What are the customs of women's marriage in Han Dynasty?

In ancient China, weddings were called faint ceremonies and were usually held at dusk. The contents of weddings in past dynasties have changed, mainly including three books and six gifts. Noble weddings are different from folk weddings.

The procedures include: blind date, breaking the eight characters, making an appointment, choosing a date, sending a wedding, urging a marriage, welcoming a relative, visiting the church, leaving the hall, making trouble in the bridal chamber, changing flowers and getting into the car.

The ancients thought dusk was auspicious, so they would get married at dusk; To this end, the etiquette of husband and wife combination is called "faint ceremony". Faint ceremony is one of the five ceremonies, and it is the second milestone in life after the male crown ceremony or the female ceremony.

China's wedding can be divided into three stages:

Prenuptial ceremony is engagement.

Formal wedding, that is, the etiquette of getting married or starting a family, means the combination of husband and wife.

Marriage ceremony is a ceremony to become a wife, woman or husband, indicating the roles of men and women after marriage.

In China's traditional wedding customs, premarital ceremony and formal wedding are the main procedures, both of which originated from the Six Rites of the Duke of Zhou.

"Book of Rites" records: "Those who are confused about the ceremony will take advantage of their two surnames and go to the temple to serve the later generations. Therefore, the most important thing for men is to accept gifts, ask names, collect taxes and invite guests. All the masters are only outside the door a few times, and they will be promoted by resignation and worship. ..... Therefore, those who are surprised by the ceremony are also the foundation of the ceremony. "

The so-called six gifts, according to the book of rites, are receiving gifts, asking names, Najib, receiving gifts, inviting parties and welcoming guests. It is said that the Six Rites originated in the Zhou Dynasty. Some scholars believe that there were six rites in Zhou Wenwang's time, but some people didn't follow them.

In the third year of Emperor Ping of Han Dynasty, Liu Xin and others arranged the wedding, and the fourth assistant, Dr. Lang Junqing, told the family of Qianlang to marry him personally. The next year, the queen was also appointed to accept Cai and Buji. During the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, the wedding of the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess came uninvited, and from the Eastern Han Dynasty to the Eastern Jin Dynasty, many times they did not marry according to the six rites.

After the Tang dynasty, the crown prince began to marry, and the prince's wedding would follow six rites. Later, the premise of "asking names" was "acceptance", and the premise of "invitation meeting" was "acceptance"; Therefore, although the concept is still in accordance with the Six Rites, in fact there are only four Rites, namely, accepting talents, accepting the pole, Zheng Na and kissing. Zhu Xi's family gifts combined "Naji" and "Zheng Na" into one, so there were only three gifts.

In the Yuan Dynasty, there was a ceremony to discuss marriage.

In the first year of Hongwu in Ming Dynasty, the wedding was held according to Zhu Xi's family ceremony.

In the Qing Dynasty, according to Tongli, officials in the Han Dynasty had nine ceremonies, but they were all merged into adult ceremony and adult ceremony. In ancient times, there were only five rituals left, namely, discussing marriage, receiving gifts, receiving coins, inviting guests and welcoming guests. Other literati and marriage are relatively simple, while folk weddings are generally carried out in accordance with Zhu's family law.

The traditional marriage custom of "Three Books and Six Rites" has a long history and can be traced back to the Western Zhou Dynasty. The "Six Rites" of the Western Zhou Dynasty had an important influence on the marriage form of later generations.

Chinese ancient books "The Book of Rites" and "The Book of Rites" all discuss this. "The Book of Rites" says: "Those who are faint in ceremony will be in harmony with their two surnames, living in the temple of the upper class and succeeding the later generations. Therefore, the most important thing for men is to receive gifts, ask names, receive gifts, and light invitations. All the masters are just a few outside the door. When they enter the concession, they guard the temple, worship outside the door, and they are promoted. According to the book Book of Rites and Rites, "There are six gifts when confused, such as receiving gifts, asking names, receiving gifts, inviting parties and welcoming guests". It can be seen that this traditional marriage custom originated in the Western Zhou Dynasty. It is generally believed that this marriage custom was established in the Qin Dynasty and then used in the Han Dynasty.

