More than one thousand years ago, when the Chinese poet 李白, Li-bai put down one of his most well-known lines, “ 舉頭望明月，低頭思故鄉(ju3 tou2 wang4 ming2 yue4, di tou2 si gu4 xiang,” “I look up at the bright moon, and then lower my head thinking about home,” he wouldn’t have foreseen that years later there would be a group of people labeled as “低頭族,” people who lower their heads.
(from idn-news.com)
Ever since smart phones hit the market, we’ve seen more and more scenes as above: on the bus; in the train; in a restaurant or a coffee shop, where people meet and are supposed to talk or socialize with each other. . . . As a result, a new term was coined for those smartphone addicts--低頭族
Besides its literal meaning, 低頭also means surrender, giving in. Sometimes when people have to compromise, yielding to a stronger power, we’ll probably sigh and say “人在屋簷下，不得不低頭 (ren2 zai4 wu yan2 xia4, bu4 de2 bu4 di tou2), ” you have no other choice but to lower your head under eaves.
A more literary expression for 低頭 is 俯首(fu3 shou3). When confronted with hard evidence, a crime suspect insisting on his innocence may lower his head and confess. The act is called俯首認罪(fu3 shou3 ren4 zui4). Or you might lay down your arms and surrender to someone. In that case, 俯首稱臣(fu3 shou3 cheng chen2) will be proper for the situation.
On the contrary, when people are triumphant and making great strides with their heads up, you can say they’re 昂首闊步(ang2 shou3 kuo4 bu4). But people these days may lower their heads before they stride. Think about those Spanish football fans, what did they do first when their team won the 2012 European Football championship? Probably texted the news to friends or spread it on Facebook!
低頭族=低头族
舉頭望明月，低頭思故鄉=举头望明月，低头思故乡
人在屋簷下，不得不低頭=人在屋檐下，不得不低头
俯首認罪=俯首认罪
俯首稱臣=俯首称臣
昂首闊步=昂首阔步
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