History of Business Etiquette
Business etiquette is still derived from Chinese etiquette, which is just a variation on the basic forms of etiquette. China has been a country of etiquette for thousands of years, and its reputation and teachings have spread overseas. It is said that more than 3,000 years ago, at the time of the Yin and Zhou Dynasties, the Duke of Zhou made rituals and music, and put forward a program for the rule of etiquette. Subsequently, through the advocacy and refinement of Confucius and the 70 Sons, as well as Mencius and Xunzi, the civilization of etiquette and music became the core of Confucian culture. After the Western Han Dynasty, as the theoretical form of ritual and music culture and the origin of the ancient ritual system, the Rites of Passage, the Rites of Zhou, and the Records of Rites were successively included in the Academic Officials, and not only became the classics that ancient literati had to read, but also became the basis for the ritual system of successive dynasties, which had far-reaching influence on Chinese culture and history. With the formation of the Confucian cultural circle in East Asia, the culture of rites and music naturally became an important feature of Eastern civilization. Undoubtedly, in order to understand Chinese traditional culture, it is necessary to understand Chinese etiquette culture. The development of etiquette culture has its historical origin. It can be traced back to the long past. It should be said that when the first page of the history of the Chinese nation was opened, etiquette was accompanied by human activities, accompanied by primitive religion and came into being. The etiquette system was developed precisely to deal with the three major relationships between man and God, man and ghosts, and man and man. From mankind to God, the fear and awe of the forces of nature turned to human beings themselves, with the development of human social life, people to express their reverence, the increasingly diverse activities of worship, and gradually formed a variety of fixed patterns ...... finally formed into a liturgical norms. Visible, from the etiquette of the generation and development to examine, etiquette is the need for the development of human social life, is an inevitable requirement of human social relations and inevitable reflection. This point can also be further proved from the formation and change of etiquette norms in the process of Chinese historical development. From the archaeological data, in Liaoning Kazuo found five thousand years ago in the Hongshan culture site, there are large altars, temples, stone mounds, etc., is held in large-scale sacrificial activities; there are nude pregnant women ceramic statues, may be worshipped by the pioneers of the goddess of fertility. Earlier Yangshao culture colored pottery on the human face insect body images, the dead head of the tomb lying westward, also revealed a number of ancient times of the ritual system of information. In ancient literature, there is the saying that "since the time of the sacrifices, the five rites have been manifested; at the time of Yao and Shun, the five rites were prepared". In fact, the evolution of the ceremonial system has gone through a long and tortuous course, and it is the ceremonial system of the Western Zhou that is really more complete and systematic. Before the Zhou ritual system, due to the lack of material, insufficient literature, it is difficult to examine in detail. The Confucian scholars have compiled the "Three Rites" - the Zhou Rites, the Rites of Passage, and the Records of Rites - to record and preserve many of the rituals of the Zhou Dynasty. For more than 2,000 years after the Han Dynasty, they have been the classic works of the state in formulating ritual systems, and are therefore called the "Ritual Scriptures". Nowadays, the "Three Rites" are still the most important books for the study of the ancient ritual system, which was mainly applicable to the nobility. Although their ideological tendencies are evaluated differently, and many of their discussions are only based on the ideals of later Confucianism, they still have certain reference value and influence in cultural history. The so-called etiquette in ancient times included a wide range of contents and forms, such as the political system, court codes, sacrifices to heaven and earth, ghosts and gods, prayers for droughts and floods, school examinations, military campaigns, administrative divisions, the creation of mausoleums and tombs, and even food, clothing, housing, transportation, weddings, funerals, and speech, which were all related to etiquette, and which almost encompassed the state's political, economic, military, and cultural systems, as well as personal ethical and moral cultivation, and codes of conduct. It is almost a huge concept that includes all the rules and regulations of national politics, economy, military and culture, as well as personal ethical and moral cultivation and code of conduct. It is only after the modern era that the scope of etiquette has been gradually narrowed down, and now it generally means only