When were ancient weddings held?

In ancient China, brides were always married after dusk. The words "marriage and dusk" in "Marriage and Dusk" have the same pronunciation, which is also an example of ancient people getting married at night, indicating that women changed their surnames after getting married at dusk.

1. According to historical records, "those who get married are said to perform the ceremony at dusk, so it is called marriage." In other words, holding weddings at night is a long-standing wedding custom in the Chinese nation. When reading ancient books, it is common to see the descriptions of weddings by the ancients. Although the weddings of the ancients have basically formed a fixed pattern since the Western Zhou Dynasty, for example, the "Book of Rites" has a special "Shihun Li", and the "Book of Rites" also has a special chapter on "Hunyi". However, due to the changes in Chinese society and the continuous integration of different ethnic groups, differences in folk marriage customs have actually always existed.

2. Duan Chengshi's "Youyang Zazu" of the Tang Dynasty has this record: "During weddings in the Northern Dynasties, a green cloth curtain was used as a house. The inside and outside of the door were called Qinglu, and people worshiped here. To welcome the bride, the husband's family will bring more than a hundred or ten people, who are extravagant and frugal, and they will all call the bride and son out in a carriage. On the day when the bride-in-law pays homage to the pavilion, all the relatives and guests of the bride's family will gather. , each uses a stick to beat the son-in-law for fun, and some of them are very tired. "The "green cloth curtain" is completely different from the traditional wedding house of the Han people, and the ceremony is also very different from the traditional Han people.

3. "Book of Rites. Hunyi" contains the following etiquette for welcoming relatives: "When a father offers his son a banquet and orders him to welcome him, the man comes before the woman. The son accepts the order to welcome him, and the master banquets in the temple. The son-in-law comes in with the goose, bows to the goose, and goes to the hall. Then he pays homage to the goose and accepts it from his parents. After he comes out, he drives the woman's carriage and the son-in-law congratulates him. He rides the wheel for three weeks and waits outside the door. When the wife arrives, the son-in-law bows to her and takes her in. When the mother-in-law is in prison, she eats, and when she is married, she is in love. "From the records in "Youyang Zazu", it seems that in weddings in the Northern Dynasty, The ceremony of handing over and worshiping is completed outside the woman's home, and the subsequent ceremony of welcoming the bride is more of a relic of the primitive society's bride-grabbing. This can be confirmed later on by "On the day when the son-in-law pays homage to the pavilion, the women of the wife's family gather together and each beat the son-in-law with a stick for fun." "Baige" probably means that after marriage, the son-in-law brings his wife back to his home (to his parents-in-law's house). On this day, relatives and friends of the wife's family beat her son-in-law with sticks, which is a way of venting their anger.

4. According to the "Book of Rites", marriage matters have already gone through various stages such as "acceptance, asking for name, acceptance, acceptance, and request for date". On the wedding day, the son inherits the father's order. To welcome a wife, her father (owner) holds a banquet at the temple (ancestral temple) to inform the ancestors and greet the prospective son-in-law outside the door. The son-in-law comes in holding a goose (such as a chicken today), "holding the goose", Mr. Wang Chuanshan said it is " "It's a great gift to take photos of the doctor", which shows the grandness. As for "paying homage to the geese again", it means that the parents of the betrothed will certainly not be like the robbery in the primitive era. After the bride goes out and gets in the car, the husband-to-be must first drive the car personally and "control the wheel for three weeks", that is, let the wheel spin three times. According to Mr. Wang Chuanshan, the distance of the "three-week wheel" is about five feet, six feet and four inches. Then the man goes home first and greets him outside the door, and then performs the ceremony of combining the gourds (cutting the gourds and each using one).

5. It can be seen from the above-quoted materials that as late as the Northern Dynasties, the marriage customs of the barbarian era still existed at least in ceremony, so that sometimes, "beating the son-in-law with a stick...even if the person is very tired" , was shocked to hear it.

