On the Differences and Integration between
Chinese and Western Wedding Rituals
I Introduction
Marriage is formed in a long historical evolution of the wedding rituals in a nation. It is the regularity of the activities that promotes people's awa reness of marriage. Wedding rituals? founding does not depend on the law. It can not rely on science tests, but on the force of habit, traditional culture and national psychology. During the development of human history, the marriage institution and family system have experienced different processes of development.
As the union of a man and a woman, marriage includes not only wedding, but also the preparation phase for the marriage and the performance stage after the festivities. It runs through the whole process of life. These customs play a very important role in ethnic studies and the history of mankind.
China is a country with an ancient civilization and a long history, and many rituals. Among so many customs, there is a particular one wedding ritual. This custom has gone through various and long stages of development from ancient simple wedding ceremony to later complex ceremony, from feudal wedding ritual to the modern free wedding ritual. During these courses, people?s ideas are progressing, th ough we can not say that their ideas reach to the top of mankind?s ideas all over the world over all the time because there are still backward ideas existing in many places, in many people?s mind s and maybe they will still exist for a long time. However, they reach to the top of mankind?s ideas in a certain stage of the uninterrupted development of idea.
Greek civilization is the base of western culture. Britain plays an important role in ethnic studies and the history of mankind. Comparing with each other, they are different in many aspects such as in right aspect and in freedom aspect and there are many reasons that result in these differences such as cultural and geographical reasons.
With the development of the modern society, people?s concepts have cha nged a lot. More and more people want to have a special wedding ceremony which is unique in the world, and more and more people choose their wives and husbands without thinking about which country they are from or what race they belong to. So the modern wedding rituals come into being, in both East and West. The integration of Chinese and Western wedding helps us to form a more civilized society. People can learn to live a better life with others.
Through this thesis we will find out the differences and integration. And make a better understanding of the marriage culture, and then we can use it to help us to pay attention to the material and spiritual civilization to make our country stand for the direction of history.
II Chinese Wedding Rituals
2.1 Old Chinese Wedding Rituals
Like other things, wedding rituals have the same development and evolving process. In the early days of humanity, the human relationship in a very long period of time still kept the irregular relations like the animal world.
Marriage, in China, has gone through a long time. As a most grand etiquette, it has always given a high degree of attention. Since the beginning of Zhou Dynasty, Chinese wedding should comply with six procedures, which is the so-called "six etiquettes." And Later in Tang and Ming Dynasty, marriage also complied with the "six etiquettes". As time goes by, although many wedding rituals experienced various changes "Six etiquettes" as the basic
pattern has not changed much. It is still essential and core in wedding rituals. Wedding has
changed much today, but in many places there still remains traditional wedding rituals.
In feudal society, a wedding would be decided not by the young couple, but by their
parents' desires. Only after a matchmaker's introduction and when parents considered the two
family conditions were similar and could be matched, would the wedding procedures went
forward. Conditions that should be taken into consideration included wealth and social status.
If a boy's family was well-off or an official family, his parents would never permit him to
marry a girl from a poor family. Essential to the wedding process were the commonly recognized 'three Letters and six etiquettes'. The three letters were the betrothal letter, the gift
letter with a gifts list for the girl?s family and the wedding letter used on the day the bridegroom met his bride at her home.
The book propriety and ceremony, which records earliest wedding ceremony, says that
wedding, usually, involves six necessary procedures, namely, proposing, asking the name,
asking for fortune, sending betrothal present to girl's family, discussing the date of wedding
and meeting the bride. (Confucius 6)
2.1.1 Proposing:
Proposing is the first etiquette in wedding and is the first meet between the members in
the two families. Thus, it is very important. Using a common expression, it is making an offer
of marriage to a family on behalf of the son or daughter. If the parents in old times thought
that the girl could be the daughter-in-law in old times, they would ask a matchmaker for
sending the gifts and bring the son and the girl together. If the girl?s parents also agreed on the marriage, they would accept the gifts. People usually used a wild goose when sending the gifts.
Because the wild gooses could fly to the south or the north according to the seasons and they
would never change which implied the woman would be punctual and also because when the
wild gooses flied they were in a row and when they stopped they were in a line which implied that woman should comply with the marriage rules and arrange in order that neither should breach it.
