I believe that in certain situations, Chinese people will definitely bow because the inspiration for Korean and Japanese culture comes from ancient Chinese culture. But in modern times, they donot, because modern China has abolished many of their traditions, customs, and Confucian culture.
South Korea/Japan largely preserves all these customs and traditions, and the honorific terms used in conversations between elderly people in China are different from those in Japan and South Korea. Adding honorific terms such as "daoji" and "daoji" in greetings is a behavior that you should follow to address elderly people in South Korea and Japan, but China does not have such a habit.
Basically, compared with Chinese etiquette culture, Korean/Culture of Japan is generally more formal. Moreover, Japanese people have a standardized process for bowing, with three forms of standing posture: 15 degrees per second, 30 degrees per second, and 45 degrees per three seconds. Use different etiquette in different occasions.
However, I know that the situation has changed since the modern Democratic revolution, but can anyone confirm whether these customs existed in the Qing Dynasty, or whether they were also abolished at that time? I am also curious about why Mandarin does not have honorific like Korean language/Japanese, and when this situation changed. I believe that at some point in history, Chinese people also had the habit of using honorific titles.
I think this is because for most Chinese people, bowing is a very formal etiquette, too formal, a bit distant, and cannot be used for business or daily life. As a Chinese person, the most typical situations that I can think of where one must bow are in theaters and funerals:
1)After a performance, actors and actress bow to express their gratitude to the audience. I guess this is a western tradition and Chinese simply followed.
1） 表演结束后，演员们鞠躬向观众表示感谢。我想这是西方的传统，中国人只是简单地遵循。
2) At a funeral, when you finally pay tribute and bid farewell to the deceased, you must bow three times. This etiquette is also used in national ceremonies, such as commemorative ceremonies for important historical figures such as Mao Zedong and Sun Yat sen, as well as for martyrs and victims who have sacrificed themselves in past wars and revolutions.
There is an important similarity between these two situations: the person you bow to is always someone you don't know or are unfamiliar with. So it's strange to bow to your boss or grandparents, as it makes them think you're too polite and out of touch. The only exception may be that this time it really helped you a lot - you feel grateful or something else that cannot express your feelings.
For business conditions, Chinese tend to use shaking hands and inclining heads forward to show their respect, not bowing.(Leaning heads forward is a simplified version of bow)
就商业条件而言，中国人倾向于用握手和把头前倾来表示尊重，而不是鞠躬。（头向前倾斜是弓的简化版本）
I am Chinese. It's kinda pity that I noticed this phenomenon like you but I never had a chance to ask a Janpanese and Korean about this. So maybe we need to wait for them to answer as well. But seen for my perspective, I don't think Chinese take etiquette as serious as many people imagined. In daily conditions, Chinese etiquette are casual than Japanese and Korean ones.
First of all, we have to understand the history and culture of China. The Zhou Dynasty (the first 1046 - the first 256 years) is the third dynasty after the Shang Dynasty in Chinese history. Zhou is also the creator of the word "Huaxia" and originally referred to it. The Zhou Dynasty's China has already formed a specific etiquette, called the ritual and music system. There is a book called "Zhou Li" which was later compiled by the Confucian Confucius in the Spring and Autumn Period. This book details the Chinese "Li" and "Yue" system. LI and Yue can be understood as politeness. The essence of this system is also the difference between the feudal ruling class and the ordinary working people. This "ritual music" records the Chinese people's moral values and the norms of doing things in a written way.
For example, the elders don't ask, you can't say, walk with the elders, you can't walk in front of the elders, eat together, the elders don't eat, you can't eat. These have been followed by the Chinese until now.
Second, historical development. Since the Han Dynasty established Confucianism as the guiding ideology of the state, the Confucian benevolence, righteousness, courtesy, and wisdom have been developed. The ritual has been greatly developed in China. People’s lives are following this system until the last dynasty in China. Always follow the ritual before being overthrown. Later, the founding of New China abandoned the traditional feudal ideology and no longer followed some of the eliminated rituals.
Third, the culture of South Korea and Japan is passed down from China. It is undeniable that when they are learning Chinese culture, it is the most powerful time in China. They think that they should learn from China and then they have learned it now. They have no innovation. It is not so much as to insist that innovation is not known.
Fourth, don't think that Chinese people don't respect the old and love the young. China has paid attention to filial piety since ancient times. Although it is not as embarrassing as Japan and South Korea, the Chinese respect for the elders comes from action, language and psychology. Those who are proficient in Chinese can go to see "Book of Rites" and you will have a deep understanding.
