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wwjjchinese · 4 years

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5 Types of Traditional Chinese Clothing & Dress

The story of clothing is one of the fascinating developments in human history. Each country in the world has its unique traditional costumes, which can identify specific histories and cultures and enable people to distinguish different citizens.

China is a country with a long history, and many ethnic minorities have their own national culture. The mutual influence of these different cultures has created rich textures and fabrics in history, which has brought about significant changes and glories in Chinese clothing.

Chinese traditional costumes were formed and developed under the interaction between the outside world and China's own dynastic traditions.

Each Dynasty had different boundaries, social values, social norms, etc. As a result, many aesthetic standards were based on the circumstances of a particular dynasty (social, geographical, economic, political). This is the main reason why there are so many styles of traditional Chinese dress.

5 kinds of traditional Chinese clothing

Before we explore the world of traditional Chinese clothing, it is necessary to learn the five most classic categories. They are Hanfu, Cheongsam, Tang Zhuang, Zhongshan Zhuang, and ethnic customs.

Each category has its own production process, and there are significant differences between different types or when the same model is compared at different times.

This article will briefly introduce each category. By reading the following, we can build the basic framework of traditional Chinese clothing.

The name of Hanfu comes from Chinese, which means "clothes of the Han people" and includes all types and styles of traditional clothing worn by the Han people.

The common ancestor of the Han people in Huaxia. Huaxia is the name of the original alliance of agricultural tribes in the Yellow River valley. The term Huaxia represents a corporate alliance of neolithic farming tribes, Hua and Xia, who lived in the central plains in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River in northern China.

Hanfu, like its definition, was born at the beginning of the development history of the Han people. Therefore, it has the most extended history among all the traditional Chinese clothing.

1, Historical Hanfu

Hanfu has a history of more than 3,000 years. From its history, Hanfu has been inextricably linked with silk, which is said to have been discovered by the Yellow Emperor's wife, Leizu.

From the Yellow Emperor (2969-2598 BC) to the Ming dynasty (1368-1644 BC), Hanfu dominated China's fashion world.

Each Dynasty had its own style and aesthetics. Such as the pre-qin period "Shenyi"; your clothes from the Qin and Han dynasties; Tiaowenjiansequn of the Wei dynasty; Bambi in Sui and Tang dynasties.

Some clothes were trendy in different dynasties, some were just a flash in the pan. In both cases, all Hanfu evolved and influenced each other to some extent.

Although there are many styles of Hanfu, each can be assembled with a suit of clothes.

Yi (衣) any open cross-collar garment, and worn by both sexes

Pao (袍) any closed full-body garment, worn only by men

Ru (襦) open cross-collar shirt

Shan (衫) open cross-collar shirt or jacket that is worn over the Yi

Qun (裙) or Chang (裳) skirt for women and men

Ku (裈) trousers or pants

Follows are the introduction of some Hanfu styles.

Zhongyi (中衣) or Zhongdan (中单) inner garments, mostly white cotton or silk

Shanqun (衫裙) a short coat with a long skirt

Ruqun (襦裙) a top clothing with a separate lower garment or skirt

Kuzhe (裤褶) a short coat with trousers

Zhiduo/Zhishen (直裰/直身) a Ming Dynasty style robe, similar to a Shenyi but with vents at the side and “stitched sleeves” (eg, the sleeve cuff is closed save a small opening for the hand to go through)

Daopao/Fusha (道袍/彿裟) Taoist/Buddhist priests’ full-dress ceremonial robes

Xuanduan (玄端) a very formal dark robe; equivalent to the Western white tie

Shenyi (深衣) a long whole-body garment

Quju (曲裾) diagonal body wrapping

Zhiju (直裾) straight lapels

Yuanlingshan (圆领衫), Lanshan (襕衫) or Panlingpao (盘领袍): closed, round-collared robe; mostly used for official or academical dress

reference wiki

2. Cheongsam or Qipao

The cheongsam is a kind of traditional dress, its history can be traced back to the 17th century. It is Manchu tights with distinctive Chinese characteristics. In the 1920s and 1930s, it was known as the "Mandas dress" and became popular among upper-class women in Shanghai.