These three books are the letter of engagement, the letter of engagement and the book of welcoming the bride:

Letter of appointment:

The letter of engagement is an engagement letter, which was given by the man's family to the woman's family in Naji.

Gift book:

A gift book is a book for "receiving gifts" (giving gifts). The gift book will list the types and quantities of gifts in detail.

Marriage certificate:

As the name implies, the book for welcoming the bride is the book used when marrying the bride, that is, when "welcoming the bride".

Nacai, also known as Cai Xuan, is equivalent to what later generations called "proposing relatives" and "matchmaking". It means that the man made a decision after careful consideration.

"Wen Gong Jiali" said: "The gift of accepting and choosing, and the so-called promise in this world." In ancient times, it was simple and simple. According to "Ten Weddings in Yi Li", the so-called "zhi" or "zhi" held by the literati only used geese. It should be a pheasant, but pheasants are not easy to be caught alive, and most of them are dead pheasants. Not suitable for marriage, wedding is a life event. Therefore, licensed couples have to wear and use clothes beyond their status.

Asking the name means that the man asks the woman's daughter's name and time constellation. If the woman accepts the man's proposal, she will give the man her daughter's name and time constellation and put it in front of the gods or ancestors to predict good or bad luck. If she is lucky, she will decide to marry the woman's daughter.

Naji, that is, after the ceremony, the male family will choose an auspicious day and bring some gifts to the female family, usually three sacrifices, wine gifts and so on. , and formally issued a letter of appointment. At this time, in fact, the marriage has been preliminarily agreed.

Take the sign, that is, the gift; "Na" means to hire money, "Zheng" means "Cheng", which means that a man can only get married if he receives a dowry. When giving a big gift, the man's family will ask two or four female relatives (who must be full of joy) to make an appointment with the matchmaker and bring the bride price, gift money and bride price to the woman's family; After the conscription ceremony, the engagement was formally established. This is the most grand and important engagement ceremony; Because after this ceremony, it's like a formal engagement. Like Guo, men will choose an auspicious day and bring the same dowry and various gifts to the woman's home; And the woman's family will also prepare gifts in return.

The invitation means "choosing the right date" to get married. The man's family will choose an auspicious day for marriage, and then prepare a wedding date book and gifts for the woman's family. After the bride's family accepts the gift money and agrees, the wedding date can be determined.

Wedding reception, also known as wedding reception, means that on the wedding day, the groom will go to the bride's house with the matchmaker and relatives and friends to marry the bride. Before going to the woman's house, the groom will go to the ancestral temple of the woman's house and then take the bride back to the man's house in a sedan chair. The couple will hold a ceremony of offering sacrifices to heaven, land and ancestors at the man's house, and then send them to the bridal chamber.

Changing genealogy means that the families of the man and the woman exchange genealogy as evidence of engagement. After the matchmaker proposes marriage, if the characters of men and women do not conflict, the two sides will change the Geng spectrum.

After choosing an auspicious day, a few days before getting married, "the lucky man of my life" moved the new bed to the right place. The position should be determined according to the constellations and deities of both men and women, and the living position of the bed should not be opposite to the sharp corners of tables and cabinets.

Then, a "wife full of children and grandchildren" is responsible for making the bed, and all kinds of happy fruits, dried litchi, red mung beans and pears are placed on it.

Don't let yourself or other adults sit and lie down after you settle down, especially widows and divorced people; Instead, let the baby play in bed first, which means that Gardin is rich.

The dowry should be delivered to the man's house the day before the wedding at the latest. The amount of dowry symbolizes the identity and wealth of the woman's family. In addition to jewelry, dowry mainly has auspicious meanings:

Butterfly Qi Fei: Scissors;

Sweet honey: a piece of sugar;

Flowers bloom with wealth: vases;

Food and clothing: 72 sets of clothes.

"Book of Rites" said: "Marry a woman's house, keep candles for three nights, and miss each other. "

Crying to get married may be difficult to understand today; However, in ancient times, due to the inconvenience of modern transportation, it was difficult for a daughter to see her family after marriage.