It depends on which part of the Chinese-speaking world you are in. Bowing is very much a part of Chinese culture, but you could say that many parts of the Chinese world have dropped this formality.
Some answers reflect that it's more of a Japanese thing. Actually it is very Chinese, but the Japanese have done a better job of preserving certain Chinese traditions from bygone ages.
Here are some examples of where you will still see bowing in today's Chinese culture:
以下是一些在当今中国文化中你仍然会看到鞠躬的例子：
In the world of traditional Chinese culture, bowing to "masters" before receiving their guidance is a form of respect, which is almost universal. This includes the teacher before your martial arts class, if you follow the teachings of the Buddha, you should also salute him, and so on. Part of the reason is that when you study traditional culture, you emphasize learning in a traditional way, including past teacher-student relationships.
In more traditional parts of the Chinese cultural world, it is common for people in the service industry to bow in front of customers if they want to make demands. For example, most railway agents of Taiwan Railways often bow in front of the entire carriage (once) before checking everyone's tickets. They may also bend slightly in a semi bow manner and ask you, for example, to move your luggage or other similar requests. However, in my experience, this is not common in Chinese Mainland.
It is common in traditional arts for opponents to bow for each other before engaging in any kind of competition, as a form of respect for each other. This is particularly true of martial arts, but also many times in other one-on-one competitions.
It is innate for most Chinese to make a slight bowing gesture while apologizing to anyone. When admitting a mistake and saying "不好意思" or "對不起", most Chinese will bend over very slightly, rather than stand straight and look you squarely in the eye as an American would say "sorry". This originates from what used to be full-blown bowing, but is now just a slight gesture. Most people don't even think about this, but it's just something that everyone picks up from cultural inertia without thinking about it.
A bow is common while accepting a gift from someone who is not your peer. Gifts should be accepted with both hands. It is also proper to bow while giving a gift, but not everyone does this anymore. Again, you'll see this followed more so in southeast Asia and Taiwan than (mainland) China.
Bowing is very common in traditional ceremonies before assuming any kind of role. For example, if you are in a marriage ceremony and accepting a microphone to give the toast speech, you may bow while taking the microphone. The male may also bow before the female's parents in a marriage.
Bowing is common before business superiors in more traditional places. In mainland China, the handshake has replaced it almost entirely. In Taiwan, it's common to bow slightly while handshaking.
Donote that Chinese bowing is rarely 90 degrees like Japanese bowing. Chinese bowing today is more like 45 degrees.
请注意，中国鞠躬很少像日本鞠躬那样呈90度。今天的中国人鞠躬更像是45度。
网友Ever Dion的回答
It is true that Chinese and Japanese culture shared a lot of things in common, but the two countries' histories walked two very different paths after the Tang dynasty.
诚然，中日文化有很多共同点，但唐朝以后，两国的历史走上了两条截然不同的道路。
For one Japan has never been invaded by a foreign power. By invasion I mean having a foreign power march down on your territory, completely destroy your defense, and bring forth a new culture. China experienced this twice: one during the Mongol (Yuan dynasty) invasion, the second during the Manchu (Qing dynasty) invasion. While Han culture survived these two invasions, it survived not by upholding its traditions, but rather by absorbing new customs and morphing into something new.
Japanese-style bowing was a traditional Han greeting gesture. People bowed to each other with their hands holding together and reaching forward.
日本式的鞠躬是汉族传统的问候手势。人们互相鞠躬，双手并拢，向前伸。
Later during Manchu rule, people had to follow the Manchu tradition of “打千" (for men) and “万福” (for women)
在后来的满族统治时期，人们不得不遵循“打千“（男性）和”万福” （女性）的礼节
(can't find a better picture, but you get the basic pose for men)
（找不到更好的照片，但你可以得到男人的基本姿势）
But I think the exact reason why we no longer bow to each other is that we have experienced almost totally non Westernization socialist reform. The dross in ancient traditions is despised and abandoned. We replaced bowing and kowtowing with shaking hands. This is not a slow cultural/customary change, but a cruel and powerful cutting that separates old and new things. When someone tries to shake hands with you, if you bow or even kowtow, you will be considered uncivilized and outdated.
Japan never had this. Their westernization was an addition, not a replacement. They didn't give up their old ways, they just added the new ways as a more fashionable alternative. At least that's how I understand their Meiji Restoration.
