What are the customs of marriage in ancient China? Introduction to ancient marriage customs

China's traditional wedding customs originate from thousands of years of China's cultural history, and joy and good fortune have become the theme of China weddings. So what were the customs of marriage in ancient China? Xiaobian will introduce some ancient marriage customs to you today.

According to the traditional etiquette law of China, the first and third books refer to the documents exchanged during the process of betrothal. The separation is the "letter of appointment"-the book of engagement, which is exchanged during the betrothal; the "letter of ceremony"-the list of gifts, which details the types and quantities of gifts and is exchanged during the ceremony; the "letter of welcome"-the letter of marriage to marry the bride, which is used when taking the bride through the door on the wedding day.

2. Six Rites refer to the procedures from asking for marriage and matchmaking to getting married and getting married. "Nacai"-commonly known as matchmaking, that is, the man's family invites a matchmaker to the woman's house to propose marriage. The woman's family agrees to discuss the marriage, and the man's family prepares a gift to propose;"Ask the name"-commonly known as the word "hanging", asking the matchmaker to ask the woman's birth date and name to prepare for the marriage ceremony;"Naji"-that is, after the man's family receives an auspicious omen, he prepares a gift to inform the woman's family that the marriage is initially agreed;"Nazheng"-also known as a big gift, when the man selects an auspicious day to hold an engagement ceremony at the woman's house;"Please date"-choose an auspicious day to get married. In the old days, auspicious days were usually two months and two days. I didn't like to choose March, June, and November. World Customs Network, the three had scattered sounds; I didn't choose six because I didn't want a new person to have only half a lifetime marriage; November implied endless meaning. "Welcome"-On the wedding day, the man personally went to the woman's house with a letter of welcome to marry the bride.

3. Install the bed A few days before the wedding, choose an auspicious day, lay the bedding and bed sheets on the new bed, and then spread the dragon and phoenix quilt. Spread all kinds of happy fruits on the quilt, such as peanuts, red dates, longan, lotus seeds, etc., which means that the couple will have a baby early. The person who carries the bed, the person who makes the bed, and the person who makes the cake are all carefully selected "people with good fortune"-parents are alive, brothers and sisters are complete, marriage is harmonious, and children are in pairs. Naturally, we hope that such people can bring good luck to the new couple.

4. The escort from the woman's family is a symbol of the woman's family status and wealth. The dowry will be delivered to the husband's home no later than the day before the wedding. In addition to clothes and ornaments, the dowry is mainly something that symbolizes good signs, such as: scissors, which symbolizes the flying of butterflies; spittoon, also known as the bucket of descendants; vases, which symbolizes the blooming of flowers and wealth; shoes, which symbolizes the growing old together; ruler, which symbolizes the vast expanse of fertile farmland, etc. Of course, the customs and fastidious customs are different from place to place.

5. A premarital ceremony for both men and women at the top. It was also an auspicious day when men and women were combed by hairdressers in their respective homes. While combing, they had to say loudly: One comb until the end, the second comb until the crane hair reached the eyebrows, the third comb until the children and grandchildren covered the ground, and the fourth comb until the four silver bamboo shoots are all in line. "Upstairs" is a very exquisite ceremony. You need to use a new comb to comb your hair, and the person who helps "above" must be a "blessed person", that is, this person is a person who has all six relatives and has a full family of children.

6. On the day of holding a red umbrella to welcome the bride, the bride's sister or bridesmaid will support her at the door of her family and stand in the open air. The sister or bridesmaid will open a red umbrella above the bride's head, which means "opening branches and spreading leaves", and sprinkle rice to the sky and the top of the umbrella.

7. Change the family tree of the man and woman exchange family tree with each other as evidence of engagement. After the matchmaker proposes the marriage, if the man and woman's eight characters do not conflict with each other, both parties will change their geng scores.

8. After the ceremony, the man's family will choose an auspicious day to bring some gifts to the woman's house. The gifts are usually three animals, wine gifts, etc., and formally present the appointment letter. After the "Guo Wending" is held, a "big ceremony" ceremony will be held, which is the most important and important ceremony of engagement; because after this ceremony, it will be like a formal engagement. Just like "Guo Wending", the man's family will choose an auspicious day to bring the betrothal money and various gifts to the woman's family; and the woman's family will also prepare gifts in return. Gifts are all in even numbers to convey the meaning of "good things in pairs".

9. Crying to get married According to the "Book of Rites","Confucius said: In the family where a married daughter is married, there is no end to candle for three nights, thinking about leaving each other." In ancient times, because transportation was not as convenient as modern times, it was difficult for a daughter to have the opportunity to see her family after she got married. In fact, women after getting married cannot return to their parents 'homes to visit their families at any time like they are today. Returning to their parents' homes requires approval from their husbands 'families. In addition, there is also the following saying: The reason why crying to marry stems from the fact that women could not have free marriage in ancient times, so they would use the song of crying to accuse the unfair marriage system in ancient times.

10. Hijab wives usually cover their heads with a square red scarf three feet long on one side. This red scarf is called a "gaijin", commonly known as a red hijab. Usually men lift off women's red hijab. There are generally two ways to explain the wedding custom of hijab: one is that hijab is to cover up shame; the other is that it originated from ancient predatory marriage, implying that the bride will never find her way back after putting on the hijab.

11. Wedding In ancient times, the man had to go and greet the bride. "Welcome in person" is the most solemn etiquette among the six ceremonies. Without a bridegroom to marry, there will be no married bride. In ancient times, there were people who welcomed each other on foot or by car. It was more common to use eight-person sedan chair to welcome each other. The person carrying the sedan chair must be strong. If you encounter someone else's sedan chair, you must never meet them. You must walk around it. When you come back from the wedding, you have to find a way back to get the idea that you will not go back. If you pass through temples, shrines, graves, wells, rivers, etc. on the way, you must use Zhang Hong felt, the man's hand, to cover the sedan chair, as the meaning of "avoiding evil spirits." If you meet a funeral procession on the way, the person who welcomes the bride will say,"Today is auspicious, I have met treasure!" Because the homophonic pronunciation of a coffin is "viewing wealth", which means seeing treasure, this is mainly for good luck.