The history of the cheongsam

In the qing dynasty, the Manchu, not the Han, ruled China. The rulers used an administrative division called the eight flags system. At first, only Manchu families were organized in the order, but above them were Mongols and Han Chinese.

The Manchus and anyone living under the eight banners wore clothes different from those of ordinary people. The garment is made up of robes similar to those of men and women and is called a robe.

For a time, under the laws of the Dynasty after 1636, and all Han Chinese had to wear Manchu men's hair, line up, and wear Manchu robes instead of traditional Han dress, or else they were sentenced to death.

In the 19th century, however, it was common for women to wear cheongsam voluntarily on both formal and casual occasions.

Today, the cheongsam is known for its exotic but straightforward lines and has inspired many foreign film adaptations. It is prevalent because it suits the figure of Chinese women very well; the line is simple, looks very elegant. Suitable for young and old people to wear throughout the year.

Modern women do not wear cheongsam as their daily wear. It is now only worn for formal occasions, such as weddings, parties, and beauty pageants. It is also used as a uniform by some Chinese restaurants, hotels, and airlines.

In China, cheongsam is usually a red wedding dress. Cheongsam is generally embroidered with exquisite gold and silver patterns. Brides in southern China wear a cheongsam or a two-piece makeover with elaborate golden dragons and phoenixes. Dragon and phoenix are the traditional wedding patterns favored by Chinese brides today.

3. Tang Suit

Tang suit, also translated as Tangzhuang, is often referred to as a modern Chinese jacket rather than a Tang dynasty.

Origin of name

Although the Tang suit is not the costume of the Tang dynasty, it has a particular relationship with the Tang dynasty. The Tang dynasty was one of the most prosperous periods in Chinese history. Therefore, people often use "Tang" to refer to traditional Chinese culture. For example, Chinatowns in the US or UK are also known as "Chinatown (Tang people street)".

Tang suit, as the name of Chinatown, represents a kind of dress with deep Chinese traditional culture.

Tang Suit History

The history of the Tang suit can be traced back to the early 20th century (late Qing dynasty). It is a combination of Manchu jacket elements and western jacket elements.

The Chinese government released a new unified system in 1929. Under this new system, the Tang suit became a kind of formal dress for Chinese men. Also around 1929, the media all over the world start to extensive reports and the introduction to the Tang suit. People all over the world began to think of the Tang suit as one of the most typical traditional Chinese clothes.

In recent years, with the diversification of Tang suit styles and production techniques, the Tang suit is becoming more and more popular not only In China but also in the world.

Tang suit appeared in many international events. In 2001, the Asia-pacific economic cooperation (APEC) meeting, all the leaders wore Tang suit, blue, bright red, and with China's national flower peony circular design. Besides, the Tang suit also appeared in the 2008 Olympic Games and some of the World Trade Organization meeting.

Also, Tang suit elements have appeared in many famous Kungfu films and TV series. Thanks to the joint efforts of designers and the cultural industry, the influence of the Tang suit has spread further and further.

4. Zhongshan Suit

The modern Chinese tunic suit is a style of male attire known initially in China as the Zhongshan suit (after Sun Yet-Sen, also called Sun Zhongshan), and later as the Mao suit (after Mao Zedong).

Sun yat-sen introduced the style as a form of national costume in China shortly after the founding of the Republic of China, despite its obvious political and later governmental implications. He designed the suit based on the uniforms of Japanese military cadets.

The suit is also said to have cultural connotations, with four pockets representing the four great virtues of Chinese culture: propriety, righteousness, honesty and shame, and five buttons representing five branches of the Chinese government.

History of the Zhongshan Suit

When the Republic of China was founded in 1912, China's style of dress was based on Manchu clothing (cheongsam and Changshan), which the Qing dynasty imposed as a form of social control.

