Two Finger Tapping - A Story
July 28th 2008 05:34
Many of you may have seen a weird custom that some Chinese people do when they go to restaurants or tea houses. Have you seen Chinese people tap their index and middle finger on the table when someone was pouring them tea? Well this is an age old custom, but how did it come about?
Long long ago in Ancient China, when the country was still ruled by a Emperor. The Emperor is seen as the ultimate being chosen by the heavens to guide people of China. As such the Emperor is often given the symbol of the Dragon and has absolute power and authority. Any people who see the Emperor must kneel and bow, their heads must never by higher than the Emperors. The Emperor is always served by other people and never really have to do anything himself except rule the country.
However due to the Emperor's prestige they hardly leave the Palace, and hardly ever meet with people outside of the Palace. The Palace is like a giant luscious bird cage, except the bird that leaves in it controls China.
One day the Emperor decided to go on a tour to the outside world and see how he's people are doing. Not to arouse suspicion the Emperor dresses in normal wealthy men clothing and has a following of many ministers. Enjoying the view and the freedom of the outside world the Emperor became tired and so went into one of many teahouses to drink and eat some simple dumplings.
Enjoying the moment the Emperor decided to pour tea for his ministers. Such an act is the highest honour for the ministers, and usually they would need to kow tow before the Emperor to express their deep gratitude, otherwise it'll be seen as an act of arrogance which could lead to their beheading. The ministers were at a lost as to what would be the appropriate action to do. If they don't kow tow, they can be seen as rebellious and risk beheading, and if they do kow tow in front of civilians then they risk exposing the presence of the Emperor and thus putting the Emperor in danger, causing a serious crime.
However amongst the ministers was a very intelligent and calm officer. Using his index and middle finger, slightly curling them back and tapping it on the table, it had looked like a person kow towing. So all the ministers followed suit as the tapping had symbolised kow towing with great gratitude to the Emperor.
As such this custom had passed down many years and became a simple gesture of gratitude for pouring tea into my cup.
Long long ago in Ancient China, when the country was still ruled by a Emperor. The Emperor is seen as the ultimate being chosen by the heavens to guide people of China. As such the Emperor is often given the symbol of the Dragon and has absolute power and authority. Any people who see the Emperor must kneel and bow, their heads must never by higher than the Emperors. The Emperor is always served by other people and never really have to do anything himself except rule the country.
However due to the Emperor's prestige they hardly leave the Palace, and hardly ever meet with people outside of the Palace. The Palace is like a giant luscious bird cage, except the bird that leaves in it controls China.
One day the Emperor decided to go on a tour to the outside world and see how he's people are doing. Not to arouse suspicion the Emperor dresses in normal wealthy men clothing and has a following of many ministers. Enjoying the view and the freedom of the outside world the Emperor became tired and so went into one of many teahouses to drink and eat some simple dumplings.
Enjoying the moment the Emperor decided to pour tea for his ministers. Such an act is the highest honour for the ministers, and usually they would need to kow tow before the Emperor to express their deep gratitude, otherwise it'll be seen as an act of arrogance which could lead to their beheading. The ministers were at a lost as to what would be the appropriate action to do. If they don't kow tow, they can be seen as rebellious and risk beheading, and if they do kow tow in front of civilians then they risk exposing the presence of the Emperor and thus putting the Emperor in danger, causing a serious crime.
However amongst the ministers was a very intelligent and calm officer. Using his index and middle finger, slightly curling them back and tapping it on the table, it had looked like a person kow towing. So all the ministers followed suit as the tapping had symbolised kow towing with great gratitude to the Emperor.
As such this custom had passed down many years and became a simple gesture of gratitude for pouring tea into my cup.
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Comment by Chris Champion
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I lived in Hong Kong for many years, and tapping the table when a waiter refilled my tea cup became almost second nature. But I never knew the origin of the gesture. Many thanks!
Regards,
Chris
Comment by Anonymous
Its a pleasure to share where customs come from, so I hope anyone who knows about any stories of the customs can share it.
I think its fascinating where the things we do come from and often take for granted.
Cheers
Michael