Zhou Rites stipulates that there are six contents in the wedding of scholars: receiving gifts, asking for names, accepting auspiciousness, accepting levies, asking for dates, and welcoming in person, which are called the six rites. The Six Rites have been used for thousands of years, and weddings in the Qing Dynasty also implemented their ideas and were divided into three stages: negotiation, engagement, and marriage. Marriage negotiation is to choose a partner, which is equivalent to receiving a gift or asking for a name; engagement is to establish a marriage contract between a man and a woman, which is divided into small and large Ding. Welcome in person.
First, let’s briefly introduce the process of folk weddings in the Qing Dynasty. Let’s focus on the customs of the banner people in the capital.
1. In the weekly wedding ceremony, the most important thing in the marriage proposal is the woman's name. The woman's name is used to predict whether the marriage will be auspicious, so there is a ritual of asking the woman's name. In the Qing Dynasty, the most important thing was the birth date. On the premise that the basic conditions such as family background and appearance were mutually recognized, the two parties passed the door post and Geng post. The door post recorded the place of birth, position, fame, etc. of the three generations of the ancestors, and the Geng post recorded the birth dates of their own children. If the horoscopes do not conflict with each other, the marriage proposal will be successful.
2. After the engagement is successfully discussed, the engagement stage begins. The first is the small engagement. A Mrs. Quanfu from the husband’s family, that is, a middle-aged and elderly woman with husband, children, and parents-in-law, will send the small engagement gift to the bride’s family. . Small wedding ceremony *** attaches great importance to the ring, and the banner people attach great importance to Ruyi. On the wedding day, the girl sat cross-legged on the kang, and Mrs. Quanfu handed the ring or Ruyi's hand to the girl. The marriage was officially settled. Even in the Republic of China, the "Six Laws Complete Book" still stipulates that as long as a small agreement is made, the marriage contract will be established. After that comes the final decision, which is usually within a hundred days of the proposed wedding day. The main content is that the man will send the betrothal gift to the girl’s family, agree on the wedding date, inform relatives and friends, etc. Indispensable in the Dading ceremony is a goose, Dai Yan.
3. One day before or on the day of the wedding, the woman must send the girl’s dowry to the man’s family. In terms of dowry, wealthy people among the people will always give a "whole-household" dowry, which is sixty-four dowries; or at least a "half-tang" dowry, which is thirty-two dowries. The types of dowries range from acres of property to spittoons and chamber pots to tattered shoes and coats. As for welcoming the bride in person, the banner people attach great importance to the ancient etiquette and "take the wedding as the date". The bride must be married in the evening, and the bride must be welcomed into the home before midnight. If it's past the midnight hour, the bride and groom must withdraw from the ceremony and wait until the next night before they can have sex. Because the ancients believed that Yang Qi gradually grew after Zi Shi, which was not conducive to the balance of Yin and Yang. If so, the bride must stay on the kang for the whole day, because custom requires that the bride not go to the ground before intercourse. Therefore, before getting on the sedan chair, banner girls basically do not eat or drink water. They only eat a few eggs to satisfy their hunger, so that if they miss the auspicious date, they will not cause any personal embarrassment. The wedding ceremony takes place in a sedan chair. The flag bearer usually welcomes the bride in a large red cloth sedan chair, while the groom and four or eight bride-grooming lords ride there on horseback. The sedan chair can be carried eight times, and is not subject to the restriction that officials can only carry four sedan chairs. Mrs. Quanfu of the husband's family must first go to the bride's house by car and do the wedding ceremony for the bride together with the bride's bride-to-be wife. Before getting into the sedan chair, the bride must wear a shabby cotton-padded jacket sent by her husband's family. The tattered the better. If her husband's family does not have one, she will ask her close relatives to borrow it. Of course, the cotton-padded jacket is worn inside, and the bright new coat is still covered outside. Wear blue cloth shoes on your feet, as the Qing people considered blue and black as their official colors. During the wedding ceremony, a ox-horn lamp with inscriptions was posted in front of the wedding ceremony, and a band and ceremonial guard were not used, which was completely different from the country's music. After the bride enters the house, there is no custom of meeting the guests, let alone lighting cigarettes and toasting to socialize. The object of congratulations to the guests is the groom's father, not the groom himself. As for worshiping heaven and earth, sitting in the tent, drinking Henu wine, and eating children and grandchildren, etc., they are all taken care of by the bride-to-be wife and the bride-to-be wife in the wedding room. The bride meets her parents-in-law on the next day. More traditional families even insist on the ancient ritual of "marrying a wife for three days" , first met my uncle."
Prince’s Wedding
1. Imperial wedding There is no marriage negotiation process, and it is replaced by the emperor’s marriage. When a prince reaches the age of 15, he usually gets married. Marriage is designated by the emperor among the selected beauties. The Imperial Palace Supervisor of the Ministry of Internal Affairs selects an auspicious date for the wedding and lists the officials and wives who will help organize the wedding. At that time, the minister of praise will accompany the father of the selected woman wearing a python robe and patchwork coat to the east steps of the Qianqing Gate. The woman's father will kneel facing the north. The minister of praise will stand facing the west and read out the imperial edict: "It is decreed that the daughter of a certain surname is now the wife of the prince." Fujin." Fujin's father accepted the order and bowed three times and bowed before exiting. On a certain day, the prince put on a python robe and went to Fujin's house to meet his parents. He was accompanied by internal ministers, ministers, bodyguards, and military guards. Arriving at the gate, Fujin's father greeted him outside in a python suit. The prince ascended the hall to pay homage, and Fujin's father paid three homages. Use the same etiquette to see Fujin's mother again. When bidding farewell, Fujin's father saw him out the door.
