Since ancient times, China people have attached great importance to ceremonies, and wedding ceremonies are an important part of China culture. In the uncivilized period, sexual behavior was very casual and there was no feudal period. In fact, it was a primitive hybrid, and there was no wedding ceremony at that time. Later, it slowly developed from ignorance to civilization, and there were customs such as kidnapping relatives and intermarriage. This development is the progress of mankind from primitive to ancient times.
Some pictures left by the wedding robbery have gradually developed into the wedding of future generations. For example, women get married, wear headscarves, have weapons to clear the way in front, and relatives are behind them. This is actually a picture of robbing relatives. The jewelry women wear is torture devices, and they are imprisoned after being arrested. The headscarf is to prevent the robbed daughter-in-law from running home. Later generations also have the custom of crying marriage, which evolved from the crying left by the bride after being robbed. Now let's talk about the rich marriage culture from the development of ancient marriage customs in China.
All kinds of etiquette on the wedding day, and I had a good time.
There are rules for weddings in ancient China. Since the perfection of the marriage ceremony system in the Zhou Dynasty, most dynasties in China have followed this ceremony system, which is collectively called Zhou Rites. There are six kinds of weddings in Zhou Li, which are accepting gifts, asking names, Naji, accepting gifts, inviting guests and welcoming relatives, among which the wedding ceremony is the most complicated.
Confucius wrote in the Book of Rites Justice in the Tang Dynasty: "Fuxi system is used for marriage, and couples are gifts." "Couple" has a double meaning, so a pair of deerskin is one of the bride price. Later, in the Xia and Shang Dynasties, there were customs of "welcoming the DPRK" and "welcoming the DPRK". Since the Zhou Dynasty, when marriage was clearly defined in China, the development of marriage customs in China can be divided into three stages: pre-Qin, Qin and Han dynasties, Tang and Song dynasties and Ming and Qing dynasties. During the Tang and Song Dynasties, weddings generally followed the etiquette system of the Zhou Dynasty except for a few additions and deletions.
People in the Zhou dynasty got married at night, and marriage was homophonic with "fainting". Weddings are called "faint ceremonies". The ancients thought dusk was auspicious, so they held a wedding at dusk. In ancient times, marriage was also called "unconscious cause". A man married a woman when he was unconscious, and the woman married because of the man. In early marriages, people danced around bonfires at dusk. Even if the ceremony is completed, men and women get married in the Spring and Autumn Period and hold a wedding in the evening. However, the custom of wedding ceremonies has increased, requiring people, chariots and horses to wear black clothes. In the Tang dynasty, the wedding was held in the morning, which has continued to this day.
Candle night
1, Quanfu cotton opening
When an ancient woman 14 years old made a "gift", she became an adult, which meant that she was old enough to get married. After marriage, the whole head dress should be changed, which means that the woman to be married is not a little girl. On the wedding day, the first thing to do is to "go to the top", that is, comb your hair and curl your hair.
The person who gives her hair in mourning must be a well-off woman, and the standard of a well-off woman is very strict. What is needed is a happy family, a happy family, all the old people in the family and two children. People who comb their hair should use a new comb. When combing your hair, you should say, "One comb to the end, two combs with white hair, Qi Mei, three combs with children and grandchildren, four combs with four silver bamboo shoots", which means a beautiful blessing to the bride's marriage.
Quanfu women use cotton thread or copper wire to open their faces for the bride. First, they need to powder the bride's face or sideburns. This method can clean the hair and fluff on her face and make her face smoother and more beautiful. It's an ancient way of beauty, and that's face-opening. With the development of society and the appearance of beauty industry, the custom of modern people getting married is rare, and now it has almost become a stunt.
Female beauty
The bride will wear a red scarf on her head after tying her hair, commonly known as a hijab. In the introduction, there is a custom called robbing relatives, and the headscarf worn by women later became a hijab. Some people say it's to cover up shame. On auspicious occasions, the bride needs her brother to carry a sedan chair. In order to keep her feet from touching the ground, it is said that touching the ground will bring misfortune. Also, when going out, my sister-in-law can't give gifts, because the word "sister-in-law" is homophonic with "sweeping", so people think that it will be unlucky for my sister-in-law to give gifts when going out.
2. This person makes makeup poems.
On the wedding day, the matchmaker led the wedding procession of the man's house and carried a big sedan chair to the woman's house to marry the bride. The sedan chair must be strong. When you meet someone else's sedan chair on the road, you can't meet it. You need to walk around. If you meet a funeral procession, you need to say something auspicious for good luck.
The groom's official is in front, the guard of honor is behind, and the sedan chair is in the middle. When the man goes to the woman's house, the woman's house will stop the groom's official, which is called blocking the door. The woman's brother is blocking the door outside, as if there is something wrong with the groom's official. Test the groom's official. Only when the door is blocked for a certain period of time or the man answers questions can the man enter the door. The man will write poems to urge the bride to get on the sedan chair, which is called makeup poetry.
After entering the door, the man should give a gift, no matter what it is, it means to express happiness. When the man greets the sedan chair, usually the woman's brother carries the sedan chair and wants to take another road to get married and go home, which means "not going back". Try to avoid ancestral halls, graves and other places on the road. If you encounter it, you need to cover the sedan chair to ward off evil spirits. On the way to the wedding, the bearers should vibrate to annoy the bride.
