Over the past few weeks in Kashgar I have been part of many dinners with government officials and other reporters and have refused to drink baijiu. I usually have beer or wine and I drink as much as I want even if other people have dried their glasses. I have found that many Party Secretaries are rather indulgent of me and respect this but there are others who simply cannot abide my behavior. To them I am being disrespectful and losing face which is hard for me to understand because I know that most of them dislike baijiu anyway.

近几个星期我跟政府官员以及其他记者参加了不少晚宴，但我谢绝白酒。我通常喝点啤酒或葡萄酒，而且即便有人干杯了，我还是想喝多少就喝多少。我发现大多数书记对我的行为比较宽容，但还有其他的人好像忍受不了我的行为。对他们来说，我不仅仅丢面子，而且我是不礼貌的。我有点难理解这个，因为我知道他们中的大多数人不喜欢白酒。

One government official I spoke with before a large dinner concurred with me. He said that it is a problem for almost everyone and that he especially despises forced drinking. However at dinner that night he did the most coercing. He was completely drunk by the end of the meal and even though he winced after each and every glass of baijiu I think I finally understood that in his own way he was being true to himself.

某一次晚宴前一位官员同意我的看法。他说，让几乎人人都喝酒是一个问题，并且他自己非常讨厌劝酒。不过，当天晚上劝酒最多的人就是他。晚饭后他喝醉了，尽管每杯酒以后他都有点畏缩。我最后明白了，他这样做是为了使自己心里踏实。

It is better to be miserable than rude in China. People toast in order to make others feel special or to give face without regard for how the alcohol will make themselves feel. This is often reciprocated which is an expression of friendship. The price for this honor is fixed. One shot for one shot. One sip for one sip. It must be equal and the proper words must be said. The culture of drinking in China is part of the economy of face.

在中国，痛苦比不礼貌更好。无论酒对自己的影响，人们敬酒为了让对方感到他是特别的或者是给面子。对方的回敬是友谊的表现。这个荣誉的价格是固定的。一个杯子对一个杯子，一口对一口，非要平等不可，而且得说得体的话。中国的酒文化是面子经济的一部分。

In America being true to yourself is more important than being polite. If being polite means doing something that is against one's conscience then most Americans would rather be rude. For me drinking is a matter of conscience. I hate being rude but I prefer my hosts will give me a choice so as to avoid this situation. In my culture there is also an economy of face but it is more like a market economy. It is based on choices.

在美国，心里踏实比礼貌更重要。如果礼貌意味做事违背良心，那大多数美国人宁可做不礼貌的事也不让心里不踏实。对我来说，喝酒是良心的事。我当然不想不礼貌，但我更希望主人允许我作出选择以避免这个情况。我的文化也有面子的经济，但它更像市场经济，也就是以选择为本。

I am afraid that I have made a bad impression on a number of government officials in Kashgar because I have not participated in the drinking rituals of this culture. I am simply not accustomed to it and I never will be. Several people have told me that I should do as the locals but if I do this I am not being true to myself. And if they do not try to honor me with shots of baijiu they are not being true to themselves either. Both sides make decisions of conscience but it is difficult to have successful exchanges when we are working with two different economies. 

恐怕我给几个喀什地区官员留下了不好的印象，因为我没参与中国文化中的喝酒风俗。我完全不习惯而且将来也难以习惯。几个人向我说应该入乡随俗，但这样我心里就不踏实，而且如果他们不请我喝杯酒，他们的心里也不踏实。两侧都凭良心作决定，但有两个不同经济时，很难获得成功的交流。