Kneeling country

跪国 (guì guó) kneeling country

Two people kneel in front of a courthouse holding signs that read, “Return my wages, allow me to live,” and, “The court has frozen the retirement funds of an 83 year old elderly person.” (Source: canyu.org)

A mockery term to describe a country where citizens feel compelled to kneel in order to get what they should be entitled to. Homophone to 贵国(guì guó), a term frequently used on diplomatic occasions, meaning “distinguished country.”

Kneeling in front of a government building or government official is a way for petitioners to attract public attention and get their grievances heard.

Examples:

Guchengyike (孤城异客): A qilu poem --- Culture of the Kneeling Country: Forget that a real man doesn't kneel easily; this divine land is always full of disabled men. Servile people kowtow at the red steps of the palace: ignorant masses kiss the ground at the government buildings. People kowtow to salute the emperor and cultivate themselves to be shitizens. A man shamelessly proclaims that Chinese people have stood up; we should all know it's merely a self-consoling fantasy.

七律 跪国文化 休说膝下有黄金，自古神州薮废人。 奴到丹墀头抢地，氓出衙署嘴蒙尘。 撅臀三尺朝天子，稽首千年做屁民。 不惭豪言称站起，当知自慰带意淫。 [Chinese]