Cold knowledge: Why does kneeling represent humiliation?

There is an old saying that there is gold under one's knee. In the traditional culture of China, bowing usually represents meanness and humiliation. No one wants to kneel and kowtow to anyone but heaven and earth and parents. However, a recent article said that in ancient times, bowing was just a courtesy to show respect and had no special meaning. Later, it became a symbol of humiliation and meanness, which was related to the high chair we often use now.

In fact, before the Song Dynasty, people used a kind of foot collapse in their lives, similar to the so-called "tatami". People usually sit cross-legged or kneel on this short collapse, which is somewhat similar to the kneeling posture of Japanese and Koreans now. In this sitting position, it is natural to bend over. If you straighten your back and put your ass behind your heels, you are kneeling. Bowing your head at that time was just a sign of respect for each other.

In the Song Dynasty, a new living appliance, high chair, appeared to replace the original collapsed foot. This time, the sitting posture has also changed. The original kind of kneeling has become this kind of sitting with legs down. Now, two people are chatting, and suddenly you roll from your chair to the ground and bow to each other, which is very dignified. However, it was inconvenient to bow at that time, and everyone just bowed to show respect. The emperor doesn't need his servants to kneel down and worship him.

In the Yuan Dynasty, this humiliating and humble bowing ceremony began to spread on a large scale. The emperor of the Yuan Dynasty came from the grassland and was rather savage. He regards the minister as a servant, and the servant is meaner than the master, so he thinks it is natural to kneel to the emperor. Emperors in the Ming and Qing Dynasties also liked this feeling of superiority, and they practiced more strict bow-down ceremonies. In this case, the humble sacrificial ceremony has been fully promoted in society.

So you see, the bowing ceremony was given a mean and humiliating meaning, because everyone changed chairs. Isn't it wonderful?