Addressing or Referring To Others
Just as it was important to use a humble form of "I", using a proper form of "You" was required to avoid potentially offending the addressee. For example, similar to the concept and usage of "Your Majesty" in British court, no one was allowed to use the regular pronoun "You" to address the emperor. The same concept of hierarchical speech habits and etiquette extended to people across all ranks and statuses. Often, the addressee's title or profession was used in place of the direct pronoun "You". Below are examples of proper substitutes for the second person pronouns "You" or "Your ~".
Read more about this topic: Chinese Honorifics
Famous quotes containing the words addressing and/or referring:
“But what is quackery? It is commonly an attempt to cure the diseases of a man by addressing his body alone. There is need of a physician who shall minister to both soul and body at once, that is, to man. Now he falls between two stools.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Is suffering so very serious? I have come to doubt it. It may be quite childish, a sort of undignified pastime—I’m referring to the kind of suffering a man inflicts on a woman or a woman on a man. It’s extremely painful. I agree that it’s hardly bearable. But I very much fear that this sort of pain deserves no consideration at all. It’s no more worthy of respect than old age or illness.”
—Colette [Sidonie Gabrielle Colette] (1873–1954)