Chinese Custom: how to KOWTOW 🙇♂️🙇♀️ how to BOW - and when to use them
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- Опубликовано: 6 фев 2025
- According to the book Rites of Zhou, which was written around the 2nd century BC, there are nine major types of kowtow and three major types of bowing.
This video will show you the basics of Chinese greetings, such as how to kowtow, how to bow, when to use them, and how to do them properly.
The tradition of kowtowing and bowing is based on the core of Chinese people's conduct and thinking - 禮 (Lǐ). It has multiple definitions: propriety, rites, Chinese ritual, Chinese custom, Chinese etiquette, Chinese manner, Chinese courtesy, etc.
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This video is not only extremely informative and highly interesting, it is a word of art. Makes me want to bow to you in front of the screen.
This was absolutely brilliant! This is deliberate use of body language, right? Communication without words. Fantastic.
Are you serious? You bowing to the ground to another human being is a great body language?
Thank you so much for this. I watch alot of dramas and I wondered about the different kinds of bows.
2:44 Too cute. That's the "I'm pretty, don't you think?" look,,,,,, when she darn well already knows it ;-)
I really hope it will get revived again soon... Its the most beautiful thing ever.. honor and respect and compassion... That the way
Ancient Chinese were way more sanitation
Thank you Ally, just discovered your channel for someone like me came to the US at an early age, I’m very glad you are bringing the 礼 back
I really appreciate this video. I hope one day that China will regain its rich culture.
This was really interesting!!! Haha I never knew this was something I wanted to know till you made this video!
I love 💕 it thank you 🙏🏾
Me too
Yes that's what I aldo wanted to know. The video is wonderful.
@@sannivasadhukhan6741 sadly...ur either super ignorant or malicious...why don't u go get a communist citizenship there in their country so that you get to practise KOWTOW on a daily basis lol
To be honest these are some of the most eccentric/respectful greetings I've seen in any culture! 🙇♂️
It's a 5,000 year old civilization, so many things have a much more deeper significance.
Fascinating! I used to teach at a small college and one semester I had this student from Africa. He told us that whenever he went home to visit his parents, he was never allowed to directly look his father in the face. He had to lie with his entire body flat on the floor, face-down and arms outstretched before his father. His father would then converse with him, asking about his studies, his grades, etc. During the conversation he had to remain the entire time face-down on the floor. I thought he was making this up, until I actually found RUclips videos of this practice!
That’s terrible omg 😟
I wouldn’t even feel like their child when I’d had to do that more like a slave even
I came here because I'm writing a story and had no idea how to put into words exactly how individuals bowed. This is very helpful. Thank you!
It was so wonderful to come across your channel. It is very educational, especially for those of us who grew up in the West yet have a passion for learning more about our culture and traditions. From now on, I shall apply the Tian Yi or the high bow when I greet my 97- and 87-year-old parents.
It's amazing how many different types of bowing there are! I've only seen 4 of them.
Nihao from Turkey, dear lady. You have a great channal, I really thank you for all your efforts on the videos, duo xie...
Thank you for this video. I am writing a historical romance set in 1st Dynasty China, and this was extremely helpful.
Why don’t these lovely, delightful videos have millions of views already?
Thank you for sharing this Ally, I am oversea Chinese and I never actually got to learn this, thank you for your amazing content! I feel so much closer to my Chinese heritage
This video is very interesting, I am learning English but Spanish is my native form of speaking, ‘kowtow’ and ‘bow’ in the translator appear as the same word ‘reverencia’ which translates to ‘reverence’, and the reason why I watched this video was because I was reading a horror novel and the word ‘kowtow’ appeared so thank you for explaining it!
Thank youuu for these advices!! I'm passionate about web novels, and kowtows are often done. I was wondering how to do the right moves, and here I'm finding this explanation video about how to do these. Finally understood, but with all these versions, there's a lot to learn and practice these moves. Thanks a lot, I'm following you!
I just love how much effort and information you put into your videos. This is something that I was never taught when I was young and it makes me realize just how little of my own culture I don't know being American born. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and teaching so much through your videos. I'll definitely be referring back to this for reference!
I'm an overseas Chinese. I watch Chinese tiktok a lot and I really admire the interns wearing hanfu and started learning about other parts of traditional Chinese culture. I really love how you're spreading traditional Chinese culture and bringing it back. It really is almost lost!
Wow! This episode is great. I learned about traditional Chinese mangers from viewing it. Thanks!