The majority of Han Chinese revolutionaries who overthrew the Qing were fueled by the failure of the Qing to defend China and a lack of scientific advancement compared to the West. Even before the founding of the Republic, older forms of Chinese dress were becoming unpopular among the elite. They led to the development of Chinese dress which combined the changshan and the Western hat to form a new dress. The Zhongshan suit is a similar development that combined Western and Eastern fashions.

Most of the Han revolutionaries overthrew the Qing government because it failed to defend China and lack of scientific progress compared to the West. Even before the founding of the republic, the old Chinese dress had become unpopular among the elite, which led to the development of Chinese dress, which combined the Changshan with the western hat to form a new dress. Zhongshan suit is a similar development that combines western and eastern fashions.

The Zhongshan suit remains the standard dress for the first and second generation of leaders of the People's Republic of China, including Deng Xiaoping. In the 1990s, as more and more Chinese politicians began to wear traditional western-style suits and ties, leaders of general secretary Jiang Zemin's generation began to wear them less and less frequently.

Jiang Zemin, Hu Jintao, and Xi Jinping only wear Zhongshan suits for special occasions, such as essential banquets or the 2019 celebration of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

Hu Jintao even showed up to a black-tie state dinner in the United States wearing a business suit, attracting some criticism for being underdressed at a formal occasion. In the Xi Jinping administration, however, the Zhongshan suit made a comeback as a diplomatic uniform and evening dress.

5. Ethnic Minorities

Japan, Korea, France, Greece, and other countries are nation-states. China has been a multi-ethnic country since ancient times.

China's ethnic minorities are the non-Han population of China. China officially recognizes 55 ethnic minorities except the Han. As of 2010, the officially recognized ethnic minority population accounted for 8.49% of the mainland's population.

The degree of difference among ethnic groups is inconsistent. Many ethnic groups have been described as having unique characteristics with other ethnic minorities and the Han. Still, some are very similar to the Han majority. The vast majority of Hui are indistinguishable from Han Chinese except that they are Muslim, and most Manchus are considered primarily integrated into the dominant Han Chinese society.

There are 55 ethnic minorities, including Mongolian, Hui, Tibetan, Uygur, Miao, Yi, Zhuang, Dai and etc.

In terms of minority costumes, there are significant differences among ethnic groups due to the influence of geography, culture, history, and other factors.

Features of the ethnic minority clothing

The characteristic feature of minority clothing is colorful, exquisite, and distinctive. Every aspect of their clothing, such as raw materials, textile technology, fashion, and decoration, retains distinct national and local characteristics.

The Hezhen people lived mainly by fishing and used to make fishskin clothes. The Oroque and Ewenki, hunting nationalities, used roe skin and animal tendon to make their clothes

The Mongolians, Tibetans, Kazakstan, Khalkhases, Yugurs, etc., who are mainly engaged in stockbreeding, make their apparel mostly from animal skin and hair. Moreover, the agricultural minorities usually use locally produced cotton or twine as raw material for weaving and clothing

The technology of weaving, tanning, and felting has a long history in ethnic minorities. For example, the kapok cloth of Li nationality, the wool fabric of Tibetan nationality, the Adelie silk of Uygur nationality, the furs of Oroqen, and so on have been enjoying the world reputation.

The costume designs and forms of China's ethnic minorities are varied. Generally speaking, there are two categories: long dresses and short dresses. People usually wear hats and boots with long skirts and headgear and shoes with short clothes.

The robe comes in many forms: the Mongolian, Manchu, and Tu people wear a high-necked forward style. Tibetan wear no collar inclined forward.

The tilted-front style worn by the Uygur and other ethnic minorities. And so on. As for short clothes, there are two kinds: trousers and skirts.

The costumes of ethnic minorities not only vary significantly according to different nationalities but also have different branches and different regions within the same nationality. Differences can be seen from province to province, from county to county, and even from village to village. Clothing is the most visible symbol of a nation. Historically, many countries were named after their clothing.

