have messed up. If your teacher do not know the answer to your question he will tell you something anyways.

So, if you ever find yourself in China asking for directions, ask someone that looks as though they are likely to know. If you look for a bank, ask at another bank. If you look for a computer store, ask at another electronics store. If you look for a beauty shop, ask a girl, If you look for a bar, ask a bum...or another westerner.

All this, can of course be compared to our concept of avoiding embarrassement, but this concept is not nearely as important in our culture as saving face is in the Chinese.