Thank you, I didn't know there was a difference between male & female salute/greeting
Chinese culture is really fascinating
That's really interesting! Chinese culture is so rich! ❤️🇧🇷
Thank you! Very informative! (It also shows me where historical dramas may be lacking such attention to detail.) Best of luck reviving your culture!
Oh, thank you Thats so charming, classy and upper class.
The practice of meaningful manners is beautiful and also disciplines the mind.
When I watch Chinese dramas, that's when I discovered that there is another way to bow when greeting others. The bow I'm talking about is the one at 3:10.
This is a great video! Thank you for the opportunity to learn something new!
Thanks for making this video to recall the memories of the best culture in Ancient China of the Day! The bowing etiquette is a great daily exercise for the mind, the heart, the soul and the body which had kindled the social civilization of China for thousands of years.
TIL these aren't just synonyms and personal flair. Awesome!
I just finished reading The Story of The Stone book one, and I wanted a better visualization of Kowtows. Thank you very much.
Thank you for showing how to KOWTOW and how to BOW! I was taught to respect my elders, and I like to learn how to be polite in different cultures. When I lived in South Korea I usually bowed to the elders in my neighbourhood. They liked it when I did this! I would also greet them in formal Korean manner. Example: An-nyoung-ha-shim-ni-ka? (Hello, how are you?) I like watching your videos very much! Thank you for sharing your videos! ~Janet in Canada ^.^;
Thanks!
I read a lot of wuxia novels and wanted to see the difference, so thanks. It pains me to see people's culture die out under western influences.
You might want to thank Mao for that. Have you never read History?
oh well, its no ones fought. it only showed the fact that we were weak, but since young chinese now have much more cultural self confidence, the old culture is coming back
@@yilongliu2353 Was that even a thought? The old confucian ways have nothing to do with how people in modern China are living in a state of capitalist self interest. How many people did you see kowtowing today? lol You probably are old and simply nostalgic.
shywifey86 The whole “handshake” thing was originally holding hands through the whole conversation to prove to the conversants (usually armed) that they weren’t going to stab each other.
The European peasantry picked up on it like a social meme but cut it short much like the fist bump is used today.
Bowing is simply more dignified.
As a Westerner, it actually pains me to have to acknowledge that this traditional method of greeting has fallen into disuse, much to the detriment of human culture.
@@nneuhaus84 ........idiot if u cant read then go back to primary school. cultural = kowtowing? u makes me laugh, stupid ass. nowadays students still bow to their teachers
In period dramas set in Qing dynasty, court officials greet the Emperor (etc.) slightly differently; not a full kowtow. Perhaps it's kind of close to the Manchurian men bow you mentioned later in the video but with knee on the ground. Typically preceded by dusting off the robes (?) (And, answer "zha" affirmatively when orders received.) Do you know if it has a different name? Is it a Manchu custom/method of bowing?
i remember my bajiquan shifu told me about left hand must be on top and you only can use right hand on top when we are at funerals. Since then i realize that i was did wrong every Chinese New Year XD. I guess still many people don't know how to do it right but thanks for this video. i hope many people know how to do it right.
I am writing an essay on kowtowing and this was quite helpful, thank you very much : )
I bowed to a Chinese woman passing by in her car she looked surprised I bowed to her correctly subconsciously I knew how to and today I thought about it watching this video it is good to know
I thank you for this education. I've been educating myself on cultural customs and histories of different places around the world. Very much appreciated
Western cultures also had their own form of formal bows 100+ years ago. Though not as exaggerated and closer extended nodding, things such as hat tipping, courtesy-ing, and hand sweeping bows were common in most reaches of Europe and also North America post colonization.
Truly, it was far more sanitary than handshaking, and with plagues being common place every 50-100 years, it stifled the spread of epidemics.
Throughout the 1920's, the Spanish Flu killed more people in Europe than any other epidemic since the Boubonic Plague. You can call it speculative evidence if you wish, but I believe it was doing away with non-contact forms of greeting which allowed influenza to spread so rapidly in the beginning stages of the outbreak.
I hope bowing comes back in all cultures. It's as classy as it is sanitary.
Black folks still kinda have it haha
I usually greet friends with a head nod. There's a certain kind of nod you do with friends vs other people to be respectful. Like, speed and depth of the nod, stuff like that.
The Chinese were the first to initiate the development of the vaccine. Louis Pasteur discovered the Chinese had a way of developing a weaker and weaker strain of it that if you were deliberately infected, you would survive and then be immune to the more deadly strain. The other clue came from cows and cowpox. It's rare in the west to acknowledge the contribution the Chinese made. It was the greatest life saver ever.