7 key changes to traditional Chinese clothing

5 categories of traditional Chinese clothing are introduced. In general, each of these can be identified by 7 key changes.

1, In design, traditional Chinese clothing is usually straight cut, loose shape. Also, the overall harmony of the dress is also emphasized.

2, Embroidery is a folk art with a long tradition. It occupies an essential position in the history of Chinese arts and crafts. In its long development process, it is inseparable from sericulture, silk reeling, and weaving. The production of silk threads and fabrics gave rise to the Chinese art of embroidery, which became very complicated and delicate.

3, In daily life, people usually wear light-colored clothes. Red, bright yellow and purple were typically reserved for emperors and royalty. Most of the crowd wore red at the wedding. Besides, white dresses are usually worn at funerals. For example, for women, only the wives of queens or officials can wear real red, which is not allowed for concubines.

4, In ancient feudal society, people's rank and social status were easily reflected in their daily clothes, especially for ordinary people and the upper class. Among the upper ruling classes, only the emperors were given the symbol of the yellow and dragon in traditional Chinese costume as the only affirmation of their power. As for ministers, generals, councilors, and their wives, their uniforms also had strict rules on how many lions or cranes were to be embroidered.

5, In terms of gender, women's clothing is more diverse than men's clothing. Compared with men's wear, women's wear has more decorations, objects, and styles.

6, In the beginning, the ancient Chinese just covered their bodies with leaves. With the development of agriculture, more clothing materials appeared. In later years, linen, cotton, and silk were the primary materials. During the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), according to the government's policies of heavy farming and restricting commerce, merchants were forbidden to wear silk clothes, even if they were rich.

7, Almost every Dynasty in history had its own unique costumes, some of which were genuinely exquisite.

Nowadays, more and more fashion designers are committed to improving the traditional fashion design. As wearers, we are not only consumers but also co-manufacturers. Especially in today's market, people are free to choose any style of clothing. Our likes and dislikes determine the course of costume design.

This article only gives a very brief introduction to traditional Chinese clothing. Each of these five categories can be further divided into more subcategories. This is an extensive map, and we've only seen a small part of it.

#Chinese dress #tranditional Chinese dress #Chinese clothing #tranditional Chinese clothing

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chineselanguageblog · 6 years

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Tranditional Chinese wedding ceremony

Chinese wedding which refers to Chinese is 婚礼（Hūnlǐ）. The word 婚(Hūn) sounds exactly like another word 昏(Hūn), which means early evening or dinner time. In the very beginning, the Chinese wedding was called “昏礼（Hūnlǐ）” because ancient Chinese believe early evening is a lucky time of the day and most suitable for the couple to be wedded. It gradually changed into 婚礼 and used ever since.

There are many stages and processes of the Chinese wedding, almost every one of them reflects the Chinese philosophy.

Zhou dynasty (1046BC–256 BC) is considered to be the origin of the complete Chinese wedding ceremony, which is called Liu Li 六礼(Liù lǐ) or six etiquettes.

The principles of traditional Chinese marriages

1 Matched conditions

The conditions of the two will be considered very carefully by the two families and the matchmakers because everyone wants the marriage to be a perfect match. The perfect match in Chinese traditional marriage doesn’t mean the two love each so much and have a big potential to live a happy life together ever since. Most of them never met each other before the wedding in old days. The perfect match here means the social status, financial situation, age, health condition and the prospect of the two should equal or almost equal in one way or another. A man as poor as his wife is a good match. A poor young man with a prosperous future is also a good match for a rich young woman.

2 Blind marriages

Free love was banned in many places in ancient China. Generally, when a family wanted to find a future son or daughter in law, they need to ask the local matchmakers. The matchmakers will be the bridge between the two families as the husband and wife to be could not see each other during the processes.

