How did the tradition of standing on board a warship when it leaves and enters harbor come about?

This etiquette with the naval terminology known as zonal formation, commonly known as "stand slope", is a form of crew on board the formation, mainly used to meet the head of state, head of government, senior army generals, friendly visits, sea parade, the head of the review of the ship, the major festivals, the ship away from the dock and other relevant occasions. At this time, the ship officers and men are divided into gangway legs crossed hands behind the back, indicating that there is no hostility to friendly.

Partition formation, the crew face outboard, according to the needs of the two sides of the partition formation, can also be in a partition formation. China's naval regulations, the ship to perform more than three ceremonial, all crew members in formation, on each deck officers, petty officers are standing in the direction of the bow of the ship.

Standing slope for one of the traditional naval etiquette, originated in the sailing era. At that time to meet the noble passengers, all sailors must climb the mast, leaning on the sail trusses to listen to the order, take off their hats and raise their hands, shouting cheers three times. If the recipient of the same number of calls, then must be cheered again, to show respect; if only one cheer, do not have to re-call. This etiquette has been passed down to recent times, because the sailing ship has been eliminated, and changed to climb the mast for standing slope. It is worth mentioning that some countries still have sail training ships, so there is still the etiquette of climbing the mast and standing on the slope.