What Was the Custom of the Han Families

Traditional Han Chinese Marriage Customs

Past staff reporter ZHANG LI

Marriage is important to everyone. To the average family unit, marriage means producing children and so that its traditions can exist passed down to the next generation. A one thousand and joyful hymeneals is an essential symbol of marriage, every bit from that moment on, a human and woman have promised to dearest each other and cleave together forever. Diverse customs within a wedding signify blessings for the couple's married life.

In mod society, people choose their ain spouses. Men and women get to know each other, fall in beloved and get married. They've abased the traditions that have no applied pregnant in contemporary society. But information technology's good for young people to know some of the onetime practices, and then that lodge remains aware of its cultural treasures.

Red china boasts a long history and rich civilization. The traditional matrimony customs of the Han Chinese are simply one part of Chinese culture, and reverberate the Hans' understanding of marriage – which is not but that a couple live together, but that their union forms a societal bond between two families.

In aboriginal Prc, spousal relationship happened through "the parents' society and the matchmaker's word." Men and women entered matrimony without knowing each other. Two families of equal social status oftentimes married their children to each other. The man and adult female got to know each other through their matchmaker's intercession. To guarantee a smooth road toward the wedding, various rituals were conducted.

In 2008, the union customs of Xiaoyi Metropolis'south Jiajiazhuang Village in Shanxi Province, the Ten-mile Crimson Dowry of Ninghai Canton in Zhejiang Province, and Wedding-on-the-H2o of Doumen Boondocks in Guangdong Province were listed as national intangible cultural heritages.

The bride and groom kowtow to heaven and earth at their wedding ceremony on March 9, 2014 in Rizhao Metropolis of Shandong Province.

Six Etiquettes

Han Chinese weddings involve six stages, called the Six Etiquettes. They start off with a marriage proposal (Na Cai), followed by an inquiry into the bride's birthplace and other personal data (Wen Ming) and divination (Na Ji). Acceptance of the bridal gifts is next (Na Zheng), then choosing the nuptials twenty-four hour period (Qing Qi), and finally the wedding anniversary (Qin Ying).

Na Cai denotes the man's family unit's sending of a matchmaker to the woman'south family to initiate a marriage proposal. Afterward her family accepts the overture, his family prepares gifts for a formal proposal – a tradition that has been preserved till present times. Nowadays, once a man and woman fall in love, he commonly goes to her family unit to inquire for her hand in marriage.

In some rural areas, the tradition of having a matchmaker has been preserved. The matchmaker takes the man to the adult female's domicile, where they have tea and chat. If he is interested in the woman, he volition drink the tea that is offered. If the woman also likes the human being, her parents will invite him to stay for dinner. If neither is interested in the other, the two will simply say goodbye to avoid whatsoever embarrassment.

If the two families don't object to the proposal, the human being'south family unit volition instruct the matchmaker to ask for the woman's proper noun and birthdate. In ancient China, close relatives of the same surname were forbidden to marry because those who shared the aforementioned family name had common beginnings, which precluded their wedded matrimony.

The couple's birthdates are needed for fortunetelling, to see if they are compatible and to predict their shared future. This step is called Na Ji.

If the fortunetelling results are good, the man'southward family presents the woman's family with gifts in honor of the betrothal. At that place are no specific rules on what the gifts should exist or their quantity. They vary co-ordinate to the customs of different regions, as well as the economical conditions of the families involved.

According to Chinese tradition, in one case a human being marries a woman, she becomes a member of his family; the betrothal gifts, or "bride price," stand for an economical compensation to her family to express appreciation for their efforts in raising her. The value of the betrothal gifts reflects the financial standing of the homo's family unit, and the status that the woman enjoys when she becomes part of his family. Once her family accepts the gifts, the couple becomes officially engaged.

Qing Qi is when the man's family picks a nuptials date and asks for the approval of the woman's family. Qin Ying is when the groom fetches and welcomes the bride to his dwelling on their wedding day. According to folk custom, the woman becomes formally married to the man after he fetches her and welcomes her to his family. Without the completion of this pace, their marriage would not be accepted by the public.

