When two people greeting each other in China, the greeting gesture must be shaking each other’s hands without a doubt. Especially for people who work for government agencies, it is the best way to show their politeness the identity they owned and the well education they have received. Unlike people from other countries in Asia like Japan and South Korea, Chinese people rarely bow to each others. I know it is a kind of culture of Japanese people like waiters or sales to bow to customers to show their thanks. In South Korea, women even go down on their knees to welcome their husbands home. Chinese women never do this is mainly because they have their own career, they are not housewives whose living is rely on husbands. Both husbands and wives have equal rights in the family.
Chinses people are usually shy, so we do not kissing and hugging each other when we meet our friends even if we may know each other since we were kids. Shaking hands as a greeting gesture is a more official way to some extent. There is one time my parenets brought me to dinner with their friends most of whom are civil servants. When my mother introducing me to them, some of the uncles skaking their hands with me. I think the scene must be very funny if someone take photos of it. I was like only 15 or 16 years old. I just started to hate things like having dinner with unfamiliar elderships. Shaking hands for me was more like a hypocritical behavior.
It is undoubtedly true that every culture has different rituals of greetings and body language in general but I believe that actually that is what makes us special and unique. Bowing, hugging, and kissing are all ways of greeting, you can choose your way and eventually you can apply it in different cultures and situation. I disagree with the fact that shaking hands is hypocritical on the contrary people shake hands all over the world and maybe it is one of the rare body language tips that is used by more cultures. Moreover, people use this because it is the most neutral way to approach someone and that is why businessmen, politicians, people that you meet for the first time, friends that we meet constantly use the hand shaking.
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