What were the six-rituals of Chinese marriage in ancient times？
2 min readChinese marriage is usually referred to as a“Great Event in Life-time .” In ancient times，the marriage procedure usually consisted of the following “six rituals.”
a.When an unmarried boy’s family finds a prospective daughter-in-law，they will invite a“middle man”to approach the prospective daughter-in-law’s family，present gifts，and propose the possible marriage between the two families.If the proposal is declined，the gift is rejected.
b.If the gir1’s family accepts the proposal，the boy’s family will write a letter to the girl’s family asking her date of birth.
When her family replies，the boy’s family will pray to their ancestors to ask if the couple will be auspicious.If the prediction does not feel right，the marriage will be called off.
If the couple appears auspicious，the boy’s family will arrange the“middle man”to deliver the marriage documents and wedding gifts to the prospective daughter-in-law’s home.
Once the boy’s family finalizes the wedding day，they will confirm the day with the girl’s family by sending a formal letter and more gifts.If the girl’s family refuses the gifts，another date must be found.
On the wedding day，the groom departs with a troop of escorts and musicians who play cheerful music all the way to the bride’s home.The bride’s father meets the parade outside the home.He would take the groom to the ancestral temple where theypray to their ancestors.At the same time，the wedding sedan chair is placed outside the home until the bride arrives.The groom bows his head low to invite the bride to take the chair，and then they both travel together for the wedding ceremony in the groom’s home.
It is said that these six-rituals were performed in the period between the Han Dynasty and the Tang Dynasty.In the Song Dynasty，the rituals were simplified into “four-rituals”or”three rituals.”In the Ming Dynasty many families of officialsabided by the“six-rituals，”but non-official families still followed the“three-ritual”procedure.
