HISTORY

Ever since ancient times, there has been a

popular saying in China 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 (221 BC
206 BC) 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
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 parents
considered 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
Bride and groom on marriage ceremony
The new couple bows down to each other.
 THREE LETTER 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 groom met his bride at her
home.
Six etiquettes then led to the final wedding
ceremony.
Proposing: when a boy's parents intended to
make a match, they would invite a matchmaker
to propose with them at the girl's home. It was
the custom that the first time matchmaker
went as a guest they could not be served tea in
Matchmaker
Birthday Matching: after knowing the
girl's full name and birthday, they would
ask a fortune teller to predict whether
that could match their son's and whether
there would be a happy marriage.
The Chinese zodiac would be surely taken
into consideration.
Presenting Betrothal Gifts: if the match
was predicted to be auspicious, the
matchmaker would take gifts to the girl's
parents and tell them that the process
could continue.
Presenting Wedding Gifts: This was the
grandest etiquette of the whole process of
Presenting Wedding Gifts
Selecting the Wedding Date: the boy's
family asked the fortune-teller to choose a
date according to the astrological book
when it would be proper and propitious to
hold the wedding ceremony.
Wedding Ceremony: the wedding ceremony
began with the groom and his party
meeting the bride in her home. Before this
day the bride's dowry would have been
sent to the boy's house. The dowry
represented her social status and wealth,
and would be displayed at the boy's house.
The most common dowries included
scissors like two butterflies never
Before the meeting party's arrival, the bride
would be helped by a respectable old woman
to tie up her hair with colorful cotton
threads. She would wear a red skirt as
Chinese believed red foreshadowed delight.
When the party arrived, the bride, covered
by a red head-kerchief, must cry with her
mother to show her reluctance to leave home.
She would be led or carried by her elder
brother to the sedan. In the meeting party
the groom would meet a series of difficulties
intentionally set in his path. Only after
coping with these could he pass to see his
wife-to-be.
On the night of the wedding day, there was
a custom in some places for relatives or
friends to banter the newlyweds. Though
this seemed a little noisy, both of them
dropped shyness and got familiar with each
other.

On the third day of the marriage, the new

couple would go back to the bride's parents'
home. They would be received with also a
dinner party including relatives.

Of course, marriage customs differed by

region, but these were the most common.