Many believe this blind marriage pattern resulted in numerous unequal and loveless marriages. But marriage in China is such a big thing not only matters the couple but also matters the two families. The custom still exists in China more or less. If there isn’t any good of this way of marriage, it could not last for thousands of years. If you can understand Chinese character, you will always find countless complaints about tragic results of their free love and sincere regrets online.

3 Not monogamy, not Polygamy either

In ancient China, men could marry more than one woman at the same time. There wasn’t any law about monogamy that makes lots of people believe that polygamy was practiced in ancient China. In fact, it’s not monogamy but not polygamy either. Within all the women the man married there’s only one wife. The others are concubines. Concubines were not equal to the wife in every way. Their status was between the masters and the slaves in the family and sometimes could be treated freely by the wife. Concubines are not like mistress because they don’t have any freedom. They have to live where they asked to, and do whatever they have been told to.

They belong to the husband. Many concubines were slaves of the ladies’ family. When they followed the lady married the lord, they became the property of the lord and still slaves even they had offspring later. They had to serve the lady as a lady’s maid to help the wife get dressed or comb her hair as well. In some extreme cases, the wife could kill a concubine without being punished. The concubine’s family was not relatives of the husband’s family. And most important, if the concubine had offspring, she didn’t have the responsibility to rise up her own child because her child belonged to the wife by law. Although some concubines could act like peer to the wife, or even bully the wife, they were only doing so because the husband allowed them to do so. Still, they were not equal to the wife by law.

The traditional wedding customs and ceremonies we talk about are only referring to the marriage between the husband and the only wife. Marry a concubine was quite different and much easier.

There are three stages of Chinese wedding:

1. Before the wedding ceremony, we usually call it engagement now.

2. The wedding ceremony.

3. After the wedding ceremony.

In Chinese traditional wedding, the wedding ceremony and the engagement are main stages. And the processes all follow the Liu Li (六礼) which comes from Zhou dynasty.

Three letters and six etiquettes

Despite China’s long history and many different geographical areas, there are essentially six rituals, generally known as the three letters 三书（Sān shū） and six etiquettes (三书六礼).

Three letters

1. The letter of engagement: Not like Europeans make their engagements by the couple, traditional Chinese engagements are made by the parents. When the parents of both sides talked and spied each other, and find out the conditions of the two are equal, they will ask for the exact time of birth (生辰八字literally: “the 8 cyclic characters for year, month, day and hour of birth of a man, which determine his fate”) of the couple. When the fortune teller said the times of their birth can make a perfect match, the marriage is settled. The parents of the bridegroom send this engagement letter to the bride’s parents when they decide to let their son marry the chosen bride.

2. The letter of betrothal gifts: There is a betrothal meeting soon after the letter of engagement arrives the bride’s family. The parents of the bridegroom will send their gifts to the bride’s family at this time with the letter of betrothal gifts. In this letter, all the numbers and types of gifts are recorded.

3. The letter of wedding ceremony: This is the letter prepared by the bridegroom’s family and will be given to the bride’s family when the bridegroom picking up the bride.

The three letters are like a combination of marriage certificates and prenuptial agreements. The first marriage certificate appeared in Qing Dynasty, which is called Long Feng Tie龙凤贴（ the dragon and phoenix notes）. Before that, the three letters have been used as a kind of legal documents in China for thousands of years.

Six etiquettes

1. Proposal纳采（Nà cǎi）: When there are families have unmarried young man and woman at home, the parents will ask for matchmakers to seek a suitable match. The matchmaker will give the family choices available right now and let the client choose. Because in traditional Chinese marriage, the couple will see each the very first time only after they get married and go into their room. The matchmaker will describe the main conditions of the candidate especially social status, financial situation, and health conditions. When the right candidate is chosen, the matchmaker will visit the candidate’s family with gifts in order to know their mind.

2. Information exchange问名（Wèn míng）: If the selected one and parents did not object to the proposal, the matchmaker will help the two families exchange personal information especially the time of birth. Both families will let a fortune teller divine the future of the two. If the two do not match each other, the family which does not agree this marriage will return the letter with information. If all is well, the marriage is almost settled.