2. The initial decision is the folk custom of making a decision. It was held on an auspicious day selected by the Qintian Supervisor. The content was that the emperor gave gifts to the Fujin family and held an engagement banquet at the Fujin family. There are two types of gifts, one is called ceremonial coins, which are given to Fujin himself, and will be carried back to the prince's mansion during the reception; the other is called gift coins, which are given to Fujin's parents and family, and are real betrothal gifts. The ceremonial coins include jewelry, clothing, daily silverware, etc., including a gold necklace inlaid with East beads and coral, three large and small gold hairpins holding pearls, three pairs of gold earrings with two East beads, two pairs of gold bracelets, gold One hundred silver buttons each, gold collars with Eastern pearls, dozens of mink, otter and fox skins for various types of coats, coats and bedding, one hundred pieces of silk and satin, three hundred catties of cotton, for use in the dining room, tea room and tea room Silver plates, silver bowls, silver pots, silver dishes, etc.
Among the coins, Fujin's father was given twelve taels of gold, seven hundred taels of silver, a fox fur court dress, a mink hat, a gold belt ring, a handkerchief, a purse, an ear scoop and other accessories, and a saddled horse. Fujin's mother was given three pairs of gold earrings with pearls, a fox fur robe, six otter skins, and an exquisitely carved saddle horse. They were packed into colorful pavilions and the like, and the Minister of Internal Affairs led the deacons and others there. Fujin's father wore court clothes and greeted him outside the gate. The ceremonial coins were displayed in the main hall, the gift coins were displayed on the steps, and the gift horses were displayed in the middle path in front of the steps. After receiving the ceremony, Fujin's father led his children to kneel three times and kowtow three times and nine times to the east of the palace under the middle steps. Fujin's mother led her female family members to the west under the middle steps and knelt three times and kowtowed three times.
As usual, the Ministry of Internal Affairs prepared fifty tables of wine and banquets, thirty-six sheep, fifty tables of pastries, and fifty bottles of rice wine to the Fujin family for a banquet and a band. All the princes, princes, ministers, guards, officials of second rank and above, and wives who were not on duty gathered at the Fujin family to attend the banquet that day. Honglu Temple sent officials to lead the ceremony, and Qintian Supervisor sent officials to tell the time. Fujin's father led his crowned male relatives to a banquet in the outer hall. At ten o'clock at noon, they sat down in the hall. Fujin's relatives and officials compromised by sitting in the east and facing the west, while the other guests sat in the west and east. The banquet consists of serving tea, serving fruits, serving wine, serving food and drinking wine, etc., with a band playing in the middle to entertain. At the end of the banquet, all the officials knelt three times and kowtowed nine times at the palace gate. Fujin's mother and her concubine had a banquet in the inner hall, and the procedure was the same. This is the engagement banquet.
3. Get married. The day before the wedding, the Fujin family sent the dowry to the imperial palace, which of course included the ceremonial coins given by the emperor in advance. The Fujin family members who sent the dowry were hosted by the Ministry of Internal Affairs with a banquet. On the day of the wedding, the prince, after mending his robes, kneels three times and kowtows nine times in front of the empress dowager, emperor and empress. If the biological mother is a concubine, he must kneel twice and kowtow six times in front of the biological mother. Luan Yiwei prepares an eight-carry colorful sedan chair surrounded by red satin. The head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, whose years and birthdays coincide with Wuji's, leads twenty subordinate officers, and a military guard officer leads a forty guard, responsible for marrying the newlyweds. In advance, the wife of the minister in charge of the internal affairs, whose age and birth date were the same, was selected to lead the internal affairs officer, his wife and other eight maids, and went to Fujin's house and the royal palace to honor the marquis respectively. The infantry commander was responsible for cleaning up everything from the palace gate to Fujin's house. the way.
When the auspicious time comes, the eunuch will place the colorful sedan in the middle hall. Fujin came out of the pavilion in formal attire, and accompanied his maids to wait on the sedan chair and under the curtain. Eight eunuchs lifted up, led by sixteen lanterns and twenty torches, followed by female officials, and rode out of the gate. In the front line of the honor guard, the General Manager of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Staff Officer of the Guards respectively led their subordinate officers and guards to guide and protect the people. Outside the palace, the ceremonial guards stopped and were removed, and everyone dismounted and walked in. The female officer followed the sedan to the prince's residence to wait for Fujin to get out of the sedan and lead him into the palace. Afterwards, a ceremony of union and marriage was held, which was conducted by the waiting wife.
On that day, a curtain was drawn up at the prince's residence, and a banquet of sixty banquets and forty-five sheep was held in honor of Fujin's parents and relatives. The attendance and etiquette procedures were the same as those at the engagement banquet held at Fujin's house.
On the morning of the second day of their wedding, the prince and his wife dressed in court attire and went to the empress dowager, emperor and empress to salute in turn. To salute in front of the biological mother, the prince should kneel twice and kowtow six times, and the prince should kneel twice and kowtow twice.
On the ninth day after the wedding, the prince returned home with Fujin, and the Fujin family held a banquet in reception. We will not stay at Fujin's house for more than noon.
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