Chapter 14 Section 2 Sit up and walk

Small things in daily life such as sitting, standing, walking, lying down, etc. were also highly valued by people in ancient China.The ancients not only put forward the correct and scientific postures of sitting, standing, walking and lying from the perspective of hygiene and health care, "sitting like a bell, standing like a pine, walking like the wind, lying like a bow"; they also regarded it as a social etiquette, as a social morality. When visiting relatives and friends, they often have to enter other people's rooms.Since the living customs of the ancients are quite different from today's, the etiquette is also different.For example, the concept of "taking a seat" is very different from ancient to modern.Although the ancient people's living room had furniture such as tables, tables, and couches, people usually "sit on the ground" before the appearance of chairs.The floor of the room is covered with straw mats, and indoor activities are carried out on it, especially sitting and lying, which cannot be separated from the mats. "Fan" is also a kind of seat, which is woven with bamboo, and it is spread under the "mat". Zhouli·Chunguan·Sijiyan").The combination of feast and banquet actually refers to the double mat on the ground, but later it refers specifically to the banquet.The mat is a seat, so of course you can’t step on it dirty, so the ancients did not wear shoes to walk on the mat. Before entering the house, you must take off your 屦 (juju, shoes made of grass, hemp, etc.), shoes, and clogs (ji chicken, Wooden shoes], 鞮 [di low, leather shoes], etc., before they can enter the room and sit on the table, that is, "enter the table".During the Spring and Autumn Period, after the Chu army defeated the Jin army in Bi (bi coin, now north of Xingyang, Henan), the King Zhuang of Chu dominated the Central Plains and was invincible.He sent Shen Zhou as an envoy and hired him in Qi.From the State of Chu to the State of Qi, one has to pass through the State of Song. According to the etiquette system, one must "borrow the road" to cross the borders of other countries, but King Zhuang of Chu Tell Shen Zhou not to make a request for "false way" to Song State, but to go straight through the border.This practice of not abiding by etiquette immediately aroused the dissatisfaction and resentment of the Song people.Shen Zhou passed through the territory of Song Dynasty, but was stopped by the people of Song Dynasty. They thought it was a provocation and insult to Song State, and Shen Zhou was executed.When the news reached the state of Chu, King Zhuang was furious, threw up his sleeves, and went out without his shoes on.Seeing this, the attendants rushed to catch up with King Zhuang's shoes, and did not catch up with him until the vestibule.It can be seen that King Zhuang of Chu also had to take off his shoes before "taking the seat".The ancients not only did not wear shoes when they entered the table, they could not even wear socks, they could only walk in bare feet.In the Spring and Autumn Period, once, when Marquis of Wei (the monarch of the state of Wei) was drinking with the doctors, Master Chu Shengzi only took off his shoes, but did not take off his socks, and entered the banquet.When Wei Hou saw it, he was furious.Master Chu Shengzi quickly explained that he had a leg problem and it was inconvenient to take off his socks, otherwise you would feel nauseous and vomit when you saw it.Weihou was still very angry, and the doctors explained and persuaded him one after another, but Weihou still believed that this was absolutely unacceptable.Until Master Chu had no choice but to withdraw from the meeting, Wei Hou crossed his hands and cursed, "I will cut off his feet".In ancient times, it was always considered to be very polite to the host to enter a house with bare feet. With the appearance of chairs and other furniture, people gradually changed this etiquette.Therefore, there is such a regulation in "Book of Rites Qu Li": "Serving and sitting with the elders, you can't sit in the hall."

After the ancients sat down, they also paid great attention to the "sitting" posture, that is, kneeling on the ground, knees on the ground, buttocks on the heels.If the knees are on the ground, the hips do not touch the heels, and the body is straight, it is kneeling.Such as kneeling and standing up, straightening the waist, also known as 跽 [jiji, long kneeling].If changing from sitting to squatting or kneeling to squatting, it means getting up and saying goodbye.However, if you sit in a "Jiju" position, it is an act of belittling the other party and being arrogant and rude.The so-called skipping refers to sitting with the buttocks on the ground, legs stretched forward, and the body is shaped like a dustpan (benji local machine, dustpan).In the late Warring States period, the assassin Jing Ke was entrusted by Prince Dan of Yan State to assassinate the King of Qin.Tuqiong saw the dagger, but failed to stab the King of Qin.In the case of being seriously injured, Jing Ke knew that it was impossible to succeed, so he leaned on the pillar and laughed, "jumping and scolding".It is this kind of sitting that expresses contempt for King Qin.On general occasions, especially in imperial courts and government offices, people pay great attention to the coordination of sitting postures with the surrounding environment, which is the so-called "sitting with sitting posture".If you are in a solemn and serious environment, sit upright (arrange your clothes and sit still); if you are in a more casual place, you can sit back slightly when sitting; when you are having a banquet, try to move your body forward , in order to facilitate eating.

The ancients emphasized not only sitting posture, but also walking posture (the posture when walking). "Turning" means walking at a brisk pace. In ancient times, it was a gesture of respect for the venerable, the elders, the nobles, the guests, and when performing pilgrimage.Confucius was once invited by the king of the state of Lu to receive foreign guests. After accepting the order, he looked solemn, bowed his hands and bowed, "going forward, like wings."Not only walking briskly, but its posture is like a bird with wings spread. A story that happened in the late Spring and Autumn Period is described in "Touching the Dragon and Talking about the Empress Dowager Zhao".The Queen Mother of Zhao State had just come to power when she encountered a fierce attack from Qin State and had to ask Qi State for help.However, Qi State proposed to take the youngest son of Empress Dowager Zhao, Chang'an Jun, as a hostage to live in Qi State before sending troops to rescue.Empress Dowager Zhao loved Chang'an Jun very much, and she didn't want him to go to Qi State, so she didn't agree to this condition.The ministers persuaded one after another, but they were all flatly rejected by the Queen Mother Zhao.She even publicly threatened: "If anyone mentions to me about taking Chang'an as a hostage again, my old woman will spit on him." Zuo Shi (official name) Chulong decided to persuade Queen Mother Zhao, because he had a foot disease , walking is inconvenient, in order not to break the etiquette, he had to pretend to be walking fast, but moved forward slowly.Seeing the Queen Mother Zhao, he first apologized and said: "I can't go faster because of my foot problem, and I haven't seen you for a long time." Later, after repeated persuasion by Chu Long, he finally persuaded the Queen Mother Zhao and sent Mr. Chang'an to Qi State was a hostage, and Qi State sent troops to rescue Zhao.In the story, Chulong's "Xu Chao" when he met the Queen Mother Zhao was precisely because he tried to be polite when he couldn't "Turn".

The ancients were very particular about walking, and classified walking from the aspects of posture and speed.Han Liuxi's "Shi Ming" records that there are four kinds of walking phases: walking with two feet forward, walking slowly, walking slowly, walking quickly, and walking quickly.Different appearances are adopted in different occasions to meet the requirements of politeness. "Erya" pointed out: "In the room is called time, in the hall is called walking, under the hall is called stepping, outside the door is called trending, in the courtyard is called walking, and on the road is called rushing." It means that indoors should be similar to wandering. Walk in the same way; when walking on the hall (a house larger than the room), the steps should be smaller; when you are under the hall, you can take longer steps; when you are outside the door, you can walk quickly; in the palace, the place is open Can run; on the road, the speed can be accelerated to run.Although the ancients regarded "trend" as "important etiquette", it is not possible to "trend" everywhere.For example, it is mentioned in "Book of Rites·Qu Li 1" that "there is no flying in the room". , it is possible to hit a wall everywhere.