Chinese Customs
China is a land with unique traditional customs. Through the late early twentieth century China was fairly isolated which hindered cultural diffusion from the rest of the world. This meant that its culture was very distinct. China's distinct traditional customs included birth and birthday, wedding, and death customs. Birth traditions played an important role in Chinese life. When a child turned one month old, his or her parents would notify the gods. It was also though of that the birth of a girl was unlucky while the birth of a boy was lucky. The Chinese also celebrated birthdays with special customs. The birthdays that they thought were important were twenty-one, thirty-one, fifty-one, sixty-one, seventy-one, and ninety-one. At the age of fifty-one, it is a tradition for a person to receive, from his children, a multipaneled wood screen decorated with symbols of longevity. At the age of sixty-one, a person was to receive the prized gift of a coffin, from his children. When a person reached the age of seventy-one, he was permitted to wear an official robe and cap affixed with a copper button. At this age they are also allowed to use a special walking cane featuring a dove or pigeon carved into its jade handle. When a person tu
Those mourning the loss wore sackcloth robes and straw slippers, with the women wearing sackcloth hoods and the men with white cotton sashes over their heads and around their waists. People who have committed serious crimes were also not included in the marriage process, along with theatrical performers, slaves, or outcasts such as boat people. These customs are what define the people and identify them as Chinese. A white cotton sash would be placed along the top of the main door with two lanterns on the sides. The wedded couple is then led to the bedroom to pray to the Duke and Lady of the Bed, who would protect them, as the occupants of the bed, and they would be blessed with many sons. This is considered to be the most important of the marriage rituals preformed (Giura A10). The father of the groom wrote a formal proposal of marriage to the father of the bride, which the matchmaker delivered, along with gifts and things such as cakes. The families arranged the marriages with the matchmaker through negotiation, exchanging birth information in the process. Sometimes, professional wailers were employed to cry aloud when a visitor entered the hall to pay their respects. The family followed the coffin with the eldest son walking ahead of it ("Traditional"). An even rarer occasion was the reaching the age of ninety-one, when a person was honored with greetings four times a year by the district magistrate ("Traditional"). Another ritual that is preformed as a marriage ceremony is called san san kudo, which consists of three formal sips by the bride and groom from three cups, from the smallest to the largest. Examples of those diseases are leprosy and insanity. When people of the Chinese culture pass away, there are many unique customs that are conducted in mourning of the loss of the person. Then the bride and groom worshipped heaven and earth, the household gods, the spirits of the groom's ancestors, and the groom's parents.
Common topics in this essay:
,
Traditional Marriages,
Giura A10,
Lady Bed,
Traditional China,
bride groom,
unique customs,
white cotton,
gong beaters,
traditional customs,
mourning loss,
person receive,
|
Acceptance Essays
