The picture of a girl kowtowing before a young man recently went viral on the Internet. It was learnt that the picture was taken at an apprenticeship ceremony in Changzhou, eastern China’s Jiangsu province. The scene has sparked fierce online debate over whether it is shameful to kneel down before teachers.

In the picture, the girl is on her knees kowtowing to a man in his twenties in front of her, with three other men sitting beside them and watching the scene.

Some people are of the opinion that kowtowing is an outdated aspect of traditional Chinese culture which should be abandoned, while others believe that it is indeed necessary to show respect to teachers.

The young man in the picture, Li Zhen, runs an organization that teaches traditional Chinese folk arts such as crosstalk, bamboo talk and storytelling.

He explained that kowtowing was a necessary part of traditional Chinese apprenticeship ceremonies. “Seemingly outdated, kowtowing is a ceremony that stresses the duty to pass on traditional Chinese art forms,” Li added.

The girl surnamed Chen in the picture is in Third Grade. She believes there’s nothing wrong with kowtowing, saying Li has not only taught her art, but also morality.

According to Chen’s father, the official kowtowing ceremony was intended to enable the child show respect, thus the importance of experiencing the traditional ceremony.

The custom of kowtowing itself has no problem, said Ge Jinhua, vice president of Zhou Youguang School of Languages and Cultures at Changzhou University. But he believes that it is not proper to see it as a sign of cultural inheritance, adding that the practice represented partial betrayal of personal freedom in olden days.

Tang Yongcheng, a high school teacher in Changzhou, said that kowtowing could make teachers more responsible since it ensures students’ respect. He holds that teachers and students are still equal after the kowtowing ceremony.