Why did ancient China respect the prostration, and it has been passed down for a long time?

In ancient times, when the hierarchy was strict, kneeling to highlight the distinction of hierarchy was more in line with the situation at that time: throughout the feudal period, it was emphasized that rank was respected, and prostrations satisfied people's vanity and consolidated political power, so they were all bowed as rituals. <>

There is a handshake etiquette in modern China, as for how it came about, we will talk about it later. In ancient times, people only had the etiquette of bowing their hands or bowing, because in ancient times, there was a strict distinction between ranks, such as "scholars, farmers, industrialists, and merchants" is a manifestation of rank, ** at the top of the "food chain". People with lower status than him see them as a ritual of kneeling, and if it is between peers, then they will bow to each other and say two beautiful words, even if they have seen the ceremony.

Prostrating and bowing is easy to consolidate the power of ancient feudal dynasties. As we all know, the ancient feudal dynasties all advertised that they were "ordered by heaven and lived forever", which belonged to the "divine right granted by heaven". Mortals are unshakable, and only by accepting the management of the imperial court with peace of mind is it in accordance with the will of heaven.

Such propaganda is important, but it is also necessary to consolidate the effectiveness of their propaganda through practical actions.

Asking the people to bow between ** is a kind of practical action, just imagine, if people of different ranks use kneeling to salute, then not everyone with the highest rank wants to kneel to him, which is not equivalent to further deifying him? This was conducive to the stability of the political power of the feudal dynasty. <>

From the Xia Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, the last feudal dynasty in ancient China--- they were feudal in nature, and they had to maintain the stability of the political power in the world. Therefore, they can only use prostrations to bind people's minds and consolidate their power, so that prostrations can be passed down for thousands of years. Of course, such etiquette is feudal and is not conducive to equal communication between people.

Therefore, after the Western idea of democracy and equality was introduced to China, some literati who had been influenced by advanced culture began to use handshake salutes instead of kneeling salutes. Today, the idea of democracy and equality has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, and there is no such prostration as in ancient times. <>

There are reasons for the emergence and demise of the prostration. It appears when feudal dynasties need it to consolidate their power; When the idea of democracy and equality becomes the trend of the times, it will naturally perish.

I think this has a lot to do with the thinking of people at that time, in ancient times, people believed that if you don't kneel, you don't worship, and worship means to salute, so they think that only bowing is respecting others.

Because prostrations are an important ritual in Confucian culture, and ancient China was exclusive to Confucianism, as long as this doctrine does not disappear, it will always exist and is very important.

Prostrations are a traditional Chinese ritual in which subordinates show respect to their superiors. Because etiquette is politeness and etiquette, it is a traditional Chinese virtue, and etiquette is the need to inherit civilization.

Bowing is the traditional etiquette of our country, there are different respects and different rituals, with different etiquette to express, so there are three bows, nine bows.

There are two forms of Taoist prostration, among which one prostration, three prostrations are the most common, and three prostrations and nine prostrations are the most solemn. The Taoist people often say that the "three salutes upwards" refers to the three salutes and three bows, which are mostly used for the pilgrimage to the gods on weekdays.

Regarding the three prostrations and nine prostrations, the worship method is to repeat the "one prostration, three prostrations" twice, combined into three prostrations and nine prostrations. Before repeating, you should strike the chime three times to show that you are once again bowing to God. After the ceremony, he also retreated.

The three bows and nine bows are the highest worship rites in Taoism, and they only come at the beginning of the year.

I.X. 5. This ceremony is performed only during the Patriarch's Christmas and various Jiao dojos.

The specific prayer method of the three prostrations:

1) Standing in front of the kneeling mat (worship mat), the man stands in a figure eight shape with his heels two to three inches apart; The woman's legs are combined in one word.

2) Bow down with your hands in front of your abdomen and hold them from bottom to top (at the same level as your mouth).

3) The left hand leaves the right hand and covers the heart (the mind is scattered for the taboo of Taoism, covering the heart means paying homage to God with a single-minded and silent heart), and at the same time calmly bends over, the right hand presses the kneeling pad, kneels down on both knees, and then, the left hand leaves the heart and presses the back of the right hand to form a "ten" shape.

4) Prostrate and prostrate your head on the backs of your hands (your head and spine should be lowered at the same time, and your arms should not be higher than your back). At this time, think of God in your heart and pray sincerely.

5) Raise your head, retract your left hand to cover your heart, exert your right hand, slowly get up, retract your right hand, and arch your fists with both hands, ready to bow for the second time.

Repeat the above two times for the three prostrations. After the three heads are kowtowed, get up and put your hands together on the upper abdomen (Taoism calls "embracing Tai Chi"). Then, bow to the gods again, and wait until your hands are standing together from top to bottom to upper abdomen before leaving the kneeling mat.

Bowing is the traditional etiquette of the Chinese nation, the ancients sat on the ground, paid great attention to etiquette and etiquette, expressed different respect and different etiquette, and used different etiquette to express, so there are nine worship ceremonies. "Fist respect", is to express the meaning of sincerity. Later generations evolved into kowtowing, and until now, Taoism still practices kowtowing.

There is a difference between one kowtow, three kowtows, and nine kowtows.

First, the reference is different.

1. Prostration: Kneel on the ground, hold the ground with both hands, and keep your head close to the ground or touch the ground.

2. Worship: Put your hands together in front of your chest and lower your head to your hands.

Second, the source is different.

1, kowtow: Ding Ling "Chinese New Year": "The strong buddies have also knelt down and are slowly kowtowing. ”

2. Worship: "Sayings": Hand to the ground. From the hand, from. Syllable. Yang Xiong said, bow to the two hands. Ancient Bunbai.

Vernacular interpretation: "Shuowen": worship, hands to the ground. The glyph adopts the meaning of "hand". The pronunciation is the same as "suddenly". Worship, Yang Xiong said, the glyph of "worship" adopts the image of two hands drooping. This is the ancient way of writing "worship".

Third, the focus is different.

1. Kowtow: the old Han communication etiquette, a heavier kneeling ceremony.

2. Worship: a kind of etiquette to show respect.

In ancient times, the ancient people's kneeling ritual arose from the Han Dynasty, and this ritual was established by Liu Bang in order to show his status and consolidate the imperial power.

In ancient times, the kneeling etiquette of the ancients began with Liu Bang, the ancestor of the Han Dynasty. Kneeling is the most widely used and most frequent ritual used by the ancients, and the kneeling ceremony has been postponed until modern times before it was canceled, and it is also a landmark ritual in ancient China. Matching.

Popular in the Han Dynasty, after Liu Bang ascended the throne, in order to show his status, he made a series of royal rules.

The ritual of kneeling has been teasing in our country for a long time, and it is a traditional etiquette in our country, and it has slowly disappeared after modern times. Because the ritual of prostration, No-seep did last for a long time.

At that time, the ritual of kneeling was only a tradition, and it was a sign of respect for the other party, and then it was necessary to bow down, not to hurt self-esteem.

Yes, kneeling was also a tradition at that time, and it was more respectful to the elders at that time, so it was also this kind of etiquette.