In mod society, the union law stipulates that a human and woman legally go a couple once they register and go a matrimony license from the Department of Ceremonious Affairs. Simply in some places, the tradition has been kept that the two only become married in one case their wedding has been officiated.

Union Customs in Jiajiazhuang, Xiaoyi City, Shanxi

The matrimony customs in Jiajiazhuang Hamlet of Xiaoyi City, Shanxi Province, which is based on the Six Etiquettes, feature detailed steps and a festive atmosphere. They are the typical marriage practices of the Han Chinese in the Yellow River Basin. The practices include diverse aspects of local life, such as music, dance, literature, crafts, and organized religion, representing an important office of local people's cultural life.

The day before the wedding, the adult female's family makes mantou, or steamed staff of life, in various shapes, such as that of a gourd, and decorate it with auspicious symbols. The woman takes the bread to the human being's family unit on her wedding day to signify a happy married life.

For her journeying to the homo'south house, the bride wears a cherry-red robe and glaze, tied at the waist with a meter-long red woolen yarn. The woolen yarn, called the "long-life cord," has to be hidden inside her robe.

When the groom goes to fetch his bride, he brings ruby-red eggs, cotton thread and desserts. The red eggs and thread are used to remove unwanted hair on the bride'due south face, signifying the girl condign a woman. The groom and bride kowtow and say goodbye to her parents, who pin red and light-green ribbons on the groom to celebrate the wedding ceremony with colorful decorations. The groom is and so immune to take his bride abode.

When the wedding procession reaches the groom's dwelling house, the members of his family welcome the bride by setting off firecrackers, scattering flower petals and playing music.

There are also customs on decorating the bridal bedroom. The door and window are adorned with double happiness symbols. Walnuts and red dates are placed everywhere in the room, symbolizing many children for the newlyweds. The groom and bride offer each other water with brown carbohydrate, which they both drink, connoting a sweet married life.

Side by side, the groom and bride kowtow to Heaven, Earth, and their parents. They so become a couple. After the anniversary, the man and woman toast relatives and friends attending the event and express their wedding wishes, such equally remaining a devoted couple throughout their lives.

In that location is a quirky custom in Xiaoyi worth noting: the groom'due south parents wear comical facial decorations and costumes. Local people think that the weirder and sillier their getup, the happier the hymeneals will be.

"Teasing the bride and the bridegroom on wedding ceremony night" (Nao Dongfang) is the highlight of the day. The participating guests are unremarkably the couple'due south friends and other young people. They gather at the conjugal room to banter with the couple and play pranks on the newlyweds, who volition human activity out all their embarrassing suggestions.

People consider Nao Dongfang an interesting part of the wedding celebration, because it drives out evil spirits and blesses the couple with a happy and prosperous marriage. Merely it's not considered a tradition in good taste since information technology often involves dirty jokes. With social development, the practice has been improved to be funnier but less embarrassing.

The day after the wedding, the newlyweds pay a visit to the woman'southward family, carrying gifts, and stay for tiffin. In the afternoon, they return to the man'due south home. On the fifth twenty-four hours after the wedding, they again visit her habitation. That solar day, her parents requite their daughter a huoshao (flat cake) plus jiaozi, a wish for the couple to have a baby boy the following year. I calendar month after their wedding, the couple visits the woman'south family unit over again.

The groom visits his bride's home to thank the woman's parents for their efforts in raising their girl, and to take the opportunity to get to know her relatives and friends. She, on the other manus, visits to evidence her parents that she will never forget their love for her.

As time has gone by, the marriage rituals in Xiaoyi have gradually been simplified, and some steps accept been abased. Nowadays people just wish the newlyweds a happy, harmonious and prosperous married life through entertaining activities.

Wedding-on-the-Water in Doumen Town, Guangdong

The Doumen District of Zhuhai City, Guangdong Province, sits at the southwestern cease of the Pearl River Delta. It is known every bit the hometown of many overseas Chinese, as well as a beautiful waterside boondocks. For centures, generations of people have lived here and created unique marriage customs – including celebrating weddings on the water.

