The ancients thought that you should not kneel or worship. Worship means to salute in ancient times.
According to the etiquette rules of the Zhou Dynasty, the movements and objects of bowing at that time were strictly regulated, which were divided into kowtow, pause and short position, called "worship". In the kowtowing ceremony, the worshipper must kneel on the ground, with his left hand pressed on his right hand and supported on the ground. Then, he slowly kowtowed to the ground, put his hands in front of his knees and put his head behind his hands for a long time. This is the most important etiquette among the nine worshippers. It is usually used by courtiers to visit kings and worship ancestors.
Before the Han Dynasty, there were no formal stools and chairs. When people eat, discuss and read, they just spread a bedding appliance made of reeds and bamboo strips. On the ground, that is, on the mat, people sit on it, so it is called "sitting on the floor". The so-called "sitting" posture in ancient times is completely different from our modern people. When sitting, you should land on your knees, then land on your heels and put your feet back.
The "sitting" of the ancients is actually our present kneeling. When receiving a guest, whenever you "sit" to thank the guest, in order to show respect, you often straighten your upper body, that is, "pull it up", turn sitting into kneeling, and then bend down. In this way, you gradually form a bow-down ceremony in your daily life.
After the Han Dynasty, there were gradually high seats, high stools and high chairs, and people no longer "sit on the floor", thus greatly changing the "kneeling" in their original lives. However, the bow-down ceremony still exists in Hu Yajie, a rich girl in Beijing, but it has become a symbol of hierarchy and is widely used in officialdom. For example, courtiers worship the emperor, small officials worship big officials, and slaves worship their masters. Sometimes it takes three times and nine times.
It is still passed down from generation to generation in folk customs such as sacrifice and birthday celebration. Later, the etiquette of playing thousands, bowing and bowing was added. It was not until the victory of the Revolution of 1911, with the demise of the feudal monarchy for thousands of years, that this bow ceremony ended. Today, there are still remnants of worshipping gods and ancestors.
Finally, let's look at the explanation of the word bow down:
: bow down.
Original intention: kneel on one knee or both knees, straighten your waist and bow your head to show worship.
Hands on the ground.
Goodbye, Jin Wen.
Holding crops and grains, offering sacrifices to the gods of heaven and earth and praying for a bumper harvest.
Original meaning: bow and kowtow to show the highest respect.
Bend down, kneel on one leg, put your hands on your knees, and touch the ground with your other knee;
Arch, raise your fist above your head with both hands; Both ways show each other's sublimity, and both ways clearly show that both hands are bare-handed.