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Strangers Mediating Strangers: Bicycle Accidents in Inner Mongolia
| Article
# : |
19686 |
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Section : |
CULTURE
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| Issue
Date : |
9 / 1991 |
4,577 Words |
| Author
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William R. Jankowiak
William R. Jankowiak is an assistant professor of anthropology
at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. His book on life in
urban China is currently under review with several publishing
houses. His field research was conducted in Huhehot, the
capital of Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China, during two
separate visits, the first from 1981 to 1983, and the second
one in 1987. |
In the late evening hours, the city streets of Huhehot, Inner Mongolia, are packed with cyclists. Returning home from their workplaces, many riders stop at local markets, scattered throughout the city, to buy foodstuffs for the evening meal. Traffic accidents at this time of day are not uncommon and frequently result in quarrels over responsibility for replacing damaged goods.
One evening I came across two cyclists, both men, involved in an intense but low-keyed dispute. A broken container of soy sauce was splattered across the street. The younger man, a college student in his early twenties, had accidentally hit the other rider's hand and thereby broken the glass container. Both men had immediately hopped off their bikes to discuss the accident.
The other man, an army officer in his midthirties, had bought the soy sauce from a nearby market and was now hunched over the debris on the street. Arms folded across his chest, he was attempting to convince the student to take responsibility for the loss. They appeared to have reached an agreement that the student was at fault, but there was disagreement over how much soy sauce had been in the container. The student, standing three feet away, his eyes downcast, was attempting to defend his actions.
A group of onlookers, who had been watching from a distance, advanced to participate in the discussion over the approximate size and cost of the soy sauce. "How do you know it was six ounces?" demanded a male onlooker.
"I know," said the officer.
"Four ounces!" an elderly woman cried out.
"Six ounces," the officer repeated, but the woman insisted: "Four ounces."
The officer looked directly at the old woman but then immediately diverted his eyes toward the ground. "You're wrong," an elderly man called out. "You're equally at fault. The student was just trying to avoid you."
"No. He was careless and hit the bottle," the officer shouted back. "He is responsible."
"Aya! No! You're at fault," said the old man.
"No. He knows
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