rituals and ceremonies. The Chinese culture of etiquette has had a profound influence on people with its peaceful and neutral character. However, the culture of any nation cannot be consistent for all time, but can only change with the times, discard the dregs and take the essence. The factors of a good culture are often everlasting and live on in the long river of history, continuously influencing the spirit and outlook of the nation. For example, around the sixth century B.C., the axial era of the world's ancient civilizations, philosophers such as Confucius, Laozi and Sunzi, as well as Socrates, Plato and Sakyamuni, and classics that have shone through the ages, emerged. For more than two thousand years, they have always accompanied the course of history, and people can feel their presence almost everywhere. In today's highly developed technology, people still have to go back to those times to look for wisdom. This is also the case with the culture of rituals and music advocated by Confucius. Since modern times, due to the decline of the country, the invasion of the great powers, the people of the country radical change, the backwardness of the beatings attributed to the traditional culture, which has a certain degree of truth, but not quite. Imagine, a sensible scholar was beaten by robbers, people can blame him for no fist brave, but can not blame him should not be sensible. It would be a real tragedy if the scholar threw away his books and practiced only martial arts, becoming a "strong man" without culture. Human society will eventually enter an era of civilization in which everyone speaks of faith and cultivates harmony and mutual respect and courtesy. Therefore, people should not only practice martial arts to strengthen themselves, but also promote the existing culture, etiquette and music culture will eventually have its new use. Chinese etiquette culture not only has a great effect on the Chinese nation, but also brings the world a far-reaching influence. For example, the traditional Chinese etiquette culture is preserved in South Korea and Japan, and continues to play a positive role in social life, but shamefully, in the people's native land, the speed of its loss is very alarming. The number of people who know how to use the elegant language and demeanor of showing respect in people's interpersonal interactions has become increasingly rare. Weddings, birthdays, and other celebrations, which are the most common and grandest among the people, are losing their national identity and becoming rapidly westernized, while Christmas and Valentine's Day are increasingly becoming the major festivals for Chinese young people. As a national cultural manifestation of rituals, festivals, once all westernized, it shows that the native culture has been abandoned by the people, its demise will not be too far away. The descendants of the Yellow Emperor and the people with knowledge should know that they are worried. Chinese civilization forged thousands of years of etiquette culture, could have become a strong point of the tourism economy, but many members of the industry even "sorry, thank you, it's okay, you please" ten words of polite language are not good, let alone other. Although hotels, hotels and other more and more gorgeous, but the quality of service is always the development of the tourism industry's weakness, a long sigh. In addition, in recent years, the number of outbound travelers is increasing day by day, but there is no lack of vulgarity, lack of etiquette and upbringing of people, criticism of overseas public opinion from time to time reported, so that the people of this "ancient civilization", "country of etiquette," the image of the nation is greatly damaged. In order to change this situation, in recent years, the government will be "clear etiquette and integrity" as an important part of the 20 words "civil morality", how to rebuild the etiquette norms in line with the requirements of the times, has been put on the agenda. Chinese traditional etiquette and civilization is a valuable ideological resource, which can provide important reference for people. The 21st century is the century of culture, and the competition between countries and nations, and between peoples and nations, will be launched more and more in the field of culture. Culture is the basic feature of the nation, cultural survival is the survival of the nation, cultural death is the death of the nation. Throughout history, not many nations have been exterminated by genocide, but countless nations have perished by the disappearance of their inherent culture. China is the only one of the world's four major ancient civilizations that has not experienced any cultural disruption. Whether Chinese civilization can stand on its own among the peoples of the world in the coming century is a matter of strategic importance, that is, whether it can establish a strong native culture based on the absorption of advanced foreign cultures. Ritual and music culture is the core of traditional Chinese culture, and whether it can carry forward its essence is crucial to the rise and fall of the local culture.