The Eight Bows Friendship is a symbol of deep friendship in traditional Chinese culture, derived from the ancient custom of knotting, and usually refers to the deepest friendship and commitment between sworn brothers or sisters. This concept emphasizes loyalty and trust between friends that go beyond ordinary relationships, similar to the friendship of life and death in Western culture.
The term "eight worships" can be traced back to the record in the "Shaw Brothers Wenjianlu" written by Shao Bowen in the Song Dynasty, which mentioned that Li Ji performed eight bows when he visited Wen Yanbo, because this kind of solemn etiquette was mostly used to respect his father's relatives and friends, so he later used "eight bows of friends" as a metaphor for extremely deep friendship.
In the historical allusions, the "Eight Worships" can be subdivided into eight representative types of friendship, and these allusions and stories are all long-standing and touching examples of friendship in Chinese history
1.Boyazi is a bosom friend: It tells the story of ** family Yu Boya and Zhong Ziqi know each other because of the sound of the piano and become the only friends who understand each other's hearts.
2.Lian is like a neck-to-neck friend: During the Warring States Period, General Zhao Guolianpo and Lin Xiangru were like doctors, and the two established a friendship that could sacrifice their lives for each other from the initial conflict to the final mutual understanding and respect for the interests of the country.
3.Chen Chonglei's friendship with rubber paint: Chen Zhong and Lei Yi in the Han Dynasty were two scholars, with a strong friendship like glue paint, supporting each other and never abandoning.
4.Yuanbo Juqing's friends with chickens: Paradigm (character Yuanbo) and Zhang Shao (character Juqing) agreed that there would be no deadline, and Yuanbo went to the appointment as scheduled, reflecting the deep friendship of trustworthiness and commitment.
5.The friend of the horn mourning Bo Tao sacrificed his life: During the Spring and Autumn Period, Zuo Botao took the initiative to give up clothes and food in order to let his friends go out smoothly, and he froze and starved to death, achieving a friendship story of self-sacrifice.
6.Liu Guanzhang is a friend of life and deathDuring the Three Kingdoms period, Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei formed a righteous alliance in Taoyuan, vowing to live and die together, and jointly create the foundation of Shu Han, and their friendship and loyalty have been praised through the ages.
7.Uncle Yiwu's tooth tube is a friend of Bao: The friendship between Guan Zhong and Bao Shuya during the Spring and Autumn Period, Bao Shuya always believed in and recommended Guan Zhong, even if the latter had encountered difficulties and misunderstandings, their friendship was known as a model of good ministers and confidants.
8.Kong Rong Youheng forgot the turn of the year: Although Kong Rong and You Heng have a large age difference, they are close friends because of their similar talents and affection, and they don't care about the age difference, showing a deep cross-age friendship.
The meaning of "Eight Worships" is to promote the noble virtues of loyalty, mutual assistance, understanding, and tolerance, express people's yearning for and cherish beautiful friendship, and have extremely high moral value and educational significance in traditional Chinese society.