This is too cute by half. Yeah, I suppose you can try to dissect something like this in terms of the subtleties of language and the forces they have on interper

This is too cute by half. Yeah, I suppose you can try to dissect something like this in terms of the subtleties of language and the forces they have on interpersonal interactions. But then, to do that, you'd have to be ignoring some of the huge, gaping differences between Chinese culture and Western culture: those same people who are shouting "off the car!" are probably also pushing you out of the way while they say it (welcome to China!) In other words, it isn't just language, or even mostly language. By western standards, Chinese people are damned rude, in general. They can certainly be lovely, warm people, and there are deep cultural explanations for the behavior that are fun to explore...but still, don't get lost in meditation about it when you're walking in Beijing, or you'll get run over by a grandma who is driving her motorcycle on the sidewalk (hey...you were in the way!) Likewise, the whole extended meditation on what shopkeepers say to you on the way out the door is...overwrought. There are a few comments in this thread that suggest that the author's translation is perhaps a bit too literal: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9712050 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9712050 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9712559 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9712559 ...which wouldn't be surprising in Mandarin, where words/sounds/symbols are overloaded, and meaning depends heavily on context. Also, sometimes people just say things because that's what they say. Every shopkeeper in Paris will say "good journey!" to you as you walk out the door. You could write an essay on how beautifully meaningful it is that they're wishing you goodwill in your life's journey -- or you could remember that the dude who just sold you toilet paper doesn't really care. It's automatic. (Fun fact: the greeter at WalMart doesn't really care if your day is nice, either.) This essay strikes me as someone fetishizing a culture, deeming it "mysterious", and trying to find great meaning in the self-imposed mysteries, when simpler explanations are at hand.