I knew China was a wonderful culture everyone is treated like family. I’m black an I feel like Chinese is part of my family along with India and other cultures from all around the world.
Super fascinating and it is very useful and informative to see the various forms of bowing performed by both sexes. What a wonderful channel this is.
I really enjoy your videos! They're always so interesting.
Beautiful video, so much wonderful culture and structure came from the old world and I am very saddened so much of it has been lost to the new age. You both demonstrated this beautifully, with much grace and poise. Thank you for sharing this with us, this will help me greatly in my writings and if I ever visit China in my life.
Thank you very much! Beautiful and enlightening.
Beautiful tradition and beautiful presentation :D
AAhh! I can't describe how much I love different cultures and this! I'd love to greet people like this! I face only one problem. I know It's always different for male and female, but pecause I consider myself being neither I don't know how to manage. This was an amazing video!!
This is so cool, thank you for sharing
谢谢你的视频，明天是我们成人礼。到时候要鞠躬，我们班上一堆人学鞠躬都感觉不靠谱。你的视频真的对我们很有帮助，谢谢了。
So complex, I need to learn this too.
Recommended by DA, 10/10 Video
Lovely video: I’m an American born Chinese and I wish I knew these types of bowing techniques before my grandparents passed away:(. One question though, why do you keep your hands flat and NOT in a fist? Thank you for making this informative video:). I’ve shared it on my Facebook page as well as my real abc group page:)
Just discovered your channel and instantly subscribed! Appreciate you sharing the richness of the vastly more evolved culture from ancient China. There is so much we can benefit from the things you share in your videos and their gracious and informative delivery. Thank you for putting this positivity and higher standard content into the world. 🙏
im so glad you made this video my vietnamese elders did this to me and i did the same but i am always confused as to bow so this is very helpful
How did I go from looking for Skyrim mods to watching an excellent video on Chinese traditions?
lol I'm glad RUclips lead you here :)
Great video, thank you. My first thought was yin being the feminine element and also corresponding to the right side, which would explain the root of which hand is on top, just like in some Daoist practices.
This is so beautiful
Thank you for making this video. I'm a new subscriber.
Oh my god. Bring this back!
I'm learning this in my chinese class very helpful
If you visted the tombstone of an emperor and wanted to bow/kowtow which one would you use?
so professional video. Is there a particular bow for foreigners to do in general when meeting someone, like in a professional environment or an older person. Sometimes at work when meeting people from Asia, I can see they bow to greet me and I mimic their movements but I am not sure whether I am doing it right. Further, I feel bad when helping an older person from Asia and they bow while thanking so I try to bow as well, but they always seem to win, like bowing lower lol... what do i do in these situations? Thx
Hi, Ally! Thanks a lot for such a detailed explanations! I was searching for the roots of greetings used in traditional wushu for quite a bit of time and couldn't ever imagine that they come from the bows in the kneeling position, it now makes great sense! I loved your channel! Thanks for sharing traditional culture, as a taiji practitioner I appreciate you so much for without the understanding of the underlying cultural basis probably none of Chinese traditional arts could be understood(not even talking about mastered) correctly. Great LIKE ans subscribe from me!
It really very fascinating
I want this to practice by present day Chinese. Mainland, Hongkong, Taiwan, and overseas Chinese.
I'm overseas Chinese (Indonesia), yes I want all Chinese to practice this too..
But, I think it would be difficult since Chinese cultures (including names) and languages banned here, so we should learn our own culture from ZERO now.
Nowadays, even peoples in Chinese lands (like Mainland China, or Taiwan, HK etc) rarely practice these kind of traditions and cultures.. So we as overseas Chinese find it difficult to learn from them (it would be easier to learn Chinese cultures if we have daily examples by the Chinese in the Chinese land).
Can I do this if I am a Filipino?
@@Joooo89It no longer banned, but reviving a tradition is very difficult almost impossible especially for Chinese diaspora.
I love your videos so much and i like hearing u pronounce Chinese words 🤗🤗
Can you do more depth in this sort of content. Link it to ancient texts where possible also such as the book of rites or the book of Zhou. Excellent video. 🙏🏻
Very nice greetings ❤️😁
Please make a video about Chinese philosophers and emperors😊
Interesting ancient culture.
I have to tell my Chinese husband-to-be that he has to learn the Korean bow (to the floor) to ask for my hand in marriage. My family is so traditional.. =_=...It's so awkward to teach him so while looking for a youtube example I stumbled across this video. I was surprised to see that China used to have it too! But the bow we do to our parents is the bow the Chinese did to the emperor/gods. So I'm feeling even more panicky hahaha.