3. Engagement 纳吉(Nà jí)：The parents of the bridegroom send the engagement letter to the bride’s parents at this time. The engagement letter is just like a contact recorded the beginning of the marriage.

4. Betrothal gifts 纳征(Nà zhēng): At this point, the bridegroom’s family has to present betrothal gifts, including the betrothal gift letter, to the bride’s family. The betrothal gifts are very important even now.

In China, especially in the old days, women do not take care of their parents after they get married. Some of them may never be able to come back to visit their parents. They become some kind of possessions of their husband. All the strength they have and everything they earn become possessions of their husband as well. And that is why in China, most Chinese prefer boys over girls. For the family of the bridegroom, they need to show their gratitude by giving bride price. For the family of the bride, it is also essential to get something back to support the family. The bride’s family may keep the money as future pension or spend it as their son’s betrothal gift.

Because the bride price in China cost really a lot, it is a huge burden for some poor families. In fact, it’s a custom to exchange daughters between families as brides for their sons, especially in some poor areas in order to save money. The custom still exists.

The family of the bride needs to return some of the betrothal gifts or give the bridegroom’s family some other things or money as dowry. The traditional dowry included scissors (symbolizing the couple would never separate), a ruler (symbolizing thousands of acres of fine land), shoes, quilts, pillows, clothes and lotus petals (symbolizing the couple would have many children).

For poor, it is just a performance of the tradition because they have to keep most of the gifts. For rich families, it is very important to make their dear daughter live an easier life in the future. They usually return at least half of the gifts or even give something more valuable than the gifts.

Before the monogamy system came into law in China in 1912, there was another rule in China. Because rich men could marry more than one wife (one wife and a few concubines), the wives of the rich men usually came from wealthy families and had to return at least all the gifts in order to keep her position. The concubines on the contrary only returned nothing or almost nothing. The differences between wife and concubines started from the very beginning.

5. Event planning 请期(Qǐng qī): Before the wedding ceremony, two families need to arrange a wedding day. Selecting a lucky day to assure a good future for the couple matters a lot. The year without Lichun立春 (a beginning of spring day in Chinese lunar calendar) is not suitable for a wedding. March, July, September, and November in Chinese traditional lunar calendar are considered to be inauspicious that all the wedding should avoid. Odd numbers are unlucky while even numbers are most lucky, the wedding days should be an even day as well. There are some other rules about how to pick a good wedding day. They all need to be followed. Sometimes it is so difficult to find a perfect day in a short time, the wedding will be held.

6. Wedding ceremony: The final and most important ritual is the wedding ceremony. In China, couples who never held a wedding ceremony are commonly considered to be not married yet, even now if they have already got a marriage certificate which is the proof of marriage by law.

The Chinese wedding ceremony contains the following main process:

1. Place the marriage bed 安床(Ān chuáng)：

Before the wedding ceremony, the bridegroom’s family will hire some “fortunate” people to help them place the bed for the new couple’s future use. The fortunate people are someone happily married with living parents, brothers and sisters, sons and daughters and spouse. They will make the bed and put peanuts, pomegranates, dates, and others symbol happy and fertile on the bed. Chinese believe the marriage bed placing ceremony can bring the new couple happiness and many offspring.

2. Dress up 上头(Shàng tou)：

This is the ritual for both the bride and the bridegroom before the wedding ceremony. They will hire someone “fortunate” to help this on a lucky day. For the bridegroom, he has to stay at his home and sit still. The “fortunate” one will comb his hair while saying blessing words. For the bride, except combing her hair, she also needs to remove her hair on the face by the “fortunate” one. This bride’s facial hair removing process is called Kailian 开脸. After this, she’s not a young girl anymore.

