Wedding is a major event in life. The process from proposal to marriage takes a long time and involves many activities for a couple. Before the founding of the People's Republic of China, there were many superstitious factors and feudal religious consciousness. 1. Pre-marriage negotiation and engagement. In the old society, according to the tradition of "parents' orders, matchmaker's words", the man first asked the matchmaker to propose marriage to the girl's parents. It is taboo for a woman to be the initiator of a marriage proposal. Even if she is interested, she must ask someone to give the man some hints and let him take the initiative. Before or during the marriage proposal, the man always wants to see the woman in person, and is usually brought to the woman's home or other occasions by a matchmaker or other relatives and friends to have a peek at each other, which is called a "blind date." The woman’s parents, who are liberal, usually seek their daughter’s opinions. If both parties "match" each other or reluctantly agree, they will exchange "birthday horoscopes" and ask a fortune teller to calculate them, which is called "combined horoscopes". If there are no "contradictions", the engagement can be concluded; otherwise, it may fall through. Before the founding of the People's Republic of China, there were still a few ugly men who were afraid that the woman would not like them, so they hired someone to take their place, which was called "piling". Even if their secrets were exposed when they got married, the rice was already cooked. Once the engagement is concluded, a date is chosen to get engaged, commonly known as "Guogeng". The man writes the birth date and birth date on a big red post (called Geng post), and gives it to the woman with clothes, wine, meat, candy, cakes and other gifts as well as rings and other tokens. The man usually goes with him to say that his new son-in-law is here. In addition to replying with her birth date and birth date, the woman should also provide shoes, socks, clothing, hats, cakes, steamed buns, dumplings and other food, so that the man can give back to relatives and neighbors. It is also customary for parents or siblings from both parties to visit each other, hold banquets and give gifts. The time is variable, either before or after the wedding. After the engagement, the two parties become relatives. From then on, during the three major festivals of Dragon Boat Festival, Mid-Autumn Festival and Spring Festival, the man would send clothes, wine, meat and festival food to the woman, which is called "New Year's gift". 2. Before and after the wedding and three days before the wedding, the man should give the woman a rich gift, including women's clothing for the bride to wear during the wedding; some fish, meat, tobacco, wine and rice for the woman to hold a wedding banquet; pancakes or glutinous rice cakes Rich families also pay attention to "thousands of pigs" for the bride to distribute to relatives and friends, and the recipient must give double gifts or gifts in return; incense, candles and firecrackers are also included for the bride to pay homage to her ancestors when she leaves home. This grand ceremony is called "cijia ceremony" or "incense ceremony". A few days before the wedding, the woman will choose an auspicious day to "open her face" (twist the hair on her face with a thread to signify her transformation from a girl to a young woman). On the eve of the wedding, the girl's family will invite relevant relatives to a banquet to persuade her to get married and see her off, and arrange the "dowry". On the day of the wedding, a banquet will be held to entertain the groom's bride-to-be, relatives, friends and neighbors. After the bride has finished dressing in the room, she bids farewell to her ancestors, then pays homage to her parents and other elders, who also give gifts of money. When the bride leaves home and boards the sedan, she should put a red felt under her feet. According to old customs, when a woman marries, she takes away her family's dirt, which will make her family poor. The bride will cry when she gets on the sedan chair and the night before, not only to express her feelings, but also to gain good luck. As the saying goes, "cry at marriage, cry at marriage, the more you cry, the more you cry." The ones who accompany the bride to her husband's house are usually Xi Niang (older relatives who are good at socializing so they can take care of the bride) and brothers. The wedding sedan is prepared by the groom (small families use soft baskets instead). After the bride arrives home, she should ask two middle-aged and elderly women who are "blessed" (i.e., have both children and a good family) to help her to the main room to hold a ceremony: worship heaven and earth, ancestors, parents-in-law and couple. After entering the new house (also known as the bridal chamber), they sit under the tent and eat wedding eggs and dates. The wedding banquet held at home must wait until the wedding is over before it can begin, and the newlyweds must drink a glass of wine in the bridal chamber. In the evening, relatives and friends also have to "bring about in the new house", asking difficult questions to the newlyweds and making them laugh. Occasionally there are people who play pranks and eavesdrop on the movements in the house after falling asleep, which is called "listening to the new house"; some people even steal the newlyweds' clothes, called "stealing the new house", and blackmail the couple to redeem them the next day. Some people use red paint to paint the faces of the parents or other relatives of the newlyweds, saying that "the blessings will shine brightly and the face will be full of red light". Even if it is a prank, since "the wedding lasts only three days, no matter the size," the host will not care about it. On the morning of the third day after the wedding, the bride has to go to the kitchen to participate in the cooking work. If the wedding is in the middle of January (honeymoon), the old rule is that the room cannot be left vacant. The bride usually cannot return to her parents' home until after the full moon. The groom will accompany him, bring gifts, and pay homage to the bride's ancestors, including her parents-in-law and other elders. The bride can stay overnight, but the groom usually rushes back on the same day. Even if he stays overnight, he cannot live with the bride. According to the custom in the county, couples cannot live together in the in-laws' home. If there are special circumstances, they must also write a housing lease. After the 1930s, some intellectuals also engaged in free love and held new-style weddings (commonly known as civilized marriages). The bride did not ride in a sedan chair, and the couple did not attend the ceremony. The wedding also included a presiding officer, witnesses, and groomsmen. But they were very few and were not the mainstream wedding custom before the founding of the People's Republic of China.