The etiquette or custom of kneeling and worshipping, what happened in history, we always heard about the ancient times of three kneeling and nine kowtows, so when did this come from? Today, let's talk about this.
First of all, we have to say when did these etiquettes in China start, from Zhou Dynasty to , Zhou is essentially a feudal country, the feudal rank, the distinction between the superior and the subordinate must be differentiated, and the inferior must show respect to the superior , so there was the "Zhou Li", which made strict regulations on the etiquette between people.
In the eyes of Zhou Dynasty people, whether you are a civilized person or a barbarian, the main difference is whether you are polite or not. Zhou Li not only has regulations on major events such as sacrifice and funeral, but also strict regulations on food and daily life, such as kneeling worship. Zhou Li is divided into nine kinds of etiquette for people of different grades and different identities on different occasions, which are called nine worship . In fact, this is a general term, not to say that there are nine kinds of worship. In the Zhou Dynasty, there were no stools and chairs, and they all sat on the ground. Jiubai was basically salute on the basis of kneeling and sitting.
There are three basic ways of worshiping, the first is head , which is to kneel on the ground with left hand hold down the right hand, hand to the ground, hands in front of knees, head behind hands, and then slowly pass the head up , when you touch your hand, you have to stop for a while and then get up again. This is the most solemn kneeling worship among the nine worships. The courtier sees the lord and the son sees the father, including worshiping the sky, worshiping the gods, worshiping the ancestors, and worshiping the teacher.
The second one is called and , which is commonly known as kowtow. This process is similar to that of kowtow, the only difference is that it gets up immediately when the head is touched. Pause means to stop for a while, so Pause means that the time when the head touches the ground is relatively short. Wang Xizhi wrote fast snow and clear posts signed the signature of Xizhi's first, and the respect of the first is weaker than that of Jishou. Therefore, the ancients wrote letters at the beginning and the end of whoever bowed his head to show respect. The third
is called empty head , which is one level weaker than the first one, and the rest are the same, that is, after the head is lowered, it rises without touching the ground. These three kinds of worship are called orthodox worship, the basis of all kneeling etiquette is these three, these three kinds of rituals are collectively called auspicious worship, and auspicious worship is also one of the nine worship, so we said earlier, nine worship It is a general term, not nine ways of worshipping. If
has auspicious worship, there will be and fierce worship , and evil worship is also one of the nine worships. When worshiping, the expression should be serious. In the Confucian classic Book of Rites, it is said: The mourning of three years, the defeat is due to the mourning, and the mourning of the non-three-year mourning is due to auspiciousness. When praying for mourning, there is a special worship method called vibration, that is to say, when kneeling and worshipping, both hands should be clapped. After praying, I still have to chrysalis, that is, jumping, crying and expressing my grief while dancing. There is also a special way of worship, called su worship , su means to touch the ground with hands, so in su worship, it is emphasized that you are good at touching the ground, and the other end will definitely not touch the ground. Su worship is generally reserved for women. This week, as to the reason, it is impossible to test. The Southern Song Dynasty scholar Zhu Xi said that it was inconvenient to kowtow because there were too many women's jewelry.
has said so much, let's summarize the nine prayers, including three basic prayers, Jishou, Sushou, and empty prayers, and then two derivatives, vibration, Suwon, and two collectively, Jiyue , ominous prayer . Then there are only seven kinds, and there are two kinds of odd worship, that is, worship once, praise worship, that is, you worship once, and the other party returns, you worship again. All of these add up to called Jiubai.This requires the use of arching hands, and the overlapping position of the two hands is very particular. When praying, the man's left hand is on the top and the woman's right hand is on the top. When it is fierce, the man's right hand is on top, and the woman's left hand is on top.
Although there are many ways to worship, we have to know that in ancient times, especially and in the pre-Qin period, kneeling was a common etiquette. Most of them are like shaking hands today. In order to show respect, or to ask questions from the ministers, the monarch often kneels to the ministers, and everyone has a more equal relationship.
After the Han Dynasty, everyone sat on the stool, no longer had to sit on their knees, and the national unified imperial power was far greater than that in the pre-Qin period, so kneeling became a etiquette that reflected the difference of grades.
Up to the Yuan Dynasty, although there were many etiquette and tricks, the imperial power was limited, and the rights of the courtiers constituted restrictions on the imperial power, so these kneelings basically inherited the nine-bow, and the expression of the inferior and orderly is over. But in the Ming and Qing dynasties, when the imperial power was the most powerful, kneeling and worship developed into an insulting etiquette, and the ministers had to kowtow without dignity. One bow, to the last shield head, but it has to be knocked three times in a row. and in the Qing Dynasty were even more excessive. After Huang Taiji and took the throne, it was stipulated that three kneeling and nine kowtows were required. In the Qing Dynasty, not only ministers wanted to bow three times to the emperor, but also envoys from vassal states also came to do this. Needless to say, the Korean Ryukyu and the like, even those European envoys who came to Beijing also asked to kneel three times. Nine buckles.
As soon as the Republic of China was established, everyone was equal. The National Government stipulated that the kneeling worship should be abolished between officials and between officials and the common people.The kneeling above the court will be cancelled, but the government will not interfere with the kneeling of the common people. To put it bluntly, if you are willing to kowtow in private, the government has no reason to control you. However, although the government does not care, it encourages everyone to practice modern etiquette with each other, bowing when showing respect, and bowing three times on major occasions. Later, China became more and more integrated into the world, and the salute became more and more international.
As for the folk worship, there are still some rural areas, but with the development of society and the degree of urbanization, it is estimated that it will disappear sooner or later.
