Traditional Chinese wedding【Abstract】: The ancient Chinese is an important part of ancient Chinese culture,but the wedding especially Three Letters and Six Etiquettes plays an important role in .the institution of marriage. The development of ancient Chinese society till Zhou Dynasty had formed a relatively complete institution of marriage which had a profound impact on ancient Chinese society,and now it still continues to affect people's life in China. 【Key Words】China; ancient times; wedding; Three Letters and Six EtiquettesMarriage plays an important role in the development of the human society. By marriage human life will be renewed , in addition, interpersonal relationship,social culture and customs will come into being. The object involved wedding is not just a single person,it involves both the man and the woman who desires to contract a marriage,besides that,two families are included. Because of staff turnover,these two families will inevitably bring about a series of columns of economic exchanges and social interaction. Therefore,the wedding is a ceremony for two families to establish social relations. Ever since ancient times, there has been a saying that the three most delightful moments in one's life come with success in the imperial examination, marriage and the birth of a son. For the male side, it determined the prosperity and even the future fame of their family; while for the female side, it meant that parents lost the chance of seeing their daughter for a long time. Most people consider marriage the most important step a person can take in life.China is a large country with 56 nationalities ,different nationalities have different marriage customs,but whatever the nationality is, the wedding ceremony is usually very complicated. In Confucian thought, marriage is of grave significance both to families and to society as well as being important for the cultivation of virtue. Traditionally incest has been defined as marriage between people with the same surname. From the perspective of a Confucian family, marriage brings together families of different surnames and so continues the family line of the paternal clan. This is generally why having a boy is more preferred than a girl when giving birth. Therefore, the benefits and demerits of any marriage are important to the entire family, not just the individual couples. Socially, the married couple is thought to be the basic unit of society. In Chinese history there have been many times when marriages have affected the country’s political stability and international relations.In the old days, all communication was through formal letters. Therefore, the letters play an important role in the events. And the marriage essential process were the commonly recognized "Three Letters and Six Etiquettes".1.Three Letters1. Request LetterThis letter confirms the formal arrangement of a marriage. It is sent by the groom's family to the bride's family. This letter is normally presented with the initial gifts for the bride's family.2.Gift LetterThis letter accompanies the formal gifts for the Bride's family. It is actually a gift list that records the description and quantity of the gifts.3.Wedding LetterThis letter is presented to the bride's family on the day of the wedding. It confirms the act of bringing the bride into the groom's family.2.Six Etiquettes1.Request for Marrying the BrideAfter the groom's family has spotted a young girl whom the groom wants to marry, the family will hire a spokeswoman who will communicate their wish to the potential bride's family. In the old days, it is popular to hire elderly ladies as midwives or spokeswoman for the groom. This lady will persuade the potential bride's family to accept the offer from the groom's family. Both sides will negotiate certain terms. If successful, both families will proceed to the next step.2.Request for Bride and Groom's Birth DatesThis is the second step in arranging a marriage. Upon successfully completion of the previous step, the groom's family will request for the bride's date of birth and the eight characters of a horoscope through the spokeswoman. In Chinese calendar, there are 22 "letters" that we use to represent date. Ten are known as "Tian Gan" and twelve are "Di Zhi". Two letters are used to represent something such as year, month, day and time.After obtaining the "the date of birth and the eight characters of a horoscope" of the groom and potential bride, a fortune telling master will be hired to determine whether the two match each other. If there is nothing wrong with the bride's birthdate, the groom's family will proceed to the next step. Otherwise, there will be no further contact between the families and the groom's family may look for another suitable bride.3.Initial Gifts for the Bride's FamilyIf the potential bride's birthdate is acceptable, the groom's family will request the spokeswoman to send some initial gifts accompanied by the gift letter.4.Formal Gifts for the Bride's FamilyThe groom's family will pick a "good day" and send the bride's family the following bridal gifts: gifts, cash, cakes and food and sacrifices for worshiping the ancestors. This act confirms the marriage agreement between the two families.5.Selecting the Wedding DateThe fortune telling master will select a "good day". Auspicious days are subject to interpretation by fortune tellers that perform the analysis based on the bride and groom's and their family's birthdates(day and hour) after consultation with the Chinese almanac. The fifteen-day period from the middle to the end of the seventh lunar month is considered inauspicious because that is time of the Hungry GhostFestival when the gates of Hell are opened and the lost spirits are allowed to wonder the earth. They should not be invited to wedding.6.Wedding CeremonyBefore this day the bride's dowry would have been sent to the boy's house. The dowry represented her social status and wealth, and would be displayed at the boy's house. The most common dowries included scissors like two butterflies never separating, rulers indicating acres of fields, and vases for peace and wealth. Preparation on the part of the groom involved the installation of the bridal bedon the day before the wedding. A propitious hour and a ‘good luck woman’ or ‘good luck man’, that is a man or women with