When you get to the man's house, the sedan chair is carried into the yard, and you have to go through the brazier first to send relatives and the bride's brother to a banquet to entertain guests. When the bride gets off the sedan chair, she should carry it to the door of the Council Chamber. At this time, the groom needs to gently pat the top of the sedan chair with his palm to remind the bride in the sedan chair that I am going to kick the door, and then kick it hard to show that he can shake his husband's class and not be afraid of his wife after marriage. The woman needs to kick back in the car to show that she is not weak and demands equality.
3, three arrows and three arrows, in addition to bad luck through the brazier.
Then the groom bowed deeply in front of the sedan chair about three steps and asked the bride to get off. After the bride gets off the sedan chair, the groom's official will shoot three red arrows lightly, which is also a custom. The first arrow shot into the sky, the second arrow shot into the ground, and the third arrow shot into the sedan chair, respectively, to drive away evil spirits that might be contaminated.
When the bride gets off the sedan chair, she should put a red carpet under her feet. The bride and groom are walking on the red carpet in front. Generally, the man is on the right, the woman is on the left, and the golden wedding is behind. Then she raised her feet and crossed the brazier, which meant that she could make money, avoid misfortune and stay away from the unknown future. After the saddle, you can keep safe all the year round. Cross-rice bags can give consideration to both food and clothing.
It is the most important ceremony in the wedding ceremony after crossing the saddle. According to records, the custom of worshipping heaven and earth was popular in Song Dynasty. First, worshipping heaven and earth is a reverence for the god of heaven and earth; Second, worshipping Gaotang is a sign of filial piety; Thirdly, husband and wife worship each other, which means that they can treat each other like guests. In fact, the purpose of meeting the bride is to gain the recognition of relatives and friends and consolidate the family system. Worship heaven and earth, is the real ceremony.
Get married at a wedding
There is still a hole in the new house.
After the ceremony, it was sent to the bridal chamber, where the bride and groom entered and sprinkled with dates, chestnuts and peanuts. In the marriage account, it means early birth. Then the groom lifted the hijab among the relatives who came in together. In the past, people who lifted the hijab were called "happy names", which meant "contentment". It is said that there are stars indicating weight on the happiness table, which can just add up to sixteen stars. I used to weigh 16 pounds, so I was lucky to lift the veil. After the hijab was lifted, the elder relatives (female relatives) of the man began to make fun and say some compliments to tease the bride.
1, make a new house
At this time, when the groom goes out to entertain guests, rich families will have food and wine. After the groom's official came back from drinking, he should have rested, but there is still one thing he hasn't finished, that is, making trouble in the bridal chamber. Usually, it is noisy outside the bride and groom's room, which makes them sleepless. In fact, the original intention is to amuse the couple, let them lose their shyness, adapt to their wedding life as soon as possible, and at the same time lose their fear and anxiety on their wedding night. It is also to make the bridal chamber more lively, drive away the cold and cheerless, and increase the joyful atmosphere of the wedding.
2. Make a cup of hair
After eating longevity noodles and drinking a glass of wine, it is called "marriage", also called "acacia wine". Is to tie the glasses together, the bride and groom drink half, and then exchange glasses to drink the remaining half. Or the couple cross their arms and drink the wine in the cup together. It means that the new couple can share weal and woe in their later lives, and then send them away safely. I also hope that husband and wife can play the piano and sing. The combination of husband and wife may be an imitation of sexual intercourse.
Then there is the knot. At first, knot means that the woman has been tying her hair with a hair rope after marriage, and the groom personally untied it from her hair when she got married. After that, the ceremony changed. It becomes a "bun" when a newly married man and woman cut off a strand of hair, put it in a purse and put it under a pillow. Whether married or unmarried, there are expectations for marriage. They look forward to the conjugal love between husband and wife after marriage and Qi Xin's cooperation.
Lift the veil
abstract
Since the Zhou dynasty, marriage has been clearly defined, and then all dynasties have followed the rites of the Zhou dynasty, that is, the "six rites." Although the marriage system of different dynasties is different in details, it generally follows the six rites. For example, in the Han Dynasty, the Crown Prince did not take relatives, and other customs followed the "Six Rites".
During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, social unrest impacted the original marriage customs. The northern region was invaded by the Hu people, and a large number of Xianbei and Xiongnu people who had not been sinicized poured into the Central Plains. The northern wedding is obviously "Hu Hua", while the southern wedding custom pays more attention to "Six Rites", but the custom in Hu Hua lasts for a short time. During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the wedding ceremony was resumed, and the six rites were still used. In the Song Dynasty, I felt that the Six Rites were complicated, and only four were performed.
Kissing is the most important part of wedding etiquette, whether it is six or four ceremonies. No matter whether it is a poor family or a rich family, it is a formal marriage with this item. Without this item, it would be considered an adulterer, which did not conform to the etiquette at that time and would be looked down upon.
References:
1, Marriage Ritual System and Women in the Spring and Autumn Period in Social Life —— A Preliminary Comparative Study of Spring and Autumn Annals and Rites of Beginning the Soul
2. China ancient marriage research.