"Privacy" is translated as "yin si" in Chinese. Traditionally,in the Chinese mind,"yin si" is associated with(...)what is closed or unfair. If someone is said to have "yin si",meddlers will be attracted to pry into his or her things. So people always say that they don't have "yin si". On the contrary, Americans often declare  intention to protect their privacy. Their understanding of privacy is that others have no right to pry into things which belong to themselves alone and have nothing to do with others. One who is too curious  and who spreads rumors is said to violate  the right to privacy. In the evening, Sonia and I went to a bar for dinner. In China, when people mention bars, something bad usually comes to mind. But here,the bar was a quiet and tastefully laidout place. People spoke quite softly, afraid of interrupting their neighbors, and sat face to face as they drank, sometimes three or five persons sitting together. This sort of atmosphere was totally different from my preconception , so I wanted to take a picture. Sonia stopped me, "Don't you see these people are pouring out their hearts? Maybe they are colleagues, friends, secret lovers. They came here looking for a peaceful place free from interruption by others. They wouldn't want to leave any trace  of their having come here. So taking their pictures would be a serious violation of their right to privacy." Is there privacy between husband and wife? One of Sonia's friends married a talented Chinese man,but recently she became so angry that she wanted a divorce .The reason was that her husband had opened one of her letters and looked through her purse. The husband didn't realize that this is not tolerated  in the U.S.. He thought that being a couple was like being one person; why couldn't he see the letter or the contents of the purse? Truly, everyone, even those living as a couple, needs room--not only in threedimensional  space, but in the heart. One of Sonia's friends wanted a divorce because  _  .
she thought her husband was not clever enough her husband always opened her letters her husband always looked through her purse her husband didn't respect her right to privacy