2.1.2 Asking the Name
It aims to a sk for girl?s name and pray.In ancient times the girl?s name would not be known by other people until the girl reached an age of marriage.
First, the man?s family must have the matchmaker and inform the girl?s family through a card. And the man?s family would write out postal remittance. Thus it can be seen that “asking the name” not only meant that the man?s family wanted to know the girl?s name, but also wrote down the woman?s birthday and Eight-characters (in four pairs denoting the time, date, month a nd year of a person?s birth, each pair consisting of one Heavenly Stem and one Earthly Branch, used in fortune-telling). If the birthday and Eight-characters would not clash the man?s, the man?s family would write out postal remittance. Sometimes the woman?s parents also wrote down the official position of the woman?s great-grandpa, grandpa and father and the dowry that could be supplied. What was interesting is that during this progress it was the matchmaker that functioned, not the man?s family or the woman?s family. Matchmaker was also important in the other procedures. In traditional Chinese wedding, people believed “behest of the parents and proposal of a matchmaker”.That?s why many marriages in the past were arranged by parents and matchmakers. Match maker?s proposal was the marriage?s valid basis in Tang dynasty. It has been simplified today. Many marriages do not need this process.
2.1.3 Asking for Fortune
After asking the name, the bridegroom?s side had got the woman?s birthday and Eight-Characters and they went to consult a fortune-teller which was called “asking for fortune”. It
included two aspects of contents. One was to consult the female virtues. Ancient people regarded female virtues as the most important one in the gospel of three obedience that were obedience to one?s father before marriage, to one?s husband after marriage, and to one?s son after one?s husband?s death and four virtues that was morality, proper speech, modest manner, and diligent work for a woman according to Confucian ethics. Zhong L ichun, Zhuge Liang?s wife (Zhuge Liang was a statesman and strategist in the period of the Three Kingdoms, now a symbol of wisdom in Chinese folklore) was famous for her ugliness, wisdom and high female virtues. A man in old times always had many wives. In order to solidify and stabilize the family, people paid much attention to female virtues. Hence there was the saying “Marry wife is marrying virtues and take a con cubine is marrying appearance” (Chen Shou 36) The aspect was to consult good or bad luck. If they were not fit for each other in Eight-Characters according to the birthday and what?s more, the woman would harm the man, the result was that this marriage would be cancelled. If the result was fit for each other and moreover the woman would make the man prosperous, the man?s side would inform the woman?s side through the matchmaker and send the betrothal gifts and exchange cards. Thus the wedding was actually decided on.
2.1.4 Sending Betrotha l Presents to the Girl’s Family
The book propriety and ceremony wrote by the scholars in Han dynasty regards it as sending money. If there is no receipt of gifts, there is no marriage. Hence to receive gifts is the implication of the agreement of the wedding by the woman?s side.The significance of it includes two aspects of meaning. One is the thanks for the woman?s parents because the parents feed up her. The other is to help the woman?s family prepare dowry. (Confucius 6)
2.1.5 Discussing the Date of Marriage
In the past, the bridegroom?s side de cided on the lucky date and sent the matchmaker to inform of the woman?s family. People paid much attention to the wedding time. They usually had a person to look at the almanac for fortune. They liked having wedding in spring or autumn because spring was the time that everything comes back to life and the time when spring was changing into summer and it was favor able for the bride to be pregnant with new life; autumn was the season of harvest. After the labor for a year, people had enough money to hold the wedding. Nowadays, it is still an important event. People pay many attentions to it.
2.1.6 Meeting the Bride
The wedding is finally held following the five procedures. In the past, the bridegroom wore wedding suit, riding on a horse, and guided the bridal sedan chair to marry the bride on the day. And the bride wore a red cheongsam waiting for the bridegroom. Now, the bridegroom wears western suit, and the bride wears wedding dress and usually in a car.
2.2 Modern Chinese Wedding Rituals
Nowadays, wedding has changed a lot under the influence of globalization. People hold wedding ceremonies in splendid restaurants and the whole ceremony is hosted by a talkative person. Some people even choose a church as the place for wedding with a priest as the host. On the day of wedding, a long line of cars decorated by flowers are running on the road and the photographer will record the whole process for later appreciation. Furthermore, the bride wears a white wedding garment and the groom wears a black suit. Champagnes are drunk, applauses are given, and money and gifts are received. All these scenes were only seen in foreign films or in the books, but now they appear in the Chinese people?s daily life. And more and more foreigners are trying to use Chinese traditional wedding rituals now.