In fact, married women can't go back to their parents' homes to visit relatives at any time, as they do today, and they need the consent of their husband's family.

In addition, there is the following statement: It is said that crying marriage originated from the fact that ancient women could not marry freely, so they would use the song of crying marriage to accuse the unfair marriage system in ancient times.

In ancient times, when a person was twenty years old, he had to perform a "coronation ceremony" to show his adulthood. This woman, fifteen years old, made a "gift" after she got married. Mark the age of marriage. Therefore, bar mitzvah and marriage are inextricably linked. Later, due to the prevalence of early marriage and the simplification of etiquette in Shu Ren, it evolved into a premarital ceremony.

"Going to the top" means not only combing the hair and bun, but also dressing up the whole head, painting a thrush on the face and applying makeup.

"Face-opening" refers to wringing the hair off the bride's face with fine wool to make her face smoother.

"Climbing to the top" is a very exquisite ceremony. Comb your hair with a new comb, and the person who helps your boss must be a "lucky person" (commonly known as "lucky guy" and "lucky woman"), that is, this person is a person who has no one to recognize and has a house full of children.

In addition, the bride's family will hold a banquet to treat guests, and the grand occasion of "reaching the top" can also be seen.

"Lucky guy" and "lucky woman" combed the hair of the bride and groom, and sang ten songs at the same time: "One comb to the end, two combs of white hair, three combs of children and grandchildren, four combs of silver bamboo shoots, five combs of Weng Shun, six combs of husband and wife, seven combs of Seven Sisters, eight combs of Eight Immortals' birthday, and Baoya crossing the Lotus Road.

The bride usually wears a square red scarf with a length of three feet on one side. This red scarf is called "hijab", commonly known as hijab.

There are generally two opinions about the wedding custom of hijab: one thinks that hijab is to hide shame; There is also a saying that originated from predatory marriage in ancient times, which means that the bride can never find her way back after covering her head.

In ancient times, men had to greet the bride. "Greeting" is the most solemn etiquette among the six rites. Without the groom, there is no married bride. In ancient times, there were people on foot and by car, and it was more common to greet them with eight-person sedan chairs.

People in sedan chairs must be strong. Never answer someone else's sedan chair. They have to move around. When you come back from the wedding ceremony, you have to take another road to avoid going back. If you pass through temples, shrines, graves, wells, rivers and other places on the way, you must cover the sedan chair with a red carpet by the married man as a means of "avoiding evil spirits".

If you meet a funeral procession on the road, the person who greets the wedding will say, "Lucky today, you have met a treasure!" " "This is because the homonym of the coffin is' viewing wealth', which means seeing treasure. This is mainly for good luck.

Going out means that the bride leaves her family. At the auspicious time, the woman must be carried on the sedan chair by Sister Daikin (bride). It is said that it will bring bad luck if the bride lands on her feet.

When going out, the bride's sister-in-law is not allowed to send it away. This is because the word "sister-in-law" is homophonic, so people believe that going out to send her away will bring bad luck.

Nowadays, when the bride goes out, the bridesmaid (accompanying the bride to the man's house, she must be unmarried) holds up a red umbrella to protect the bride, which means spreading the branches and leaves of the bride. While walking, Sister Dajin and other sisters sprinkled rice on the sky, the roof of the umbrella and the roof of the flower car to "feed the golden rooster", which means that the chicken will not peck the bride after pecking the rice. Finally, before boarding the float, the bride will bow to her relatives and friends to show her gratitude.

Passing the door means that the bride formally enters the man's house after leaving the woman's house to meet the elders of the man's house, such as Weng Gu.

Legend has it that Aunt Weng can't directly see the newcomers entering the door in the lobby because there will be a collision. Therefore, when the woman steps into the man's house, Weng Gu will come out of the room and meet the newcomers in the hall. There are customs such as returning cereal beans when getting off the bus, and children will fight for it. According to Ji Yuan Shi, the practice of spreading corn beans began in the Han Dynasty. The bride can also take a blanket, wrap the bride in a red blanket and hold her in the door.

"Meng Liang Lu Marriage" contains a new bride's door, "Choose an official to hold a flower fight, hold a colorful fruit of five grains and beans, retreat after looking at the door, and the children contend for it, which is called scattered grains and beans."

