Partings for the Chinese involve a certain amount of ritual and a great deal of one-upmanship. Although I'm not expected to observe or even know all the rules, as a foreigner, I've had to learn the expressions of politeness and protest that accompany a leave-taking. The Chinese feel they must see a guest off to the farthest feasible point - down a flight of stairs to the street below or perhaps all the way to the nearest bus stop. I've sometimes waited half an hour or more for my husband to return from seeing a guest off, since he's gone to the bus stop and waited for the next bus to arrive. For a less important or perhaps a younger guest, he may simply say, "I won't see you off, all right?" And of course the guest assures him that he would never think of putting him to the trouble of seeing him off. "Don't see me off! Don't see me off!"