Today?s wedding culture in modern and contemporary times has undergone constant evolvements and innovations, presenting the characteristics of a rich combination of western and eastern cultures and both traditions and fashions. The followings are usually done in a modern wedding process. After the wedding ceremony, the newlyweds will enjoy their honeymoon in any destinations as the finishing of the whole wedding thing.
2.2.1 Choosing Wedding Dress
The woman is always wearing a typical wedding dress from 1929. Up until the late 1930s wedding dresses reflected the styles of the day. From that time onward, wedding dresses have traditionally been based on Victorian styles.
Over the centuries, brides continued to dress in a manner befitting their social status---always in the height of fashion, with the richest, boldest materials money could buy. The poorest of brides wore their best church dress on their wedding day. The amount of material a wedding dress uses also was a reflection of the bride?s social standing and indicated to wedding guests the extent of the family?s wealth.
Wedding dresses have traditionally been based on the popular styles of the day. For example, in the 1920?s wedding dresses were typically short in the front with a longer train in the back and were worn with cloche-style wedding veils. This tendency to follow current fashions continued until the late 1940?s, when it became popul ar to revert to long, full-skirted designs reminiscent of the Victorian era. The trend has continued until today.
Today, western wedding dresses are usually white, though …wedding white? includes creamy shades such as eggshell, ecru and ivory. One of the first women to wear white at her wedding was Mary Queen of Scots, when she married Fran?ois II of France. However, white was not then a tradition but rather a choice and one considered inauspicious, since white was the official color of mourning in France at the time.
White did not become a popular option until 1840, after the marriage of Queen Victoria to Albert of Saxe-Coburg. Victoria wore a white gown for the event so as to incorporate some lace she owned. The official wedding portrait photograph was widely published, and many other brides opted for a similar dress in honor of the Queen?s choice. The tradition continues today in the form of a white wedding, though prior to the Victorian era a bride was married in any color except black (the color of mourning) or red (which was connected with prostitutes). Later, many people assumed that the color white was intended to symbolize virginity, though this had not been the original intention. (It was the color blue that was connected to purity.) Today, the white dress is understood merely as the most traditional and popular choice for weddings, not necessarily a statement of virginity.
2.2.2 Taking photos
Shooting wedding photos has become indispensable to each wedding in modern and contemporary times. Usually, the bridegroom is dressed in trim suits while the bride in gorgeous wedding dress with beautiful jewelries. There are a large variety of wedding dresses, which are mainly categorized into the Chinese and western styles. The bright red of Qipao among all Chinese wedding dresses is the most festive and commonly chosen color, while in a western wedding, the white color symbolizing purity and loyalty has always been the first choice. The wedding pictures are usually hung on the wall after the wedding as a decoration of the house symbolizing happiness and sweet marriage.
2.2.3 Booking Wedding Car
In ancient times, brides are usually sent to the groom's house in carriage, sedan chair or rickshaw, which are now replaced by cars. The cars or "wedding cars" driven on the wedding day are richly decorated with flowers around and red letters of "happiness" on windows. Some are ornamented with mascot or dolls on the front hood.
2.2.4 Arranging Wedding Dinner and Inviting the Guests
The wedding dinner is a banquet held for celebration of marriage. During the dinner, friends and relatives gather together to congratulate the newlyweds with blessings of eternal love and a precious son and give their gifts and red packets. The guests, in turn, will be treated by the newly ways with wine and cigarettes and wedding candies. The gifts and money received by the couple are recorded on a red-cover book for later reference of requital. The Chinese value highly the wedding banquet and regard it the ritual of marriage life. In some places, the wedding dinner is even held for three days and nights.
2.2.5 Honeymoon
The first month after wedding is called honeymoon, which signifies the beginning of conjugal love. The custom was originated in Britain. The newlyweds often choose to travel in their honeymoon, through which they can enjoy their sweet and undisturbed life as well as the fun of traveling. A honeymoon can also be the first moments a newly-wed couple spend together, or the first holiday they spend together to celebrate their marriage.