many children and living mates, were selected to install a newly purchased bed. (The installation ceremony consisted of merely moving the bed slightly; the actual work was done by servants or friends.) After the bed was in place, children were invited onto the bed as an omen of fertility. The more, the merrier. For the same reason, the bed was scattered with red dates, oranges, lotus seeds, peanuts, pomegranates and other fruits. Part of the fun was watching the children scramble for the fruit.Before the meeting party's arrival, the bride would be helped by a respectable old woman to tie up her hair with colorful cotton threads. She would wear a red skirt as Chinese believed red foreshadowed delight. And her hair needs to be combed four times and each has a special meaning. The first combing symbolizes they are from beginning till the end. The second combing symbolizes harmony from now till old age. The third combing symbolized sons and grandsons all over the place. The four combing summaries good wealth and a long-lasting marriage.On the big day, both the bride and the groom's house will be decorated in red. The wedding ceremony began with the groom and his party meeting the bride in her home. When the party arrived, the bride, covered by a red head-kerchief, must cry with her mother to thank parents for raising her up and her reluctance to leave home. She would be led or carried by her elder brother to the sedan. In the meeting party the bridegroom would meet a series of difficulties intentionally set in his path. Only after coping with these could he pass to see his wife-to-be. Firecrackers were set off just before the procession arrived. A red mat was placed before the sedan chair for the bride lest her feet touch the bare earth as she dismounted. All the household would be waiting to receive her.On the arrival of the sedan at the wedding place, there would be music and firecrackers. The bride was required to step over a saddle or a lit stove to cross the threshold, since the words for "saddle" and "tranquillity" sound the same, ngan, and the fire would cast out of evil influences. An attendant might immediately place a heap of rice in a sieve over or near the bride. If the bride did not wear a lucky mirror, one might be used at this time to flash light upon the bride. In some regions, a grain measure and a string of of copper coins were laid out as talismans of prosperity.And groom will Kick the curtain of the sedan chair to kicked off the bride’s pride. Then the bride stride the fire pan to counteract evil force.The bride would be led along the red carpet in a festive atmosphere and the bridegroom, also in a red gown. They will worship the heavens and the earth, the groom's ancestors and parents, andworship each other. They will also serve tea to all of their superiors in the family. After that, the superiors will give them red packages with monetary gifts and wish them well. Then the new couple would go to their bridal chamber and guests would be treated to a feast. Wine should be poured to the brim of a cup but must not spill over. Some naughty friends may tag-along and play tricks on the groom in bridal chamber. When all is done, the couple will drink and toast and the spokeswoman will offer sweets and fruits to the couple to wish them long life and lots of kids . Then, the couple will finally be left with themselves and the groom can take off the red cloth that covers the bride's face. Then they will drink cross-cupped wine which means all in one and never to be separated.Three days after the wedding, the couple visits the bride’s family home. This is sometimes the bride’s last chance to spend time with her family, and historically, brides would oftentimes be moving far away to live with the groom’s family. Though these days travel is much more accessible, the third day visit is still an important ritual for new Chinese brides.Gift exchange is a very important part of the post-wedding activities. When visiting the groom’s family on day one, the bride will cook a meal or the couple might bring gifts for the family. In return, the groom’s extended relatives may offer some small tokens to the bride to welcome her into the family.When visiting the bride’s family on day three, the couple must bring a series of gifts and food. These traditionally include a roasted pig and many gifts for the family members. After this visit, the bride’s family sends return gifts to the groom’s family out of respect. These will consist of the head, tail, feet and half of the original roast pig, symbolizing a beginning and end. They should also send a bottle of liquor, a cake, fruit and vegetables, a green onion (the Chinese word so unds like ‘plentiful’) and a bamboo stick to symbolize rising step by step. They will also sometimes send a baby chicken in a lantern box.Some regional custom requires that the family should return the head and tail of the roasted pig to the groom's family symbolizing the good beginning and end of the wedding.Bibliography1.Rubie Sharon Watson, Patricia Buckley Ebrey, Joint Committee on Chinese Studies (U.S.).Marriage and inequality in Chinese society. University of California Press. P225. (1991)2.Jennifer Lee, The New York Times, Sunday 8 January 2010 p. ST-15 (Sunday Styles)3.Ma Guangxing,Wedding, etiquette, and traditional songs of Minhe Region Tu. AsianEthnology [J]1990(2)4.Chinese Wedding Customs,/wedcus.html5.Traditional Wedding Customs,Skipping Stones[J]2002 [1]6.Inesa Pleskacheuskaya,Weddings Then and Now. China Today,2005 (7)vol.547.Zhen Jingzhong,The Thought of Ancient Chinese Wedding Ceremony,Journal of Zhongzhou University ,2005(2)8.Wolf, Arthur,Chieh-shan Huang. Marriage and Adoption in China,Stanford University Press. 1985.9.Li Wenjuan,Conventional Wedding of China and Its Ethic Thought,Journal of Xinzhou Teachers University,200810.Chinese marriage,/wiki/Chinese_marriage11.王萍,中国古代婚姻礼仪述略,南阳师专学报[J]1995年,15卷4期12.张涛.中国古代婚姻[M].山东：山东教育出版社，1990.13.邓伏先.《中国的婚姻与家庭》,人民出版社1 9 8 9 年3 月版第59页14.黎明志. 《简明婚姻史》, 群众出版社19 8 9年5 月版, 第116 页,15.孙晓.《中国婚姻小史》, 光明日报出版社19 8 8 年8 月版, 第47 页;16.邓伟、张岱玉. 《中国家庭的演变》, 上海人民出版社19 8 7 年3 月版,17.刘昌安、温勤能.“婚姻六礼”的文化内涵,汉中师院学报(哲学社会科学版) 19 9 4 年第2 期18.李金玉，略论中国古代的婚礼,新乡师范高等专科学校学报2005 年1 月，第19 卷第1 期。
![Chinese traditional wedding(中国传统婚礼)[优质PPT]](https://img.taocdn.com/s1/m/2398fa45ee06eff9aef807d5.png)
