Posted under General
post #486798
Is this some sort of fighter greeting or something like that?
Updated by jxh2154
It is; it's supposed to be a symbol of non-aggression, i.e. covering your fist with your hand. (Although apparently that's just one of many interpretations assigned to it.) Sometimes the fingers are curled over the fist as well. It seems to have been co-opted by several martial arts styles and called several different things accordingly, but Shaolin Kung Fu seems to be the most likely originator, making shaolin_fist the moniker of choice.
It is written as 抱拳礼(Baoquanli) in Chinese.
It's called "palm-fist greeting", common for old East Asian cultures and some extent regions - not only in China. Nowadays you'll see it mostly in 3 cases:
In the past, this pose is the default if you're talking to someone with higher social rank than you (such as the king).
palm-fist_greeting then? Implicating salute?
Cyberia-Mix said:
palm-fist_greeting then? Implicating salute?
Why the hell would it implicate to salute?
Then what distinction do you make between two-finger_salute ("salute tag"), hat_tip and palm-fist_greeting (also in the wiki with no name)?
A two-finger salute is an abbreviated, casualized salute using only two fingers, rather than the full four fingers. Tips of fingers either touch the brow, or wave in the general direction of - and then away from - the brow.
Hat-tipping is exactly that: tipping the hat, via fingers (and sometimes thumb), downwards in front of the face in a casually respectful manner. This is an abbreviated form of respectfully doffing one's hat in greeting.
The palm-fist greeting is a greeting gesture, but not especially a salute. I would object to it being lumped in as a salute, due to the palm-fist greeting not involving a gesture towards the brow, thus making the visual elements too disparate for tagging purposes.
Palm-fist greeting should not implicate salute. While it is a greeting gesture, it doesn't always encompass the military meaning associated with salute. Think of it as a handshake if you will, just with several complicated levels of respect I won't bother you with.
Beside that, I don't think people searching for salute expect to find this gesture, so no need to complicate our tags.
rantuyetmai said:
While it is a greeting gesture, it doesn't always encompass the military meaning associated with salute.
The current scope of the tag is much larger. Would agree if it was used that way.
rantuyetmai said:
Beside that, I don't think people searching for salute expect to find this gesture, so no need to complicate our tags.
I could, both ways, which is why I asked. Like we have varying postures/gestures under apologizing or praying, except with a lower postcount.
Cyberia-Mix said:
The current scope of the tag is much larger. Would agree if it was used that way.
You misunderstand my quote. I mean the salutation itself have a Western military origin and meaning, it doesn't matter if a normal girl does it, people would still recognize it as a sign of salute.
Palm-fist greeting is not recognized as a salute in any history or culture. People don't use it to greet their national flag, nor do they use it in a whole crowd greeting a single person/object. It's only at a personal level: one to one (saying hello) or one to a crowd (thanking).
Salute is not simply every respectful gesture there are, you'd be including bowing in it if you think so.
rantuyetmai said:
Salute is not simply every respectful gesture there are
OED said:
salute, n.1
An utterance, gesture, or action of any kind by which one person salutes another; a salutation.salute, v.trans.
To greet with some gesture or visible action conventionally expressive of respect or courteous recognition.
Not that this reflects my opinion on what should be done with the salute tag; just saying, really.
More importantly, the question of what is and is not a salute clearly extends beyond the topic of palm-fist_greeting (which I will +1 as the appropriate tag for this gesture, by the way) and needs its own thread.
