Letters and Blogs

'Bu rang' isn't right!

The Chinese word for "yield" is "rang", as in "yield the right of way" (or as the British put it "give way"). I've pondered over this word lately because I'm celebrating my first anniversary of driving in China. Although I first came to China two decades ago and have lived here off and on for many years, it was only last year that I bought a car and started driving in Beijing. And I've come to the conclusion that one can learn a lot about China by driving here.

For example, I've learned that while there is an extensive body of traffic regulations governing the operation of motor vehicles in China, these regulations aren't also followed very closely. That's not too surprising, nor is it terribly different from other countries. But this concept of rang - or the lack thereof - seems to be particularly prevalent on China's roads and byways.