“The first month after marriage, when there is noth ing but tenderness and pleasure; originally having no reference to the period of a month, but comparing the mutual affection of newly-married persons to the changing moon which is no sooner full than it begins to wane; now, usually, the holiday spent together by a newly-married couple, before settling down at home.” (Johnson 32)
III. Western Wedding Rituals
3.1 Old Western Wedding Rituals
In the middle ages children got married at a young age. Girls were as young as 12 when they got married, and boys 14. The arrangement of the marriage was based on monetary
worth. The family of the girl who was to be married gave a dowry, or donation, to the boy she was to marry. The dowry went with her when the wedding was held and stayed with the boy forever after the wedding. After the wedding was arranged, a wedding notice was posted on the door of the church. The notice was put up to ensure that there were no grounds for prohibiting the wedding. The notice stated who was to be married, and if anyone knew any reasons that the two could not marry, they were to come forward with the reason. If the reason was a valid one the marriage would be prohibited.
There were many reasons for prohibiting a marriage. One reason was consanguinity. If the two were too closely related, or if the boy or the girl had taken a monastic or religious vow, the marriage was also prohibited. Sometimes widows or widowers took vows of celibacy on the death of their spouse, and later regretted doing so, but they could not remarry. Other reasons which also prohibited marriage, were not grounds for a divorce, were rape, adultery, and incest. A couple could not be married during a time of fasting, such as lent or advent. Nor could a couple be married by someone who had killed a person.
In the middle ages there were few reasons the marriage could be dissolved. One reason was if either the man or woman were not of legal age, 12 for girls and 14 for boys. If the husband or wife had previously made a religious or monastic vow or were not Christian, the marriage would be dissolved. The last reason a marriage could end was if the woman, not the man, was incapable of unusual relations.
3.1.1Proposal
When the prospectiv e groom had obtained his father?s consent to marry, a formal wedding proposal had to be made. The prospective groom did not propose in person but sent his friends or members of his family to represent his interest to the prospective girl and her family. If they saw a blind man, a monk or a pregnant woman during their journey, it was
believed that the proposal would not be accepted as these signs were thought to bring bad luck. If, however, they saw nanny goats, pigeons or wolves, this was a good omen which would bring good fortune to the marriage. During Medieval times in western countries, the man proposed by leaving a hawthorn branch at the door of his beloved girl on the first of May. By leaving the branch at the door she accepted his proposal. She made known her refusal by replacing the hawthorn branch with a cauliflower.
3.1.2 Changing Surnames
It was thought unlucky for a woman to marry a man whose surname began with the same letter as hers. The sentiment was summarized in the following thyme:
To change the name and not the letter is to change for the worst and not the better. The bride should not practice writing her new name before the wedding. This was thought to bring bad luck by tempting fate.
3.1.3 Choosing the Day
Although most weddings now take place on a Saturday, it was considered unlucky in the past. Fridays were also considered unlucky particularly Friday the 13th. The famous old rhyme advised a wedding in the first half of the week:
Monday for wealth
Tuesday for health
Wednesday the best day of all
Thursday for losses
Friday for crosses (= funerals)
Saturday for no luck at all (The best day for wedding 29)
Advice on which month to marry in was given by the following rhyme:
Married when the year is new, he'll love, kind and true.
When February birds do mate, you neither wed nor dread your fate.
You wed when March winds blow, joy and sorrow both you'll know.
Marry in April when you can, Joy for Maiden and for Man.
Marry in the month of May, and you'll surely rue the day.
Marry when June roses grow, over land and sea you'll go.
Those who in July do wed, must labor for their daily bred.
Whoever wed in August be, many a change is sure to see
Marry in September's shrine, your living will be rich and fine.
If in October you do marry, love will come but riches tarry.
If you wed in bleak November, only joys will come, remember.
When December snows fall fast, marry and true love will last.
Marry in May and you'll live to rue the day (The best month for wedding 123) May had been considered an unlucky month to marry in for a number of reasons. In Pagan times the Feast of the Dead and the festival of the goddess of chastity both occurred in May. The advice was taken more seriously in Victorian times than it is today. In most Churches the end of April was a busy time for weddings as couples wanted to avoid being married in May. Queen Victoria was thought to have forbidden her children from marrying in May. June was considered to be a lucky month to marry in, because it was named after Juno, the Roman goddess of love and marriage.