We cannot stop modernization (in most cases, it means westernization), but if there is a choice, I would rather break free from bad habits and the "Three Cardinals and Five Constants", as reformed after 1949, than like Japan and South Korea.
日本人和韩国人每天都要不停的鞠躬。不管对方能不能看得到，他们都会深鞠一躬，包括打电话，即使你在电话的另一端，他们也会深施一礼。他们每天鞠躬，就像我们吃饭喝水一样平常。日本上下级阶层固化，一般都是下属给上司施礼45度比较多；而在生活当中鞠躬就相当于打招呼。韩国人见面时的传统礼节也是鞠躬。晚辈、下级走路时遇到长辈或上级,应鞠躬、问候,站在一旁,让其先行,以示敬意。在美版知乎Quora上，外国网友提问道：为什么中国人日常问候中不像韩国和日本那样深深鞠躬行礼呢？这引起各国网友的围观和热议，我们看看他们的看法。
海外网友Laying Atieh的回答
I believe that in certain situations, Chinese people will definitely bow because the inspiration for Korean and Japanese culture comes from ancient Chinese culture. But in modern times, they donot, because modern China has abolished many of their traditions, customs, and Confucian culture.
我相信在某些情景下中国人一定会鞠躬，因为韩日文化的灵感来自中国古代文化。但现代他们没有，因为现代中国废除了他们许多的传统、习俗和儒家文化。
South Korea/Japan largely preserves all these customs and traditions, and the honorific terms used in conversations between elderly people in China are different from those in Japan and South Korea. Adding honorific terms such as "daoji" and "daoji" in greetings is a behavior that you should follow to address elderly people in South Korea and Japan, but China does not have such a habit.
韩国/日本在很大程度上保留了所有这些习俗和传统，中国与老年人交谈时的尊称是和日韩不同的，问候中加上“눈치 ”、“られる”这样的敬语，这是你应该遵循的称呼韩国和日本老年人的一种行为方式，中国则没有这样的习惯。
Basically, compared with Chinese etiquette culture, Korean/Culture of Japan is generally more formal. Moreover, Japanese people have a standardized process for bowing, with three forms of standing posture: 15 degrees per second, 30 degrees per second, and 45 degrees per three seconds. Use different etiquette in different occasions.
基本上，与中国礼仪文化相比，韩国/日本文化总体上更正式。而且日本人鞠躬有一套他们规范的流程，站立式有三个形式，15度一秒，30度两秒和45度3三秒。在不同的场合用不同的礼数。
However, I know that the situation has changed since the modern Democratic revolution, but can anyone confirm whether these customs existed in the Qing Dynasty, or whether they were also abolished at that time? I am also curious about why Mandarin does not have honorific like Korean language/Japanese, and when this situation changed. I believe that at some point in history, Chinese people also had the habit of using honorific titles.
但是，我知道，自从近代民主革命以来，情况已经改变了，但有人能证实这些习俗是否在清朝存在，或者当时是否也被废除了吗？我也很好奇为什么普通话不像朝鲜语/日语那样有敬语，以及这种情况是什么时候改变的。我相信中国人在历史上的某个时刻也有使用尊称的习惯。
中国网友Hell Zhang的回答
I think this is because for most Chinese people, bowing is a very formal etiquette, too formal, a bit distant, and cannot be used for business or daily life. As a Chinese person, the most typical situations that I can think of where one must bow are in theaters and funerals:
我认为这是因为对大多数中国人来说，鞠躬是一种非常正式的礼仪，太正式了，有点疏远，不能用于商业或日常生活。作为一个中国人，我能想到的最典型的必须鞠躬的情况是在剧院和葬礼上：
1)After a performance, actors and actress bow to express their gratitude to the audience. I guess this is a western tradition and Chinese simply followed.
1） 表演结束后，演员们鞠躬向观众表示感谢。我想这是西方的传统，中国人只是简单地遵循。
2) At a funeral, when you finally pay tribute and bid farewell to the deceased, you must bow three times. This etiquette is also used in national ceremonies, such as commemorative ceremonies for important historical figures such as Mao Zedong and Sun Yat sen, as well as for martyrs and victims who have sacrificed themselves in past wars and revolutions.