"Talking about the Ministry of Taxation": "Today, people marry women, sedan chairs meet the door, and people are transferred to the land. After reading Dr. Bai Taifu's poem "Marrying a Wife in Spring", there is a saying: "Tsing Yi has turned into a felt mattress, which is beautiful and sloping. "Then this vulgar Tang Dynasty is long gone."

Then the bride and groom will worship heaven and earth first, and then their ancestors. Newcomers will offer tea to Aunt Weng and bow down. Aunt Weng will say some greetings and send jewelry and gifts to the bride. The bride should wear the ornaments as soon as she receives them to show her gratitude. Then, the couple will offer tea to other elders and relatives.

Visiting the church, also known as "worshipping heaven and earth", is a very important ceremony in the wedding. Visiting the church does not belong to the etiquette in the ancient "Three Books and Six Rites". Hu Pu 'an's "The Customs of the Chinese Nation", the second volume "Marriage in Haining, Zhejiang": "When leaving the sedan chair, the rice bag is laid straight to the candle, and the bride steps on the rice bag, saying that it is good for generations to come. Visiting heaven and earth is called visiting the church. The couple toasted each other and said "get married" (Japanese: bed cup). The bride and groom each hold one end of red and green satin and send it to the bridal chamber (Japanese: bed into り), sit on the bed, spread their fruits all over, and call it sitting on the bed to spread the bill. "

The custom of welcoming the bride was very popular after the Song Dynasty. After meeting the bride, she became a member of the man's family. Meng Yuanshen's "Tokyo Dream Record Marrying a Woman" recorded the custom of worshipping the bride, saying: "On the fifth watch of the next day, there are magnificent dressing tables and mirrors, which are called worshipping the bride. Visiting relatives of elders for the second time, everyone brought colorful silks and satins, exquisite workmanship, shoes, pillows and so on. This is called a reward. Your elders will give you an answer. "

Sima Guang said in Volume III of Wen Gong Yi Shu: "In ancient times, women and husbands were worshipped as gifts. Old village custom: men and women worship each other, women worship first, men worship women and women worship again. The beggar's ceremony is that men worship again and women worship four times. In ancient times, married women had no tools to pay homage. Today, it is natural to meet in the secular world and pay homage to it. "

When "paying homage to the church", the master of ceremonies presiding over the wedding will say loudly: "One worships heaven and earth, the other worships the high hall, and the husband and wife will send it to the bridal chamber." In the forty-ninth chapter of "The Story of Awakening Marriage", Liang Chao got married: "On April 13th, Jiang Zhai came to make the bed. Clothes and clothes have bright beds and curtains, so there is no need to make a fuss. In the evening, the new bed laid by the common people was not free, so I measured a bag of mung beans and pressed it on the bed. On the 15th, I married Miss Jiang, listened to Mrs. Zhao, worshipped heaven and earth, drank wine, worshipped my mother and father, and paid the bill. Everything is in line with custom. When I came back from the door, the Chiang family sent three meals. "

In fact, worship of heaven and earth represents the worship of the god of heaven and earth; And worshipping Gaotang is the embodiment of filial piety; As for the worship of husband and wife, it means that husband and wife respect each other as guests. To some extent, sexual intercourse was in ancient times when a few women could have the same taste as men.

Three Dynasties means that on the third day after marriage, the bride, accompanied by her husband, went back to her mother's house to worship her ancestors with roast pigs and gifts, and then went back to her husband's house with her husband. According to legend, there was such a custom in the pre-Qin period.

Mothering is going back to your parents' home to report your safety. In ancient times, modern transportation was inconvenient. If a woman's in-laws are far away from her parents' home, the so-called married husband may not have a chance to return to her parents' home when she arrives.

He Xiu's Biography of the Spring and Autumn Ram records that this instrument existed in the Spring and Autumn Period. The Book of Songs Nan Zhou Ge Tan: "Do harm to Huan, but repay your parents." Therefore, returning to the door may be a woman's last chance to set foot in the family. Because of this, people attach great importance to visiting their parents, which is a wedding custom.