The summer as a whole was considered a good time to marry and this was partly to do with the sun's association with fertility. In Scotland one popular custom was for the bride to "walk with the sun" to bring her good. She would walk from east to west on the south side of the church and then continue walking around the church three times.
3.1.4 Holding the Wedding
【摘要】黄自先生是我国杰出的音乐家，他以艺术歌曲的创作最为代表。而黄自先生特别强调了钢琴伴奏对于艺术歌曲组成的重要性。本文是以黄自先生创作的具有爱国主义和人道主义的艺术歌曲《天伦歌》为研究对象，通过对作品分析，归纳钢琴伴奏的弹奏方法与特点，并总结黄自先生的艺术成就与贡献。 【关键词】艺术歌曲；和声；伴奏织体；弹奏技巧 一、黄自艺术歌曲《天伦歌》的分析 （一）《天伦歌》的人文及创作背景。黄自的艺术歌曲《天伦歌》是一首具有教育意义和人道主义精神的作品。同时，它也具有民族性的特点。这首作品是根据联华公司的影片《天伦》而创作的主题曲，也是我国近代音乐史上第一首为电影谱写的艺术歌曲。作品创作于我国政治动荡、经济不稳定的30年代，这个时期，这种文化思潮冲击着我国各个领域，连音乐艺术领域也未幸免――以《毛毛雨》为代表的黄色歌曲流传广泛，对人民大众，尤其是青少年的不良影响极其深刻，黄自为此担忧，创作了大量艺术修养和文化水平较高的艺术歌曲。《天伦歌》就是在这样的历史背景下创作的，作品以孤儿失去亲人的苦痛为起点，发展到人民的发愤图强，最后升华到博爱、奋起的民族志向，对青少年的爱国主义教育有着重要的影响。 （二）《天伦歌》曲式与和声。《天伦歌》是并列三部曲式，为a+b+c，最后扩充并达到全曲的高潮。作品中引子和coda所使用的音乐材料相同，前后呼应，合头合尾。这首艺术歌曲结构规整，乐句进行的较为清晰，所使用的节拍韵律符合歌词的特点，如三连音紧密连接，为突出歌词中号召的力量等。 和声上，充分体现了中西方作曲技法融合的创作特性。使用了很多七和弦。其中，一部分是西方的和声，一部分是将我国传统的五声调式中的五个音纵向的结合，构成五声性和弦。与前两首作品相比，《天伦歌》的民族性因素增强，这也与它本身的歌词内容和要弘扬的爱国主义精神相对应。 （三）《天伦歌》的伴奏织体分析。《天伦歌》的前奏使用了a段进唱的旋律发展而来的，具有五声调性特点，增添了民族性的色彩。在作品的第10小节转调入近关系调，调性的转换使歌曲增添抒情的情绪。这时的伴奏加强和弦力度，采用切分节奏，节拍重音突出，与a段形成强弱的明显对比，突出悲壮情绪。 c段的伴奏采用进行曲的风格，右手以和弦为主，表现铿锵有力的进行。右手为上行进行，把全曲推向最高潮。左手仍以柱式和弦为主，保持节奏稳定。在作品的扩展乐段，左手的节拍低音上行与右手的八度和弦与音程对应，推动音乐朝向宏伟、壮丽的方向进行。coda 处，与引子材料相同，首尾呼应。 二、《天伦歌》实践研究 《天伦歌》是具有很强民族性因素的作品。所谓民族性，体现在所使用的五声性和声、传统歌词韵律以及歌曲段落发展等方面上。 作品的整个发展过程可以用伤感――悲壮――兴奋――宏达四个过程来表述。在钢琴伴奏弹奏的时候，要以演唱者的歌唱状态为中心，选择合适的伴奏音量、音色和音质来配合，做到对演唱者的演唱同步，并起到连接、补充、修饰等辅助作用。 