2） 在葬礼上，当你最后向死者致敬并告别时，你要鞠躬三次。这种礼仪也被用于国家仪式，比如毛泽东、孙中山等重要历史人物的纪念仪式和在过去的战争和革命中牺牲的烈士和受害者。
There is an important similarity between these two situations: the person you bow to is always someone you don't know or are unfamiliar with. So it's strange to bow to your boss or grandparents, as it makes them think you're too polite and out of touch. The only exception may be that this time it really helped you a lot - you feel grateful or something else that cannot express your feelings.
这两种情况有一个重要的相似之处：你鞠躬的人总是你不认识或不熟悉的人。所以向你的老板或祖父母鞠躬是很奇怪的，这会让他们觉得你太礼貌和见外。唯一的例外可能是，这一次真的帮了你很多——你感到感谢或其他无法表达你感受的东西。
For business conditions, Chinese tend to use shaking hands and inclining heads forward to show their respect, not bowing.(Leaning heads forward is a simplified version of bow)
就商业条件而言，中国人倾向于用握手和把头前倾来表示尊重，而不是鞠躬。（头向前倾斜是弓的简化版本）
I am Chinese. It's kinda pity that I noticed this phenomenon like you but I never had a chance to ask a Janpanese and Korean about this. So maybe we need to wait for them to answer as well. But seen for my perspective, I don't think Chinese take etiquette as serious as many people imagined. In daily conditions, Chinese etiquette are casual than Japanese and Korean ones.
我是中国人。很遗憾，我和你一样注意到了这种现象，但我从来没有机会问过日本和韩国的人。所以，也许我们也需要等待他们的回答。但从我的角度来看，我不认为中国人像许多人想象的那样重视礼仪。在日常生活中，中国的礼仪比日本和韩国的礼仪更随意。
中国留学生凯瑟琳的回答
First of all, we have to understand the history and culture of China. The Zhou Dynasty (the first 1046 - the first 256 years) is the third dynasty after the Shang Dynasty in Chinese history. Zhou is also the creator of the word "Huaxia" and originally referred to it. The Zhou Dynasty's China has already formed a specific etiquette, called the ritual and music system. There is a book called "Zhou Li" which was later compiled by the Confucian Confucius in the Spring and Autumn Period. This book details the Chinese "Li" and "Yue" system. LI and Yue can be understood as politeness. The essence of this system is also the difference between the feudal ruling class and the ordinary working people. This "ritual music" records the Chinese people's moral values and the norms of doing things in a written way.
首先，我们必须了解中国的历史和文化。周朝（前1046年-前256年）是中国历史上商朝之后的第三个王朝。周也是“华夏”一词的创造者，最初是指华夏。周代的中国已经形成了一种特定的礼仪，称为礼乐制度。有一本名为《周礼》的书，后来由春秋时期的孔子编撰。这本书详细介绍了中国的“礼”和“乐”制度。礼和乐可以理解为礼节。这一制度的本质也是印证封建统治阶级与普通劳动人民的区别。这首“礼乐”以书面形式记录了中国人的道德价值观和做事规范。
For example, the elders don't ask, you can't say, walk with the elders, you can't walk in front of the elders, eat together, the elders don't eat, you can't eat. These have been followed by the Chinese until now.
例如，长辈不问，你不能说，和长辈一起走，你不能在长辈面前走，一起吃，长辈不吃，你不能吃。直到现在，中国人一直在遵循这些礼节。
Second, historical development. Since the Han Dynasty established Confucianism as the guiding ideology of the state, the Confucian benevolence, righteousness, courtesy, and wisdom have been developed. The ritual has been greatly developed in China. People’s lives are following this system until the last dynasty in China. Always follow the ritual before being overthrown. Later, the founding of New China abandoned the traditional feudal ideology and no longer followed some of the eliminated rituals.
第二，历史发展。自汉代确立儒家思想为国家指导思想以来，儒家的仁义礼智思想得到了发展。这种仪式在中国得到了极大的发展。直到中国的最后一个王朝，人们的生活都遵循着这一制度。在被推翻之前，一定要遵守仪式。后来，新中国的成立抛弃了传统的封建思想，不再遵循一些被淘汰的仪式。
Third, the culture of South Korea and Japan is passed down from China. It is undeniable that when they are learning Chinese culture, it is the most powerful time in China. They think that they should learn from China and then they have learned it now. They have no innovation. It is not so much as to insist that innovation is not known.
