perform the great kowtow ritual or
perform the great ritual of three kneelings and nine kowtows

叩 - 叩頭 - kowtow (standard English)

The kowtow is often performed in groups of three before Buddhist statues and images or tombs of the dead. A sequence of three sets of kowtow was an extreme gesture of respect. The person would stand up and kneel down again between each set, hence the term three kneelings and nine kowtows (三跪九叩).
http://www.economicexpert.com/a/Kowtow.htm


The Last Emperors: A Social History of Qing Imperial Institutions - Google Books Result by Evelyn S. Rawski - 2001 - History - 493 pages
The imperial seal was placed in front of him on a table; the assembled officials performed the full obeisance of "three kneelings and nine kowtows. ...
books.google.com.ph/books?isbn=0520228375...

"Not even the emissaries of the Pope could escape the Great Kow-tow"--the ceremony involving the three kneelings and nine prostrations before the throne of the Chinese Emperor."
http://www.randomhouse.com/wotd/index.pperl?date=20000728