There is no single phrase in the Chinese or English language as infuriating as 'No Why'. Anyone who has lived in China will immediately recognize the phrase and have thoughts stirred in their mind concerning the times when all they wanted was an explanation or a little bit of information only to met with this ridiculousness. I hate 'no why', I hate it with every fiber of my being, but like winter, I have learned to accept it as a part of life in Beijing.
When I first moved to Beijing several years ago I had a local friend who was very open and honest when asked questions by a dumb fresh foreigner like myself. He was quite candid and understood the world in terms beyond those of many other Chinese people, and had a particular knack for explaining those odd aspects of Chinese culture in Western terms. Him and I would often take smoke breaks together and speak very honestly about our own cultures, and try to honestly answer each others' questions about our own cultures. I was fresh off the boat, so my questions were almost non-stop and revolved around everything from food and sight seeing, to people spitting indoors and certain people relieving themselves in full view of public. He was great, he would take my stupid questions in stride and always offered me great answers and advice that made living in China then and now much easier.
He would often laugh at my questions, and asked me why I was so curious about what he thought were odd topics, but he always answered me as best he could, and as honestly as he could. But one day as we were speaking he said this to me: "You have been here for a few months now, and understand China a little bit better, but something you have to know about living here is that the less you ask 'why', the easier your life will be". I asked him what he meant and he told me that most Chinese people don't think in such terms as Americans do; there is no 'why', things exist they way they are because that is the way they are supposed to be. When I stopped asking 'why' all the time, I could stop focusing on cultural and societal aspects I didn't understand and start living life. But I couldn't accept what he told me, I am curious by nature and if someone tells me not to ask 'why', then my want to know 'why' grows exponentially.
I have never stopped asking 'why' as long as have been here, but the more Chinese people I meet and the more of the language I learn, the more I encounter the infamous 'no why'. I just want to know 'why' certain things exist the way the do, nothing has arisen miraculously un-evloved in its' most current form, everything evolves and comes from something which existed earlier, so there needs must be an answer to every 'why' I could ever think to ask. But not in the minds of many people I have met in Beijing.
9 times out of 10 when I ask a local a 'why' question I am immediately met with a 'no why', which makes me want to go on a "No Why Rampage" across this city. Let's look at some recent highlights of the 'no why' extravaganza that is my life in Beijing:
Me: "Why is there a separation between the color qing and the color blue?"
Girlfriend: "No why."
Me: "Why is there no cover over the stairwell into the subway station? Every time it rains it floods the subway here."
Subway Employee: "No why."
Me: "Why are you cutting those plastics bags in half?"
Friend: "No why."
Me: "Why aren't you serving these dishes today?"
Waitress: "No why."
Me: "Why are they beating that man?"
Bystander: "No why."
So I must surmise that the Chinese people just wanted two words for the same color, the subway department of Beijing doesn't care about subway flooding, my friends likes to cut plastic bags in half for no reason, restaurants have a random schedule of dishes served, and that bouts of random violence occur in Beijing...
I just want to know why, is that so much to ask? I think it must be. So why are Chinese people so adverse to answering 'why' questions? Well, no why.
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