第三，韩国和日本的文化是从中国传下来的。不可否认，当他们学习中国文化时，这是中国最强大的时刻。他们认为他们应该向中国学习，然后他们现在已经学会了。他们没有创新。与其说这是在坚持创新是未知的。
Fourth, don't think that Chinese people don't respect the old and love the young. China has paid attention to filial piety since ancient times. Although it is not as embarrassing as Japan and South Korea, the Chinese respect for the elders comes from action, language and psychology. Those who are proficient in Chinese can go to see "Book of Rites" and you will have a deep understanding.
第四，不要认为中国人不尊老爱幼。中国自古就重视孝道。虽然不像日本和韩国那样尴尬，但中国人对长辈的尊重来自行动、语言和心理。精通中文的人可以去看《礼记》，你会有深刻的理解。
日本网友高野英二的回答
It depends on which part of the Chinese-speaking world you are in. Bowing is very much a part of Chinese culture, but you could say that many parts of the Chinese world have dropped this formality.
这取决于你所在的华语世界。鞠躬在很大程度上是中国文化的一部分，但你可以说，华语世界的许多地方已经放弃了这种形式。
Some answers reflect that it's more of a Japanese thing. Actually it is very Chinese, but the Japanese have done a better job of preserving certain Chinese traditions from bygone ages.
一些答案反映出这更像是日本的事情。事实上，它是非常中国化的，但日本人在保存某些中国传统方面做得更好。
Here are some examples of where you will still see bowing in today's Chinese culture:
以下是一些在当今中国文化中你仍然会看到鞠躬的例子：
In the world of traditional Chinese culture, bowing to "masters" before receiving their guidance is a form of respect, which is almost universal. This includes the teacher before your martial arts class, if you follow the teachings of the Buddha, you should also salute him, and so on. Part of the reason is that when you study traditional culture, you emphasize learning in a traditional way, including past teacher-student relationships.
在中国传统文化世界中，在接受“大师”的指导之前向他们鞠躬是一种尊重，这几乎是普遍的。这包括你在上武术课之前的老师，如果你遵循佛陀的教导，你也要向他行礼，等等。部分原因是，当你学习传统文化时，强调以传统的方式学习，包括过去的师生关系。
In more traditional parts of the Chinese cultural world, it is common for people in the service industry to bow in front of customers if they want to make demands. For example, most railway agents of Taiwan Railways often bow in front of the entire carriage (once) before checking everyone's tickets. They may also bend slightly in a semi bow manner and ask you, for example, to move your luggage or other similar requests. However, in my experience, this is not common in Chinese Mainland.
在中国文化世界的更传统的地方，服务业的人如果想向客户提出要求，就会在客户面前鞠躬，这是很常见的。例如，大部分台铁的铁路代理人在检查每个人的车票之前，经常会在整个车厢前鞠躬（一次）。他们也可能会以半鞠躬的方式稍微弯腰，然后要求你，比如，请移动你的行李或其他类似的要求。然而，根据我的经验，这在中国大陆并不常见。
It is common in traditional arts for opponents to bow for each other before engaging in any kind of competition, as a form of respect for each other. This is particularly true of martial arts, but also many times in other one-on-one competitions.
在传统艺术中，对手在参加任何比赛之前都会向对方鞠躬，这是一种对彼此的尊重。武术尤其如此，但在其他一对一比赛中也有很多次。
It is innate for most Chinese to make a slight bowing gesture while apologizing to anyone. When admitting a mistake and saying "不好意思" or "對不起", most Chinese will bend over very slightly, rather than stand straight and look you squarely in the eye as an American would say "sorry". This originates from what used to be full-blown bowing, but is now just a slight gesture. Most people don't even think about this, but it's just something that everyone picks up from cultural inertia without thinking about it.
大多数中国人在向任何人道歉时都会做出轻微的鞠躬手势，这是与生俱来的。当承认错误并说“不好意思“或”對不起”，大多数中国人会微微弯腰，而不是像美国人那样站直直视你的眼睛说“对不起”。这源于过去的鞠躬，但现在只是一个轻微的手势。大多数人甚至没有想过这一点，但这只是每个人从文化惯性中不知不觉地学到的东西。
A bow is common while accepting a gift from someone who is not your peer. Gifts should be accepted with both hands. It is also proper to bow while giving a gift, but not everyone does this anymore. Again, you'll see this followed more so in southeast Asia and Taiwan than (mainland) China.