3. Wedding dress and the face cover 盖头(Gàitou)：

In the wedding day, before the bridegroom arrives, the bride will put on her wedding dress and cover her head and face with a big piece of cloth. The face cover will not be taking off until the new couple gets into their own room. Some say because the brides were always shy to be seen in the old days especially in this kind of blind marriage, they need a cover. Another said it’s because, with a cover, the bride couldn’t see anything all the way to her husband that means she has to live with her husband all her life and will never be able to find the way back to her original family.

It is commonly believed that the wedding dress and the face cover must be the so-called Chinese red nowadays, which is not true. The Chinese red or scarlet was not a lucky color in ancient China. In fact, the so-called Chinese red is a political symbol since the Communist Party of China took charge. Because the party uses scarlet flag to symbolize the new country was built because of the sacrifice of countless martyrs. Their blood dyed the flag into scarlet. In ancient China scarlet is usually used to ward off or scare away evil spirits，which is also very attractive in evil spirits’ eyes.

In Zhou Dynasty (1046–256 BC), the Chinese wedding dress was dark red, as dark as almost black. They took the wedding as a very serious thing and must use a solemn color.

In Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE), the Chinese wedding dress of the bride became dark cyan.

In Ming Dynasty (1368–1644), the Chinese wedding dress of the bride became red like cinnabar but still not scarlet. And the wedding dress of the Ming Dynasty is considered to be the classic traditional Chinese wedding dress ever since.

No matter what kind of style and color of the wedding dress, the dress must be brand new without any pocket. People believe that the pocket of the wedding dress will take the money and another fortune to the husband’s family and make the bride’s family poor.

4. Pick up the bride 亲迎(Qīn yíng)：

The husband to be must pick up his bride himself. Before the bridegroom arrives, the bride mustn’t come out. The bridegroom usually used a sedan chair to pick up the bride with the help of 4 or 8 men. It changes into car nowadays. After the bride gets into the sedan chair or car, the group will return to the bridegroom’s family by taking another road different from the way they come. That means this marriage will never set back.

5. Baitang 拜堂(Bàitáng):

Baitang which is also known as “worship heaven and earth 拜天地”, is a very important wedding ceremony. Baitang is not part of the ancient three letters and six etiquettes, but it’s very popular since Song Dynasty.

After the Baitang, the bride formally becomes a member of the new family.

When the bride arrives the new home and everything for the wedding ceremony is ready, it is the time for Baitang. When Baitang ceremony begins, a wedding host will ask the couple to bow 3 times.

The first bow is for worship the heaven and earth. The second bow is for respect the parents of the husband. The last bow is for the couple to respect each other as they need to bow to each other.

In fact, the couple worships each other when acting the third bow is a very rare case that can make women the same position with men in ancient China. There was a story that in Jin Dynasty an officer who’s also a widower wanted to marry an ordinary woman in his second marriage. When they started to worship each other and ready to bow, someone jumped out and said:” you are noble and she’s a common people. You are not equal, how can you bow to her?” People started to discuss. The bridegroom had to give up the third bow in order to make others satisfied. Some say it was an extreme case and never happened again since Sui Dynasty. In Sui Dynasty, even the emperor needed to bow to his wife, his wife bowed first and he bowed back.

After the bows, both of the newlyweds need to serve the husband’s parents a cup of tea. While serving tea, the bride needs to call the husband’s parents father and mother for the first time. When heard it, the parents have to give the bride a red envelope with money. Then this ceremony is over.

After the Baitang comes the most lively parts of Chinese wedding: Dongfang洞房（bridal chamber） and Xiyan喜宴（wedding banquet）.

6. Dongfang洞房（bridal chamber）:

When the three bows are over, the host will lead the couple into the bridal chamber. The newly wedded couple needs to sit next to each other on the bed. After some ritual, which means nothing bad will happen to the couple, the husband can finally use a little stick to take off the face cover. In traditional Chinese wedding, only until this time the couple is able to see each other for the very first time.

Then the new couple will eat and drink together. The first drink will need them hold the cup and feed each other at the same time. In China, feeding each other a cup of wine at this moment is called 交杯酒（Jiāobēijiǔ）. That means the two people become an integral part ever since.

