On July 9, there was a picture of a girl kneeling and kowtowing to a young man on a local forum in Changzhou, which aroused heated discussion among many citizens. It is said that this was a live broadcast of a teacher from a training institution in Changzhou when he accepted a disciple. . Some people sneer at this practice of "kowtowing to worship teachers", but others believe that it should not be too strict. The inheritance of traditional culture is inseparable from the sense of ritual. A reporter from Modern Express contacted the person involved and learned the ins and outs of the girl’s kneeling and kowtow.

The reporter contacted Li Zhen, the man who accepted the apprentice. He is from Heilongjiang, born in 1991, and graduated from the Sichuan Conservatory of Music. He once worked at the Changzhou Youth Activity Center. He left his job a few months ago and opened a training institution, teaching cross talk, storytelling, allegro and other folk arts.

Li Zhen said that kowtowing is a necessary part of the apprenticeship ceremony in the folk arts industry. The master's acceptance of a disciple is a voluntary matter, and becoming a disciple is not something you can do if you want to. When he recruits a disciple, he first looks at his character and secondly at his professional ability.

Li Zhen said that when he was a child, he would kneel down and kowtow when he became a disciple. At that time, he was young and did not know the meaning of it. At that time, he was just kowtowing to the master, but later on, the master really devoted a lot to his disciples and imparted knowledge without reservation, just so that his skills could be passed down and carried forward.

"I have been studying folk art with Teacher Li and I like this course very much. In addition to taking classes, he also teaches a lot of principles of life, including dealing with people, talking and doing things." The girl who is apprenticed this time is Xiao Chen A post-00s student who is only in third grade said she didn’t think there was anything wrong with such a ceremony. "In Journey to the West, didn't Sun Wukong also kowtow when he became his master?"

Parent Mr. Chen believes that there is a difference between kneeling and not kneeling, and that the master has more special meaning than the teacher. "Master not only has the majesty of a teacher, but also has the love of a father. I hope that my daughter will treat her like her father, learn his moral character, learn his skills, and promote traditional arts.

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