鞠躬是常见的，当接受礼物的人不是你的同龄人，礼物应该用双手接受。送礼物时鞠躬也是恰当的，但并不是每个人都这样做了。同样，你会看到东南亚和台湾地区的情况比中国大陆更为夸张。
Bowing is very common in traditional ceremonies before assuming any kind of role. For example, if you are in a marriage ceremony and accepting a microphone to give the toast speech, you may bow while taking the microphone. The male may also bow before the female's parents in a marriage.
在担任任何角色之前，鞠躬在传统仪式中都很常见。例如，如果你正在参加婚礼，并接受麦克风进行祝酒词，你可以在拿起麦克风时鞠躬。在婚姻中，男性也可以在女性父母面前鞠躬。
Bowing is common before business superiors in more traditional places. In mainland China, the handshake has replaced it almost entirely. In Taiwan, it's common to bow slightly while handshaking.
在更传统的地方，在业务主管面前鞠躬是很常见的。在中国大陆，握手几乎完全取代了鞠躬。在台湾地区，握手时微微鞠躬是很常见的。
Donote that Chinese bowing is rarely 90 degrees like Japanese bowing. Chinese bowing today is more like 45 degrees.
请注意，中国鞠躬很少像日本鞠躬那样呈90度。今天的中国人鞠躬更像是45度。
网友Ever Dion的回答
It is true that Chinese and Japanese culture shared a lot of things in common, but the two countries' histories walked two very different paths after the Tang dynasty.
诚然，中日文化有很多共同点，但唐朝以后，两国的历史走上了两条截然不同的道路。
For one Japan has never been invaded by a foreign power. By invasion I mean having a foreign power march down on your territory, completely destroy your defense, and bring forth a new culture. China experienced this twice: one during the Mongol (Yuan dynasty) invasion, the second during the Manchu (Qing dynasty) invasion. While Han culture survived these two invasions, it survived not by upholding its traditions, but rather by absorbing new customs and morphing into something new.
首先，日本从未被外国势力侵略过。我所说的入侵是指外国势力进军你的领土，彻底摧毁你的防御，并带来一种新的文化。中国经历了两次：一次是在蒙古（元朝）入侵期间，第二次是在满族（清朝）入侵期间。虽然汉文化在这两次入侵中幸存下来，但它并不是通过坚持传统而幸存下来的，而是通过吸收新的习俗并演变成新的东西。
Japanese-style bowing was a traditional Han greeting gesture. People bowed to each other with their hands holding together and reaching forward.
日本式的鞠躬是汉族传统的问候手势。人们互相鞠躬，双手并拢，向前伸。
Later during Manchu rule, people had to follow the Manchu tradition of “打千" (for men) and “万福” (for women)
在后来的满族统治时期，人们不得不遵循“打千“（男性）和”万福” （女性）的礼节
(can't find a better picture, but you get the basic pose for men)
（找不到更好的照片，但你可以得到男人的基本姿势）
But I think the exact reason why we no longer bow to each other is that we have experienced almost totally non Westernization socialist reform. The dross in ancient traditions is despised and abandoned. We replaced bowing and kowtowing with shaking hands. This is not a slow cultural/customary change, but a cruel and powerful cutting that separates old and new things. When someone tries to shake hands with you, if you bow or even kowtow, you will be considered uncivilized and outdated.
但我认为，我们不再向对方低头的确切原因是，我们经历了几乎完全非西方化的社会主义改良。古老传统中的糟粕遭到蔑视和抛弃。我们用握手代替了鞠躬和磕头。这不是一次缓慢的文化/习俗变化，而是一次残酷而有力的切割，将新旧事物割裂开来。当别人试图和你握手时，如果你鞠躬甚至磕头，你就会被认为是不文明和过时的。
Japan never had this. Their westernization was an addition, not a replacement. They didn't give up their old ways, they just added the new ways as a more fashionable alternative. At least that's how I understand their Meiji Restoration.
日本从未有过这种情况。他们的西化是一种补充，而不是替代。他们没有放弃旧的方式，他们只是加入了新的方式，作为一种更时尚的选择。至少我是这样理解他们的明治维新的。
We cannot stop modernization (in most cases, it means westernization), but if there is a choice, I would rather break free from bad habits and the "Three Cardinals and Five Constants", as reformed after 1949, than like Japan and South Korea.
我们不能停止现代化（在大多数情况下，这意味着西化），但如果有选择的话，我还是宁愿像1949年后改革的那样，破除陋习和“三纲五常”，而不是像日本和韩国那样。