Ancient China "position is left or right honored"?

In ancient China, is the "left" or "right" honor, is not set in stone, in different periods and times, there are different provisions. Zhou, Qin and Han, China to "right" as the honor.

From the Eastern Han Dynasty to the Sui and Tang dynasties and the Song Dynasty, our country gradually formed a system of left and right. During this period, the left minister was higher than the right minister, and the left prime minister was higher than the right prime minister. After the establishment of the Yuan Dynasty by the Mongols, the old system was changed, stipulating that the right was to be honored, and the right prime minister at that time was above the left prime minister. After Zhu Yuanzhang established the Ming Dynasty, he changed the system to honor the left. This system was used by the Ming and Qing dynasties for more than 500 years.

Expanded Information

In ancient times, there was a difference in the rank of officials, very strict. The official high for the honor to live in the upper position, the official low for the inferior in the lower position. In the Qin and Han Dynasties, the ancient people were still on the right side of the table, and the right side of the table was the most honored, and the "left side of the table" meant that the officials were demoted.

The biography of Lian Po and Lin Xiangru: "Xiangru was honored with a great deal of merit, and he was made a superior minister, with a position to the right of Lian Po." Ancient buildings were usually hall structures with a front hall and a back room. The ceremonial activities held in the hall were honored by the south direction. When the emperor gathered his ministers, his seat must be sitting north to south.

In the feudal officialdom, it was based on the size of the official rank to divide the seating order, and the honor of the seating order was indicated by the direction. For example, when the emperor gathered his ministers, the most honored seat of the emperor was the one facing north to south.

Therefore, in ancient times, the emperor was often called "south", and the ministers were called "north". Ministers generally sit facing the north, according to the official position in order to the east to the west. In this way, the official high right, the official low left, which is also the ancient "right for the upper" reason.

China's ancient aristocratic houses are generally the structure of the hall, which sits north to south, in front of the hall after the room. Ritual activities held in the hall, to "south as the honor"; and indoors, to "east as the honor".

This is because the room is generally rectangular, long east-west and narrow north-south, so the most honored seating position in the room is sitting in the west to face the east, followed by sitting in the north to face the south, then sitting in the south to face the north, and finally sitting in the east to face the west. As a result of a large number of daily activities are generally carried out indoors, therefore, this indoor ceremonial seat of honor influence is also more extensive.

Ancient etiquette

Greetings

Ancient etiquette refers to the ancient rituals of meeting guests and hosts. The ritual of greeting is divided into three kinds according to seniority and inferiority, which are called the three greetings: one is the earth greeting, which is exclusively used for people of different surnames who are not related by marriage, and the hands are pushed slightly downward when performing the ritual.

The second one is the time bow, which is exclusively used for those who are married to each other, and the hands are pushed flat to the front when performing the bow.

The third is the Tianbi (Heavenly Greeting), which is reserved for guests of the same family name, and is performed with the hands slightly upward. The first is the Zen-Jian, i.e., to give way to someone more virtuous than oneself.

Don't head

An ancient form of salute, one of the "Nine Worships", commonly known as kowtowing. When performing the ritual, the head touches the ground and rises. Because of its head touching the ground for a short period of time, it is known as dun head. Usually used for the lower to the upper and the salute between the peers, such as the bureaucrats to welcome, worship, folk congratulations, worship, worship, and so on.

Nine worship

China's ancient unique to each other to express high respect for the kneeling ceremony.

Baidu Encyclopedia - Ancient Etiquette