A high school in Qingyang City, central China's Henan Province, has made controversial waves on social media after it made nearly 2,800 students kowtow before their parents in a show of gratitude toward them as part of the school's new curriculum called "gratitude education."
Video clips circulating online show students and parents in the school's playground amid loud music and rousing speeches encouraging them to prepare diligently for their college entrance examinations, which are just 200 days away.
Students kneeling down before their parents in the school's playground, Qingyang City, central China's Henan Province /Screenshot via Pear Video
Students kneeling down before their parents in the school's playground, Qingyang City, central China's Henan Province /Screenshot via Pear Video
Many parents seemed extremely touched with the gesture, some could even be seen wiping off their tears.
An emotional mother stares lovingly at her daughter. /China Youth Daily Photo
An emotional mother stares lovingly at her daughter. /China Youth Daily Photo
However, the event has sparked an online debate with many netizens arguing that gratitude could be expressed in many different ways than kneeling down, which is often deemed as a feudal practice.
Weibo user @zuikudezaia argues there are many different ways to express gratitude than kneeling down. /Screenshot from Weibo
Weibo user @zuikudezaia argues there are many different ways to express gratitude than kneeling down. /Screenshot from Weibo
"Why did the school choose 'kowtow' when there are still many other ways for students to express their gratitude?" commented Weibo user @zuikudezaia.
Weibo user @shijiu argues that students should have been made to bow instead of kneeling down. /Screenshot from Weibo
Weibo user @shijiu argues that students should have been made to bow instead of kneeling down. /Screenshot from Weibo
"Why not replace kowtowing with bowing? Does it mean that bowing does not express students' filial piety toward their parents? I really don't understand," said Weibo user @shijiu.
But then there are those who came out in support of the school's decision.
"There's nothing debatable about kowtowing in front of parents since it is a tradition left by our ancestors and we must carry it forward," said Weibo user @AAAzeruixin.
Weibo user @AAAzeruixin comments in support of the school's decision claiming that it's a tradition youth must carry forward. /Screenshot from Weibo
Weibo user @AAAzeruixin comments in support of the school's decision claiming that it's a tradition youth must carry forward. /Screenshot from Weibo
In traditional Chinese culture, kowtow is a ritual for the inferiors to show respect and subservience to their superiors. In ancient Chinese imperial protocol, kowtow was performed before the emperor.
Students hug with their parents during an event to express their gratitude. /China Youth Daily Photo
Students hug with their parents during an event to express their gratitude. /China Youth Daily Photo
In modern China, kowtow is usually performed during the Spring Festival when younger people salute the elders by offering good wishes and the older generation gives them money wrapped in red envelopes. Kowtow is also common during wedding ceremonies in China when young couples kneel down before their parents to seek blessings.
The event marks the 200-day countdown to the upcoming college entrance examinations. /China Youth Daily Photo
The event marks the 200-day countdown to the upcoming college entrance examinations. /China Youth Daily Photo
The school responded to the controversy by saying that the practice represents a form of gratitude and encourages students to express their thankfulness toward their parents.
"Kowtow is a form of unequal expression, which does not accord with the pursuit of equal relationships in the modern era," Feng Jianjun, head of the Institute of Moral Education at the Nanjing Normal University, told The Paper, calling the event a publicity stunt by the school.
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