Today it seems perfectly natural for us to shake hands when we greet someone or say goodbye. But like
so many things that we do without thinking such actions at one time probably represented something.
     For example, in primitive (原始的) life the hand was used to fight enemies, kill animals, and make spears
and tools. So when the hand was extended to someone, it showed that the person was not armed or ready for
fight.
     We know that the hand was an important symbol in early religion, probably as a mark of power. The
Greeks prayed to their gods with raised hands. Presenting the hands palm to palm was at one time the way
an inferior (身份低的) person paid respect to a superior(身份高的) one.
     Among the Arabs, it was customary at one time to kiss the hand of a superior. Later on, polite Arabs
began to resist the efforts of people to kiss their hands, and sometimes they would end up shaking hands as
each tried to prevent the other from showing this mark of"inferiority (下级)."
     The early Greeks held out the right hand when they wished to show friendship to a stranger. So we can
see that the hand, and what was done with it, was full of meaning to people down through the ages. And
while we shake hands without thinking, we are really carrying on a custom that has been handed down to us
from ancient times.