The custom, which originated in the tradition of searching for potential life partners by singing antiphonally to each other, dates back to the starting time of the Qing Dynasty. Integrating the Hakka and Guangfu cultures, the latter of which is considered Cantonese culture, the nuptials procedure is complicated, with many stages and special practices.

In the past, marriages happened through the orders of parents and the introduction of matchmakers. Today, people in the area cull their life partners by singing antiphonally to each other. Afterwards the man and woman autumn in love, their families talk over the wedding details, set a date and start to prepare for the event. On the eve of the wedding, a ceremony to pay respect to the man'southward ancestors is held in his home. Later the ceremony, the groom puts a mat given by his blood brother on the matrimonial bed, signifying lasting brotherly affection. The groom also opens presents and "ruby envelopes" containing money, given by relatives, then offers tea or makes a toast of appreciation to family members. Finally, all his relatives sit together and celebrate with traditional songs.

In the bride's home, a ceremony is simultaneously held, where her sisters and friends sing to honour her ancestors and family members. It's also a ritual of saying adieu to the bride-to-be, who will presently move to her husband's domicile.

On the morning of the wedding ceremony day, the groom hires a boat to fetch his bride. The boat should go directly to the woman's home. When it arrives, the helpmate's family sends a bespeak by striking a gong. The bride is carried on the back of an older sister-in-law to the boat, where the groom's family members welcome her. During the wedding anniversary, the helpmate offers tea to the older generation of guests and answers their questions in song. The 3rd day later on the hymeneals, the couple goes back to visit the bride's parents, which marks the completion of the nuptials ritual.

Wedding-on-the-H2o is a folk custom and part of Doumen's local culture. The singing of folk songs is essential to the whole hymeneals process, since the music reflects the residents' best wishes for the couple's married life, their respect and filial piety for the older generation, besides as harmony among neighbors. With its unique cultural amuse, the do spread to other waterside areas, such equally Zhongshan City, Jiangmen City and Foshan City in the Pearl River Delta, and soon became popular in those regions.

X-mile Red Dowry in Ninghai County, Zhejiang

The name Ten-mile Blood-red Dowry is associated with a grand wedding scene in the olden days in Ninghai County of Ningbo City, Zhejiang Province.

According to local tradition, the 24-hour interval before the hymeneals, the woman's family hired bearers to carry her dowry to the groom's home. Some rich households received bridal money from the groom'south family, and since they didn't want others to think they were "selling" their daughters, spent a fortune on procuring the furniture that the newlyweds would need. The woman's parents expected their girl to gain loftier social status and savour respect in her married man's family, and at the same time wanted to show off their wealth to the groom's family and the public. Furniture such as a bed and articles like a spindle had to be delivered to the groom'due south home the day earlier the hymeneals. Other small items, such as bedding, jewelry and needlework implements, were delivered on the nuptials day with the dowry procession.

Since the dowry procession could stretch for miles, information technology was exaggeratedly called a "ten-mile red dowry." From afar, the procession that featured the colors red and yellow resembled a golden dragon in a blood-red grown, creating a festive atmosphere. Blood-red is considered a lucky colour, so it featured largely in the dowry. The articles included in the dowry were mainly divided into three categories: article of furniture, modest wooden articles for daily use, and needlework implements. There would also take been a canopy bed, cabinet, clothing rack, table, and armchairs – all in elaborately carved wood.

Gold-painted lacquer and cinnabar and gilded-lacquered woodcarvings are traditional handicrafts in Ningbo, and are expected features of furniture decoration. The process of making those items is labor-intensive, involving carving, painting, ornamentation pasting and gilding. The products made with those techniques embody classic dazzler and elegant taste.

The Ten-mile Ruby Dowry is a cultural relic of traditional Chinese marriage customs in the southern part of the Yangtze River's lower reaches. In today's Ninghai, we can still see brides being carried on a bridal sedan on their wedding solar day, a glimpse of the local culture's unique past.

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Source: http://www.chinatoday.com.cn/english/culture/2016-03/02/content_714375.htm