作品分为三段，即a+b+c+扩充段落。第一段以五声音阶的进行为主，表现儿童失去父母的悲伤和痛苦，前奏进入时要弹奏的使用稍凄楚的音色，左手低音重复进行，在弹奏完第一个低音后，要迅速的找到下一个跨音区的音符；右手弹奏的要有棱角，在前奏结束的时候第四小节的t方向的延音处，要给演唱者留有准备。演唱者进入后，左手整体的踏板使用的要连贯。随着作品发展，伴奏与旋律声部出现轮唱的形式，要弹奏的流动性强，稍突出一些。后以mf力度出现的具有转调性质的琶音奏法，要弹奏的如流水般连贯。在重复段落，即“小
我国艺术歌曲钢琴伴奏-精 2020-12-12 【关键字】传统、作风、整体、现代、快速、统一、发展、建立、了解、研究、特点、突出、关键、内涵、情绪、力量、地位、需要、氛围、重点、需求、特色、作用、结构、关系、增强、塑造、借鉴、把握、形成、丰富、满足、帮助、发挥、提高、内心 【摘要】艺术歌曲中，伴奏、旋律、诗歌三者是不可分割的重 要因素，它们三个共同构成一个统一体，伴奏声部与声乐演唱处于 同样的重要地位。形成了人声与器乐的巧妙的结合，即钢琴和歌唱 的二重奏。钢琴部分的音乐使歌曲紧密的联系起来，组成形象变化 丰富而且不中断的套曲，把音乐表达的淋漓尽致。 【关键词】艺术歌曲；钢琴伴奏；中国艺术歌曲 艺术歌曲中，钢琴伴奏不是简单、辅助的衬托，而是根据音乐 作品的内容为表现音乐形象的需要来进行创作的重要部分。准确了 解钢琴伴奏与艺术歌曲之间的关系,深层次地了解其钢琴伴奏的风 格特点,能帮助我们更为准确地把握钢琴伴奏在艺术歌曲中的作用 和地位，从而在演奏实践中为歌曲的演唱起到更好的烘托作用。 一、中国艺术歌曲与钢琴伴奏 “中西结合”是中国艺术歌曲中钢琴伴奏的主要特征之一，作 曲家们将西洋作曲技法同中国的传统文化相结合，从开始的借鉴古 典乐派和浪漫主义时期的创作风格，到尝试接近民族乐派及印象主 义乐派的风格，在融入中国风格的钢琴伴奏写作，都是对中国艺术 歌曲中钢琴写作技法的进一步尝试和提高。也为后来的艺术歌曲写 作提供了更多宝贵的经验，在长期发展中，我国艺术歌曲的钢琴伴 奏也逐渐呈现出多姿多彩的音乐风格和特色。中国艺术歌曲的钢琴
写作中，不可忽略的是钢琴伴奏织体的作用，因此作曲家们通常都以丰富的伴奏织体来烘托歌曲的意境，铺垫音乐背景，增强音乐感染力。和声织体，复调织体都在许多作品中使用，较为常见的是综合织体。这些不同的伴奏织体的歌曲，极大限度的发挥了钢琴的艺术表现力，起到了渲染歌曲氛围，揭示内心情感，塑造歌曲背景的重要作用。钢琴伴奏成为整体乐思不可缺少的部分。优秀的钢琴伴奏织体，对发掘歌曲内涵，表现音乐形象，构架诗词与音乐之间的桥梁等方面具有很大的意义。在不断发展和探索中，也将许多伴奏织体使用得非常娴熟精确。 二、青主艺术歌曲《我住长江头》中钢琴伴奏的特点 《我住长江头》原词模仿民歌风格，抒写一个女子怀念其爱人的深情。青主以清新悠远的音乐体现了原词的意境，而又别有寄寓。歌调悠长，但有别于民间的山歌小曲；句尾经常出现下行或向上的拖腔，听起来更接近于吟哦古诗的意味，却又比吟诗更具激情。钢琴伴奏以江水般流动的音型贯穿全曲，衬托着气息宽广的歌唱，象征着绵绵不断的情思。由于运用了自然调式的旋律与和声，显得自由舒畅，富于浪漫气息，并具有民族风味。最有新意的是，歌曲突破了“卜算子”词牌双调上、下两阕一般应取平行反复结构的惯例，而把下阕单独反复了三次，并且一次比一次激动，最后在全曲的高音区以ff结束。这样的处理突出了思念之情的真切和执著，并具有单纯的情歌所没有的昂奋力量。这是因为作者当年是大革命的参加者，正被反动派通缉，才不得不以破格的音乐处理，假借古代的