Since modern China, in most parts of China guests will play a prank on the newlyweds to disturb the privacy of the bridal room. This custom is called NaoDongFang 闹洞房. In fact, NaoDongFang is the most controversial part of Chinese wedding ceremony. Though in most cases NaoDongFang is only helping to make the atmosphere of the wedding more active, sometimes it causes unhappiness or even death.

Nao Dong Fang is meanly divided into two types of elegant and vulgar. The elegant type usually only ask the newlyweds to do some performances for the guests or talk about their romantic stories to the public. The vulgar type is quite different and disgusting like asking the bride to play some abnormal sexual related games with her father-in-law or let the male guests harass the bridesmaids in some extreme ways. Because Nao Dong Fang always keeps the wedding so active in one way or another, it is fixed as an important process in the Chinese wedding ceremony.

7. XiYan喜宴 or XiJiu喜酒（wedding banquet）

XiYan which also known as “XiJiu” is the banquet to thank guests. If the wedding ceremony is the climax of the entire wedding activities, then the XiYan is the culmination of the climax.

Though there are many different types of wedding banquets, they all the same characteristics of time-consuming, rich or even extravagant foods, stressful and tedious etiquettes. Learn more about Chinese table manner

In big cities, Chinese now usually hold their wedding banquets in big hotels or restaurants. But in some rural areas, people still hold their banquets at home or village by themselves. They may hire some helper to do all the chores and give them some money and extra meal in return.

The foods:

are always very rich. There are at least 10 dishes at the same time, and chickens, ducks, fish, pork are necessary. In some wealthy areas of China like Zhejiang or Guangdong provinces, fresh lobsters, crabs, and shrimps are also required. Not to mention all kinds of vegetables, fruits, and delicate desserts.

The guests:

are mainly friends and relatives of both families. When they arrive, they need to sign in and give their gifts to the bridesmaid. They will be lead by the host to their seats, which is assigned before.

The gifts:

are usually red envelops with cash and called FenZiQian 份子钱 in China. The amounts of the cash will be recorded. Because when the guests get married one day, the hosts need to give gifts back. The gifts given to the guests in the future must contain more money than the hosts received from the guests.

In fact, this custom gradually becomes a kind of burden. Since all the guests paid their gifts, the hosts have to serve them a grand banquet as good as it can be. Or the host will be called stingy. That always leads to a great loss of money. My cousin held his wedding banquet in Chengdu in 2017. He spent 180000yuan (about 27700 USD) and got 130000yuan (about 20000 USD) in return as gifts. The gross loss is 50000yuan (about 7700 USD). And this doesn’t contain the amounts of the future gifts he has to pay. The future gifts should always be more than received is also a big problem. It only makes the situation worse. One of my ex-coworkers was always worrying that one of her friends might get married sooner or later. Because when she got married, the friend gave her a big amount of money as a gift, which is over 300 USD. In tradition, she has to pay at least 370-400 USD in return. She’s not ready for such a big expense.

8. The last ritual of the traditional Chinese wedding-SanZhaoHuiMen三朝回门

（back to the door of the wife’s parents on the third day after the wedding）.

SanZhaoHuiMen三朝回门, that is, at the third day after the wedding, the bride accompanied by her husband, with pigs and gifts will back to the bride’s parents, to comfort her parents and worship the ancestors. According to legend this custom formed in Qin Dynasty (221 – 207 BC).

In ancient China, transportation was very inconvenient, if the husband was far from her parents, the woman might not have the opportunity to go back to her parents in the future. The farewell became parting forever.

So SanZhaoHuiMen may be the last chance for a woman to set foot on her original family. Because of this, people attach great importance to this wedding ceremony. In modern days, with convenient transportations and internet, the conditions are much better. Independent women can visit their parents as much as they want or even live with them after getting married.

#chinese weeding #wedding ceremony #tranditional chinese

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