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What is the culture in China like today?

Why is China's bowing culture so different from Japan's?

  • Japanese bow in various formal and social occasions, but it's rare to see that in mainland China. Chinese and Japanese culture though have many overlaps, so was there a time that Chinese bowing culture was like what Japan is today? Where does modern day Taiwan fit in this?

  • Answer:

    It is true that Chinese and Japanese culture shared a lot of things in common, but the two countries' history walked two very different path after Tang dynasty. For one Japan had never been invaded by a foreign power. By invasion I mean foreign power marched down on your territory, completely destroyed your defense, and bring forth a new culture. China experienced this twice: one during Mongol (Yuan dynasty) invasion, second during Manchu (Qing dynasty) invasion. While Han culture had survived these two invasion, it survived not by upholding its tradition, but rather by absorbing new customs and morphed into something new. Japanese style bowing was a traditional Han greeting gesture. People bow to each other with their hands holding together and reaching forward. Later during Manchu rule, people had follow the Manchu tradition of “打千" (for men) and “万福” (for women) (can't find a better picture, but you get the basic pose for men) But I think the definitive reason that we don't bow to each other anymore is because we had went through communist rule that almost completely westernized Chinese society. Old traditions were despised and threw away. We replaced bowing with hand shaking. It's not a slow culture/custom change, it's a brutal and forceful cut that severs the old from the new. You're considered uncivilized and outdated if you bow while other people try to shake hands with you. Japan never had this. Their westernization is an addition, not a replacement. They didn't give up their old ways, they just add the new ways as a more fashionable alternative. At least that's how I understand their Meiji Restoration. We can't stop modernization (which in most cases, means westernization), but if given the choice, I'd rather have it like Japan, instead what we had after 1949.

Feifei Wang at Quora Visit the source

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Bowing as an independent protocol in Chinese culture meant a kind of subjection. In ancient China, bowing only happened in very formal occasions: couples bowed to each other in wedding, living people bowed to the dead in funeral, etc. Someone said it originated from a sacrifice protocol in Shang/商 dynasty (1555BC - 1059BC) when people made the ritual murdered animal bowing to show revering to the Haven. Ever through the Chinese history, the most common casual protocol is 拱手礼/抱拳礼。 Bowing was used as a part of 拱手 to show a kind of respect, usually when the target has a high position. (Note: there is a difference between male and female: female has the right hand on top while male has the left hand on top). For warriors(people whose occupation requires skill of fighting or a physically strong body), the top hand should have all fingers stand straight。 打千 mentioned by Faye was a protocol in army during Ming dynasty, and became the standard protocol for subordinate greeting superior in Qing dynasty (both in civil and military system as well as nongovernmental institutions). Manchu learnt 打千 because during Ming dynasty, Manchu was loosely ruled by 建州卫/Jian Zhou Wei during Ming. Wei was a county-level administrative region (lower than province) and was ruled with military orders, 万福 mentioned by Faye was actually invented by Han people too. But Manchu's 万福 is much different from Han's. Han 万福 is much simple: put bith hands at stomach, slight bend the knees, then finish it by getting back to stand up straight back. Manchu's one is complex: put the hands at left waist, bend the knees so the hands touch the thigh, keep this posture and nod three times, then wave one hand so it touches the earlock before getting back to stand up straight.  (or maybe two hands, I'm not sure).

Xiao Chen

China experienced the cultural revolution, Japan did not.  Bowing, along with reverence for elders was considered to be useless superstition at best and bourgeois, anti-revolutionist rightist at worst by the communists.  People who bowed were mocked, ridiculed, sometimes beaten.  Mostly though it was just a custom that was not taught to the younger generation and so it was not passed on.  Similar difference exist in the Koreas, where southern Koreans bow all the time while the northerners rarely do.    

Richard Bourne

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