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The little red book of ancient marriage
By Xu Xiaolin and Pan Zheng |
August 29, 2011, Monday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
A local resident Han Fengxing donated the "marriage contract" of his uncle, written during the Republic of China (1911-1949), to the Jiading Archive containing the special marriage customs of that era on six pages of red paper.
On the first page is written "A harmonious union lasting 100 years," and the following pages contain the groom's shengchen bazi - his date of birth and eight horoscope characters - along with blessings and a list of the tokens of love that the groom gave the bride, like a gold ring, four clothes and a watch. The most interesting part might be the cash gift, as it said the groom's side promised 120 yuan as cash gift, while 60 yuan would be paid immediately and the remaining 60 yuan would be presented on the wedding day. The wedding day was set on November 11, and the names of all the six matchmakers and two contract writers were recorded too.
Nowadays these customs seem a little ridiculous, but in ancient days all the information was necessary. Shengchen bazi was crucial for a successful marriage, and blessings, tokens and cash gift would make the marriage more perfect. In addition, matchmakers were also key in marriage, as ancient people believed "no matchmaker, no marriage." Contract writers were usually the father and uncle of the groom.
Such marriage contracts of ancient times are very scarce nowadays, but through it we can still feel the sacred attitude ancient Jiading people held toward marriage.
On the first page is written "A harmonious union lasting 100 years," and the following pages contain the groom's shengchen bazi - his date of birth and eight horoscope characters - along with blessings and a list of the tokens of love that the groom gave the bride, like a gold ring, four clothes and a watch. The most interesting part might be the cash gift, as it said the groom's side promised 120 yuan as cash gift, while 60 yuan would be paid immediately and the remaining 60 yuan would be presented on the wedding day. The wedding day was set on November 11, and the names of all the six matchmakers and two contract writers were recorded too.
Nowadays these customs seem a little ridiculous, but in ancient days all the information was necessary. Shengchen bazi was crucial for a successful marriage, and blessings, tokens and cash gift would make the marriage more perfect. In addition, matchmakers were also key in marriage, as ancient people believed "no matchmaker, no marriage." Contract writers were usually the father and uncle of the groom.
Such marriage contracts of ancient times are very scarce nowadays, but through it we can still feel the sacred attitude ancient Jiading people held toward marriage.
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