The Meaning of Wedding
2 min readEver 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.
From the Qin(221BC-206BC)to Qing(1644-1911)Dynasties,the feudal system dominated over two thousands years.During this period,the importance of getting married was far more than that a person found his better half.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.Thus to choose an ideal partner was vital for both the individual and the family.
Conditions Required in a Feudal Marriage
In feudal society,a marriage would be decided not by a young couple’s love,but by their parents’desires.Only after a matchmaker’s introduction and when parentsconsidered the two family conditions were similar and could be matched,would the marriage procedures go forward.Conditions that should be taken into consideration included wealth and social status.If a boy’s family was well-off or an official family,his parents would never permit him to marry a girl from a poor family.
Essential to the marriage process were the commonly recognized”three Letters and six etiquettes”.The three letters were the betrothal letter,the gift letter with a gifts list and the wedding letter used on the day the bridegroom met his bride at her home.Six etiquettes then led to the final wedding ceremony.