ABSTRACT
KOWTOW koutou 口口頭 Ritual kneeling and placing the forehead on the floor which became a diplomatic issue when performed by members of tribute missions presenting themselves to the emperor. Although this symbolic submission posed no problems to the tributary embassies from China’s less powerful Asian neighbours, it was considered inappropriate by the envoys of Western diplomats attempting to negotiate with the imperial court for trade and diplomatic rights in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, in particular Lord Macartney in his 1793 mission.
