Kowtow
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A kowtow is the act of deep respect shown by prostration, that is, kneeling and bowing so low as to have one's head touching the ground. In Sinospheric culture, the kowtow is the highest sign of reverence. It was widely used to show reverence for one's elders, superiors, and especially the Emperor of China, as well as for religious and cultural objects of worship. In modern times, usage of the kowtow has been reduced.
Kowtowing in Chinese funeral rituals
A kowtowing official, Song dynasty
Vietnamese graduates pay gratitude by performing a Kowtow for their teachers during the Confucian court examination in 1897.
Prostration
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Prostration is the gesture of placing one's body in a reverentially or submissively prone position. Typically prostration is distinguished from the lesser acts of bowing or kneeling by involving a part of the body above the knee, especially the hands, touching the ground.
During a Good Friday liturgy, a Christian clergyman prostrates himself in accordance with the rubrics in the Book of Worship. The processional cross is veiled in black, the liturgical colour associated with Good Friday in many Western Christian denominations.
Buddhist pilgrims prostrating at the Jokhang.
White-clad deacon candidates prostrate before the altar of the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles during their ordination liturgy
Eastern Orthodox pilgrims making prostrations at Golgotha in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Jerusalem.