On China's Traditional Marriage Customs

Marriage between men and women needs someone to bridge the gap. In the old days, parents or young men and women of both sides took a fancy to each other and wanted to hire a "matchmaker" who could talk, also known as "matchmaker". In the southern mountainous area of Zichuan, some people still need to invite the custom of double media.

Propose marriage

After the matchmaker confirms, he will go to the other party's home to introduce the situation, commonly known as "marriage proposal" and "matchmaking". After the marriage proposal, both parties also invite people to know each other's family privately and ask the fortune teller to predict the "eight characters". Both sides felt suitable and arranged a "blind date".

Observe and evaluate the suitability of future spouse or son.

After the matchmaker proposes marriage, he chooses the date for both men and women to meet, which is called "blind date". Blind date is usually a boy who goes to a woman's house under the guidance of a matchmaker. On this day, the woman's family also attaches great importance to it. The house should be thoroughly cleaned and the girl should dress up. At the same time, invite relatives and friends to accompany her and let them express their opinions as a reference for getting engaged. At the same time, prepare a hospitable meal and entertain warmly. Even on blind dates, men and women have no chance to talk directly, but they are careful and peek at each other. Before leaving after dinner, the man gave the woman a gift (meeting money), and now there are gifts from both sides. Whether the two sides agree to get married, then the matchmaker will send a message and exchange blessings.

be engaged in

After the blind date is over, the matchmaker conveys that the man chooses "auspicious day of the ecliptic" (usually February 2 and June 6 of the lunar calendar) and asks someone to write an engagement letter in red paper. Cambodian content: Write the names, age, animal sign, life span and engagement date of both men and women, and write the words "sincerely ask for consent" and "respectfully ask for consent" to indicate marriage. Both men and women hold them, and the matchmaker gives the man's Cambodia stickers, gifts (clothes, jewelry) and engagement money to the woman. The woman used rock tea candy to entertain the matchmaker, and posted the wedding card of the woman to the man's house to the matchmaker, writing the words "obeying Taiwan Province's orders" and "obeying Yuyan" to express her consent to get married. The matchmaker brought back six kinds of gifts to the woman: incense (blind date), love (love), salt (marriage), wheat (making a fortune), needle and thread, wrapped in red paper. The man gave a banquet to entertain the matchmaker and relatives and friends who came to congratulate him and added bottles. Then choose an auspicious day, invite the woman to the man's house to recognize each other and "change her mouth", and the man's elders should "change their mouth" to show their approval. The man pays the bride price to the woman and agrees on matters related to the wedding gift. Since then, both men and women have entered the preparatory stage of the wedding ceremony.

Rent (send to Cambodia)

After the two sides agreed on the wedding date, the woman wrote down the married woman's birthday time on red paper and gave it to the matchmaker to bring it to the man, who asked her husband to check the date accordingly. According to the age, zodiac sign, birthday time and taboo of both men and women, Mr. Wang found out the auspicious day and wrote two copies in red paper, one for the man and one for the woman by the matchmaker, commonly known as "sending the day". On the day of delivery, according to the woman's request, he gave a dollar, commonly known as "box money". In addition, there are six kinds of gifts (cigarettes, wine, sugar, tea, meat and fruit).

Wedding gift

Marriage is the most complicated and grand procedure in marriage affairs. Two days before the wedding, the man first gave a banquet to invite the "general manager" (assistant conductor) to discuss business matters, commonly known as asking the "pedestrian" (assistant) to take the lead. The day before the wedding, help was in place. First, arrange some people to find the woman and transport the dowry furniture and clothes home, commonly known as "moving the house." The "perfect house" moved to a new house, and the groom and brothers made their beds. On that day, couplets were posted on the gate, screen wall and door. Mr. Accountant was in place, and neighbors and relatives came to congratulate him. In the evening, the groom dressed neatly, dressed in red and flowers, bowed to the elders in the village, commonly known as "salute". The next morning, the wedding procedure reached its climax-marrying the bride, commonly known as "receiving the daughter-in-law". Wedding forms include big marriage and small marriage. Married in a well-off family, sitting in two sedan chairs, with the groom in front and the bride in the back, with flags and gongs and umbrellas, it was very lively. Most people are married. When they sit in the sedan chair, the groom greets the bride at home. No matter whether the bride marries big or small, after getting into the sedan chair, the sedan chair will not fall off the road. Lu Yu will cover it with fields, strange trees, strange stones and red carpets for good luck.

The sedan chair arrived at the door of the woman's house, and the person who picked up the bride knocked at the door and paid the money before entering the door. Married women dress up and wear a red scarf (with a red hat) on their heads. Father and brother stood on the sedan chair with chairs. The sedan chair is surrounded by the bride's two brothers, commonly known as "seeing off guests"; The other two brides, of the same age or younger generation, walked with the sedan chair, carrying a carry-on meal and pulling the curtain. At that time, help the trade union press a pair of red bricks and two pairs of red chopsticks on the top of the gate, set off firecrackers, greet the sedan chair with torches, lay a red carpet, put a saddle on the threshold with the groom in front, the bride in the back and the maid of honor in the back, which means that the bride can enter the door safely and everything goes well. When entering the hospital, the bride is assisted by the man's maid of honor into the designated room and sits facing the Western God for a while, which is called "sitting time". Then go out to the yard, stand side by side with the groom, and go to the "heaven and earth" gift, also called "meeting the bride". After the ceremony, people eat take-away meals (noodles) in the new house, and then there are noisy rooms.

The bride is in the bridal chamber, and "seeing the guests off" is sitting in the hall. Everyone has a bowl of noodles, which will be served immediately after eating. The "seeing off guests" banquet is a heavy banquet at the wedding. There are six dishes with six bowls or eight dishes with eight bowls, which are called "66" and "88" banquet, and three dishes of chicken and fish are called "three big pieces". Reward the chef when loading big items. The man advised him to drink. As the saying goes, "seeing the guests off is less than noon". Send them away before noon 12 to say goodbye to the couple and in-laws, and then entertain relatives and friends. Arrange a table at night to help, male elders, bride and groom to persuade wine. At this point, the wedding is complete.

On the second day after marriage, the newlyweds should go to the ancestral grave to worship their ancestors under the leadership of their elders.

On the third day after marriage, under normal circumstances, the woman's family will come to pick her up and stay at her parents' house, which is called "three-day return visit". Usually stay for three or four days before sending her back to her husband's house.