In the Tang Dynasty, "When a woman is welcomed, she fills the mortar with three liters of millet, a mat to cover the well, three jins to plug the window, and three arrows placed on the door. The woman gets on the car, and the son-in-law rides. There are three turns around the car. On the day when the girl is getting married, she will get into the car and cover her face with her knees. The uncle and aunt will go out through the door and enter through the door. When entering the house, first worship the pig, Huo Zhi and Zao. The couple will worship together, or marry the bride's house, and get a new wife. The bride will not be seen in the twelfth lunar month." (See "Youyang Zazu". ) was different in the Northern Dynasties, and it was also very different from what was stipulated in the Book of Rites.

6. The ancient rituals of marriage are more complicated. "Book of Rites: Zeng Ziwen" says: "A girl who dies before being seen in the temple is buried in the girl's party to show that she is not a married woman." The princes married There is also a ceremony for giving gifts to women. After the third month, the officials are sent to perform rituals and see "Gongyang" in the ninth year of the Duke's reign. He's "Notes" said: "If it must be three months, a moment is enough to separate the chastity and faith." However, the ancient wedding was not truly established until three months after the marriage. If they separate within three months, according to etiquette, the marriage will only be considered incomplete and not divorced. It can be seen that weddings are always changing.

In fact, it is said that the "Book of Ceremonies" contained in the "Etiquette" written in the Western Zhou Dynasty is not too ancient. In ancient times, weddings were simply not a happy event. This is why it has been regarded as a wedding ceremony until later generations. The faint ritual is due to the Yin ritual. In ancient times, weddings could only be held at night, and all carriages, horses, and clothing had to be black. Therefore, the wedding ceremony is written as "dun", and the ceremony must be performed after the sun has set.

7. The ceremony is performed in the dark, so it is called "marriage"; a woman is born from her husband, so it is called "marriage". The ancients had a saying that "not congratulating people when things are dark is the order of the people", which shows that it has its origin. By the Zhou Dynasty, this situation had changed, and the "Shihun Li" was included in the "Five Rites" of the Jia Li. By the Han Dynasty, the emperor actually issued an edict prohibiting people from preparing wine and food to celebrate weddings.

8. In the Tang Dynasty, "Weddings were decorated with Acacia Jiahe, Donkey-hide Jiao, Jiuzipu, Zhuwei, Shuangshi, Mianxu, Longevity, and Dry Lacquer. There are words for all nine things: Jiao The lacquer is solid; the cotton wool is soft; the pampas grass is the heart, which can be bent and stretched; the golden harvest is the distribution of blessings; the two stones, the meaning lies in the two solid ones." There are many beautiful symbols for weddings, all of which are expressed in ancient times. The interest is completely different. Extended content:

The etiquette sequence of ancient weddings:

1. Marriage proposal: The groom's family asks a matchmaker to explain the request for marriage to the bride's family, and uses wild geese as gifts, which is called nacai.

The sent geese will ask the girl's parents for her name, which is called asking for her name. At this time, the girl's family will entertain them with wine.

2. Najib: When the man’s family learns the woman’s name, they perform divination to see if the marriage is auspicious. If you get a good omen, you should inform the girl's family and still use wild geese as a gift, which is called Naji.

3. Engagement agreement: The groom’s family will give the bride’s family gifts such as silk, deerskin (two pieces), etc., which are called navie. Finally, the man's family uses geese to ask the girl's family about the date of marriage, which is called asking for the date.

4. Welcoming the bride: When the wedding day comes, the groom goes to greet the bride in person and takes a black car with someone holding a candle in front and two cars behind. Arriving at the bride's house, the bride was already dressed and standing in the room. The father of the bride greets the groom at the door and takes him into his home. At this time, the man still had geese for the woman. The groom bowed and went out, followed by the bride, but her parents did not give them away. The groom drives the car himself, invites the bride to get in the car, and then a dedicated driver takes the groom's place to drive the car on the road. The groom then got into his car and waited outside his home.

5. The ceremony is complete: the bride arrives and is taken into the home by the groom, and a banquet is held. After the banquet, the groom and bride took off their dresses. The groom enters the room and takes off the bride's tassels with his own hands. At this time, the candles in the room are removed, and the wedding is completed.

Reference materials:

Wedding (one of the rites of life)_Baidu Encyclopedia

Six Rites_Baidu Encyclopedia ?