Should Kowtowing Be Practised Among Young Students?

In early January， with solemn music playing in the background， more than 800 teenage students “kowtowed，” or knelt down， in front of their parents in a traditional ritual of worship in a school in Shanghais Jiading District. The students did so to pay obeisance to their parents in a show of filial piety. The school authorities claimed the ceremony was held to promote traditional culture and revive the virtues and ethics that are fast disappearing from society.

However， the event has sparked a debate. Supporters have underlined the importance of promoting traditional culture and rites. China is making great progress economically and socially. It is also integrating itself into the global system. However， there are growing concerns that a modernizing China is losing many of its excellent traditions. Critics argue that the move， tantamount to forcing youngsters into humility， was in contravention of the modern understanding of “mutual respect” and “equality.”

Symbolic importance

Gao Fusheng （news.163.com）： With more than 800 students kneeling down together in front of their parents， the display could easily have been read as being merely ceremonious in nature. However， its symbolic significance cant be ignored. Asking teenage students to kneel down in front of their parents will probably not dramatically change their behavior or lead them to act in a more polite way in daily life. The ceremony at least granted them a rare opportunity to demonstrate love and gratitude to their parents formally.

Primary and middle schools are critical stages for students growth in addition to the formation of their values. How exactly to conduct education on filial piety represents somewhat of a quandary for schools. Solely imparting knowledge on the matter onto the young is not very effective， as they must be informed of how to apply these values in practice. Students need opportunities to show how truly grateful they are to their parents. The ceremony will provide better outcomes than were students never granted the opportunity.

The lack of filial piety has long been a social grievance in modern times. Whenever there are similar events， people tend to be critical， instead of undertaking concrete measures to promote filial piety in their own way. There is no rigid etiquette for how filial piety should be conducted. The modern era has brought with it a number of innovative new ways of doing this. As for this schools practice， although it may have been old-fashioned， its intentions were good， and attempts of this nature should be encouraged. We need to show more tolerance toward the various ways in which schools promote filial piety and traditional culture on the whole.

An outdated tradition

Zhi Feng （www.cnhubei.com）： Kowtowing is a generic traditional ritual， not necessarily linked to filial piety per se. In order to clarify this issue， we need to trace the ritual back to its origin. In ancient times， the Chinese used to sit on the floor or mattresses. They would put their hands on their legs， and it was easy for them to salute others simply by leaning a little bit forward and putting their hands on the floor in front of them.

In the feudal era， people inferior in terms of social status were supposed to kowtow to those who were superior， a ritual that highlighted differences in the social hierarchy. Often considered as a symbol of inequality， it is a rite we would perhaps be better off cutting ties with.

Nowadays， the ritual of kowtowing is seldom seen except on very limited occasions such as funerals. Therefore， its vital for schools to first make clear what message this or that traditional ritual sends before they begin to organize activities designed to promote traditional culture.

Yin Guoan （China Youth Daily）： Most likely influenced by displays of the type recently exhibited by the Shanghai school， students have turned to kowtowing in a quest for solutions to some thorny problems. Recently， a dozen students in a middle school in central Chinas Anhui Province thrust their school into the public limelight after they knelt down together on the playground for more than 20 minutes. They did so to beg their school not to dismiss one of their classmates. Also， in southwest Chinas Guizhou Province， a dozen primary school students knelt down in contrition in front of their teacher just because they did not do well in their homework and were consequently criticized by their teacher.

Back in the early 20th century， the New Culture Movement stormed China， trumpeting a sense of independent identity and ones individual dignity. People were told that everyone was equal and the ritual of kowtowing was thus curtailed. However， we are surprised to see that 100 years on， some of our schools are still encouraging students to get down on their knees. Practices of this type run contrary to the underlying goals of modern education.

Indeed， children need to express more gratitude toward their parents， but this kind of feeling can be expressed in many ways. Can one be sure that the practice of kneeing down before ones parents works best？

Wei Yingjie （The Beijing News）： Recent years have seen a spate of activities being held by schools and NGOs with filial piety as the dominant theme. For example， students may be instructed to engage in activities such as cooking for their parents. If students were to do this independently of the school system and of their own volition， society would be delighted to see such expressions of filial piety spontaneously coming from students. Once such private gestures are organized en masse for public display， their sincerity will naturally be drawn under suspicion.

It is can be inferred that the majority of the participating students and their parents had little choice but to attend the ceremony， as it was one of the schools scheduled activities. This kind of activity neither helps students espouse traditional filial piety， nor does it fit modern requirements for the development of familial and personal ethics. Traditional filial piety requires absolute obedience from the children toward their parents， while in modern families， even between parents and children， there should exist mutual respect and equality.

If they wish to revive traditional culture， schools need to first question how well the practices they are trying to advocate fit into the categories of modern morality. Failing to do so risks leading the students in the wrong direction. They can start with educating students on classic masterpieces， instead of asking them to kneel down together before their parents.

Liu Xuesong （Beijing Times）： Plucking ancient rituals from history and applying them unchanged to the present-day educational setting seem a strange practice. After all， modern society is no longer familiar with these old rituals， many of which have been abandoned for more than a century.

Chinese traditional culture stresses that filial piety trumps all other virtues. However， schools need to learn that the core of filial piety lies not in kneeling down in front of the parents or in showing absolute obedience， but in respect for ones parents arising from the bottom of ones heart. Moreover， in modern times， people are encouraged and expected to think independently and develop independent personalities. This obviously clashes with the traditional concept of filial piety.

Nowadays， filial piety is supposed to be embodied in various forms： keeping in touch with ones parents when one travels or works away from home， paying regular visits to them， sharing in their problems and trying to help them out. Schools should try to find the proper way to inspire young students so that traditional cultural education will be better accepted by them and wholly assimilated into their lives.