Falling down a manhole is not the best way to make a good impression. Or so

Falling down a manhole is not the best way to make a good impression. Or so I thought before coming to China. One day, cycling on Heping Li Xijie—a potholed street crowded with taxis, bicycles, three-wheel carts, and fruit and vegetable sellers, my front wheel disappeared down a hole and threw me over the handlebars. Embarrassed, I waited for the unkind laughing comments of passers-by. But when I rearranged myself and managed to laugh at my accident, a crowd of onlookers broke into a round of applause and gave me a double thumbs up. So I was able to ride away without loss of face.
    But I was surprised that no one tried to help me up, or offered to pull my bike out of the hole. Perhaps it’s because I’m a foreigner—considered more of a spectator sport, than a respected member of the human race. It was later explained to me, however, that by not helping, the onlookers were allowing me to save face—mianzi. Had I been Chinese, or perhaps nose-dived in a less exaggerated way, people would not have registered my fall at all.
    Stopping to help someone draws attention to the fact that they’re lying on the street in a terribly embarrassed manner. But, by pretending not to notice, passers-by allow them to recover themselves and continue their journey. Yes, they may be physically injured, but their pride is held in one piece.