@A L actually, both Korea and Japan were influenced by China but also developed and kept their own customs and traditions. Their philosophies and developments also influenced China. Presently, Korea and Japan are both heavily influence by Americans.
The Mongolians conquered Korea also, not just China. The manchus defeated Korea before the Ming, but sent a second invasion to official make Korea a tribute state after they ruled China.
Bowing to the ground to parents is not something the Chinese did as a greeting, ever.
@A LDon't be ignorant. Chinese started turning away from their traditional customs after the May Fourth Movement in 1919, long before the communist take over. And culture is more than just traditional customs.
A L Then, that’s your problem.
A L fuk, oops, I replied to the wrong personnnnnn.
John Yossarian ignorant, why is she he being ignorant. He she’s talking facts. What are you doing huh? Your doing shit. Turning away, ur turning away.
This is the way we greet our elders
we all must do our duty to the Emperor, and now I as a westerner can too!!
thank you
Very informative and interesting. Thank you Ally!
Thanks, that's very interesting. *cup hands*
Thank you. I will be visiting China for the first time in 2020 and I am interested to know how I should respectfully greet people. I am a 52 year old Australian woman.
Meow Thank you very much for this information! I am looking forward to saying ni hao in China next year 😁
@@MrMrbokchoi I'm overseas Chinese, my families already outside China since Qing dynasty, when I first came to China I was surprised that they've changed the traditional habbits a lot.. We still use 抱拳 in our Chinese community, yet no one use it in China (in daily life)
Thanks for uploading this video....Love it....
Thanks you, you helped me with my work
Courtesies represent apparent differences in social status, which is kind of against a modern civil society of individualism.
So it’s not strange why similar courtesies disappear worldwide, especially in countries where revolution once happened( France and China, for instance) In places like Britain, Japan and South Korea where social evolution happened in a rather mild way, they tend to pay attention to others’ age, status or wealth. In Korea, one even only makes“friends” born in the same year. Even if someone is only several years elder or even simply started school earlier, he must be totally respected. So the first thing to do when meeting a stranger is to check each other’s ages. Sounds quite tiring.
Came here from the Mo dao zu shi animated series! Thanks a lot! This really was interesting ^0^
谢谢你让我知道了这么多传统知识
Thank you for this very informative video! I noticed that the tapes used in the video were of Manchurian men and women. Were there different bowing styles that evolved over the centuries or did the Manchurians bow in a different manner than the Han Chinese? Also, in the video you talked mostly of formal bows made during certain rituals as well as casual bows performed when greeting friends. Are there certain special bows that were performed when greeting, say, the Emperor?
She already demonstrated it, its called Qi Shou and only used when in the presence of the emperor or during worship
Thank you for this very informative lesson. I'm interested in knowing if there is a modern-age bow that is used in society in China?
Beautiful culture
It's not about respect others,it's about respecting himself
Very informative
I head cuz I wanted to write a story, but holy crap this was fun to watch.
I was curious how Confucius visited Wei considering Wei formed around 200 years after his death and found that there was actually another 'state' called Wei during the Warring States period. The only ancient Chinese history that I'm really familiar with is the Three Kingdoms period so it was very cool that learning about Confucius visiting Wei led me look up and learn more about ancient China.
Well there is a difference between cao wei and wei state during the warring states period and yes the state of wei and yes state of wei formed in around 400 bc i think 403 but the province was called that before it became a state since in the time of Confucius the head of state of wei was called duke they were vassals and also cao wei was formed in 221 ad so 700 years after Confucius
Interesting, in my culture we used a divider between men and women too. Mostly between in-laws.
I've seen (in movies) where men bow, with left hand over right, but right thumb "sticking up". I've always wondered why they did that? Was there a meaning for having the thumb sticking up?
thank you for the English version. i don't have to read subtitlees!
Thanks for the video! Very informative! RJ大叔
Hi Ally, i'm very like your video. Are you interested in making a tutorial on using Hanfu for men too?
I feel like the politeness was lost when it was everyone for themselves, trying to survive the 1950s/1960s.
Interesante el folklore de tu nación.
Bowing as an art form! wow!
Why am I crying ? Beautiful
Maybe you got the bow wrong and pulled a muscle
Very interesting, thank you! Why is it different at funerals? Because of meditation practice I am used to have the right hand inside. I was surprised that it is the opposite here.
Great question! It's rooted in the Yin and Yang theory of Taoism. Yang represents the living and Yin represents the dead. That's why it's reversed at funerals. Chinese people also follow the same rules when wearing hanfu. I'm planning on making a video about it later.