Chapter 16 Section 2 Sit up and walk
Sitting on the ground is a living custom of the ancients, and it has a long history, as far back as the Shang and Zhou dynasties.Its duration is also very long, at least until the Tang Dynasty.The so-called sitting on the ground means spreading out a mat on the ground and sitting on it.Mats are divided into two types: "feast" and "feast".Banyan (yanyan) is a bamboo mat with a large shape. It is laid to separate the land and keep the ground clean, so only one layer is spread.Because the room is full of banquets, clean and beautiful, people should take off their shoes before entering the room, so as not to bring mud and dust into the room and make the banquet dirty.This forms a kind of etiquette, and shoes should not be worn indoors. "Lushi Chunqiu Zhizhong Chapter" records that in the Spring and Autumn Period, once King Qi fell ill, the famous doctor Wen Zhi treated him by provoking him. Among them, entering the room without taking off his shoes is also an important one.As a result, the king of Qi was furious when he saw Wen Zhi "unable to understand [Ju Ju]" entered the room, and "got on the bed and put on the king's clothes", and ordered Wen Zhi to be boiled alive.This incident reflects the importance of the ritual of taking off shoes.Not only shoes, but in order to show respect for the owner, the ancients could not even wear socks when entering the house. "The Twenty-Five Years of Zuo Zhuan Duke Ai" records that when Marquis Wei was drinking with the doctors, Master Chu Shengzi stepped onto the mat wearing socks, and Marquis Wei was furious when he saw it.Master Chu Shengzi quickly explained that he had sores on his feet, which was different from others. If the king saw it, he would feel sick and vomit, so he dared not take off his socks.Wei Hou was even more angry. Although the doctors tried to persuade him one after another, Wei Hou still thought that this was disrespectful to him and was absolutely not allowed.Until Master Chu had no choice but to withdraw, Wei Hou put his hands on his waist and said angrily: "Your feet must be cut off!" This shows that the ancients also attached great importance to the etiquette of taking off socks when entering a house.
In the narrow sense, mats are generally made of cattail mats and are rectangular in shape. They are placed on the mat and are used to sit under the body to prevent moisture, so they can be spread several times. "Book of Rites Ritual Vessels" says that "the emperor's seat has five layers", while princes use three layers, and officials use two layers.Poor people can have no seats; for nobles, there must be seats, otherwise it is against etiquette.Seats also have a lot to pay attention to.For example, the "Book of Rites" stipulates: "Father and son have different seats", "men and women have different seats", and "there are special seats for mourners".If you are already sitting at the table, you have to give up your seat to show your humility to His Holiness.In addition, it is also required that "the seat is not seated properly" ("The Analects of Confucius Xiangdang").The so-called positive means that the four sides of the mat should be parallel to the wall.Emphasizing Xi Zheng is to express solemnity. "Book of Rites · Qu Lishang" also stipulates: "Those who are sons of men...can't sit in the middle seat." In ancient times, four people sat at a table. The humble cannot be in the middle, since they are sons of man (that is, those who have not established their own family), even if they sit alone, they can only stand aside.If more than five people get together, the elders should be placed in another seat, which is called "different seat".
The ancients sat with their knees on the ground, the insteps of their feet facing down, and their buttocks on their heels.If the buttocks are raised and the upper body is straight, it is called 跽, also known as long kneeling. It is a ready posture for standing up, and it is also an expression of respect for others. "The Analects of Confucius Advanced" records that Zeng Xi saw his teacher Confucius, that is, "she put down the zither and made it", which means that he put down the zither and sat on the ground to straighten his waist (the same posture as kneeling) to show respect.There is also a very casual way of sitting, called "Ji Ju" [ji ju hit giant].The posture is that the legs are stretched apart and the upper body is at right angles to the legs, which looks like a dustpan.It is extremely disrespectful to the other party to take the sitting posture of skipping if there are others present. "Historical Records: Biographies of Assassins" records that Jing Ke attempted to assassinate the King of Qin.Therefore, under normal circumstances, it is required to "sit without a skip" ("Book of Rites·Qu Li 1").
After the Tang and Song Dynasties, tables and chairs began to enter people's lives, and the habit of living on the floor gradually changed.However, the popularity of tables and chairs still had considerable resistance in the upper class until the Song Dynasty.Lu You's "Notes on Laoxue'an" Volume 4 records: "Xu Dunli said: In the past, women in scholar-bureaucrats' families sat on chairs and Wuzi, and everyone laughed at them for being helpless." It can be seen that women in scholar-officials' homes in the Northern Song Dynasty were not allowed to sit on chairs, otherwise they would be Seen as ignorant of the rules.
The ancients asked for standing "stand like a straight", "stand without limping", "stand without hitting the door" ("Book of Rites · Qu Lishang").It means that you must stand upright without limping or leaning, and you must not stand in the middle of the door.If you accept a gift from others, you must stand and not sit down to show respect.As for walking rules more.For example, "Book of Rites · Qu Lishang" says: "Wu are received in the hall, and martial arts are distributed in the hall, and there is no flying in the room." Only feet land on the ground, that is, footprints one after another; "cloth" means spreading and distribution, and "buwu" means that the footprints are not connected.The area above the hall is small, so you can't take big steps while walking; the space below the hall is large, so you don't have to worry about it. The original meaning of "Xiang" is to fly, here is a metaphor, it means that when walking indoors, the swing of the arms should be small, do not wave your arms like a bird flying, this is also because the indoor space is small, "Xiang" will bump into others .These rules of etiquette and customs are originally derived from life, and are adapted to the spatial conditions of the interior, the hall, and the hall.
On some specific occasions, the humble, the humble, the juniors, and the master should follow the rules of etiquette, and show respect to the venerable, the noble, the elders, and the guests by "trending", that is, walking briskly. According to "The Analects of Confucius Xiangdang", Confucius once received the distinguished guests from foreign countries in response to the imperial edict of Lu. Floating up, the posture is as beautiful as a bird with outstretched wings.This is the "trend" in the ceremony.Another time, when Confucius went to meet Lord Lu, he went up to the hall and knelt down to Ruyi, "no steps" (walked down the whole steps), and then "walked forward, with wings like a leaf", and then retreated to his seat.This is the salute when worshiping. "Historical Records Biography of Shusun Tong" also describes the situation that after Han Gaozu Liu Bang became emperor, Shusun Tong taught etiquette, and all officials "tended" according to the court etiquette.The ritual of pilgrimage was maintained until the Qing Dynasty. At that time, ministers had to put down their horseshoe sleeves, walk a few steps quickly, and kneel down to pay respects when they met princes. "Turn" is also a traditional etiquette commonly used in the daily life of the ancients. According to the "Analects of Confucius Zihan", when Confucius met people wearing mourning clothes, mian clothes (doctor's clothes) and blind people, even if they were younger than him, he had to stand up from his seat; when passing these people, he had to walk quickly Move fast as a courtesy.In addition, the younger generation should also "tend" when walking in front of the elders. "The Analects of Confucius Ji Shi" records that Kong Li had "attended the court" twice, because his father Confucius was independent of the court at this time.To this day, when old friends meet each other or greet guests, they often walk towards each other quickly and shake hands to show their warm welcome. This probably belongs to the legacy of "trend".