古代婚姻Chinese Marriage in Ancient Times
1怎么解释“婚姻”二字?
Could you explain the Chinese words hunyin?
Hunyin(婚姻)means“marriage．”It is composed of two characters，hun(婚)and yin(姻)．The hun character has two parts: the left nü(female，女) and the right hun(昏)，which means“evening”or“dusk，”implying that the bride and groom meet in the evening．Yin(姻) is composed of the leftnü(female，女) and the right yin(rely on，by means of，因)．According to the etymological dictionary entitled Shuo Wen Jie Zi(Notes on Language and characters，《说文解字》)，Yin(姻) means the husband's family，which the wife relies on．
Notes:①imply暗指②bride新娘③groom新郎④similar to类似的
2中国古代婚姻有什么礼节?
Whatwere the rituals of Chinese marriage in ancient times?
Marriage as a custom became solidified in China during 402 BC to 221 BC According to the belief of the time，a marriage not only bound the husband and wife but also the two families involved．In ancient China，when parents looked for a prospective wife or husband for their son or daughter，they had to consider a number of factors．The most important factor was the other family's reputation and standing．The personal attributes of the prospective groom and bride came second．Below are six-rituals(六礼)ofmarriage thathave been used for 2，000 years throughout the Chinese history．
(1)When an unmarried boy's family finds a prospective daughter-in-law，they will invite a“middle man”to approach the prospective daughter-in-law's family，present gifts，and propose the possiblemarriage between the two families．If the proposal is declined，the gift is rejected．
(2) If the girl's family accepts the proposal，the boy's family will write a letter to the girl's asking her date of birth．
(3)When her family replies，the boy's family will pray to their ancestors to ask if the couplewill be auspicious．If the prediction does not feel right，themarriage will be called off．
(4) If the couple appears auspicious，the boy's family will arrange the“middle man”to deliver the marriage documents and wedding gifts to the prospective daughter-in-law's home．
(5)Once the boy's family finalizes the wedding day，they will confirm the day with the girl's family by sending a formal letter andmore gifts．If the girl's family refuses the gifts，another datemust be found．
(6)On the wedding day，the groom departs with a troop of escorts and musicians who play cheerfulmusic all theway to the bride's home．The bride's fathermeets the parade outside the home．He would take the groom to the ancestral temple where they will pray to their ancestors．At the same time，the wedding sedan chair is placed outside the home until the bride arrives．The groom bows his head low to invite the bride to take the chair，and then they both travel together for thewedding ceremony in the groom's home．
In ancient times，most families could not afford these expenses，and did not go through the above ritual process one by one．However，families had to share the information of what time the girl or boy was born．The information would include the hour，day，month and year．Upon the arrival of the information，the family would invite a fortuneteller to decide if the proposed marriage was auspicious．
Notes:①solidify(使)变坚固②bind捆，绑③prospective未来的④reject拒绝⑤auspicious吉兆的⑥call off取消⑦confirm确定⑧escort护送⑨fortuneteller算命者
3中国不同朝代的婚龄是一样的吗?
Whatwas legalage to marry in ancient China?
Throughout the course of Chinese history，the prescribed age ofmarriage varied．During the Zhou Dynasty (1046 BC－256 BC)，aman should bemarried by the age of 30，and a woman by 20．At that time，people thought that aman's bones and muscleswould be strong enough to withstand the burden of fatherhood at the age of 30; a woman would be full-grown and ready to be a mother when she reached the age of 20．
As the dynasties went by，the prescribed age for marriage gradually lowered．During the Spring and Autumn Period(770 BC－476 BC)，Qi Huangong(齐桓公)，king of the Qi State，decreed a man should be married by the age of 30 and a woman by 15; towards the end of the Spring and Autumn Period，King Gou Jian of the Yue State(越王勾践)said that parentswould be penalized if their son did not getmarried by 20 years of age and their daughter by 17．Princes or kings carried out the earlymarriage policy in their own states to promote population growth that later would provide more manpower to work in the fields or join the army．
During the Han Dynasty(206 BC－220 AD)，unmarried women of 15 years or older had to pay 5 times more taxes than required，thus forcing them tomarry at an even earlier age．
In the Western Jin State(265－317)(西晋)，local officialswould select a groom for thewoman who had not been married off by the age of 17．In the Northern Zhou State(557－581)(北周)，aman was required to marry by 15 and a woman by 13．
In the early Tang Dynasty(618－907)，the Tang rulers adopted a rehabilitative policy in order to relieve people outof the severe social conflicts．Partof the policy stated that aman should getmarried by the age of20 and a woman by the age of 15．In themiddle period of the Tang Dynasty，the latest age one could marry changed to 16 for a man and 13 for a woman．The local governmentwould interfere if any man or woman failed to getmarried by the prescribed age．From the Song to the Qing dynasties(960－1911)，the latest age for aman was about16 years old and for a woman about14．
Throughout ancient China，a large labor force was constantly in demand because of low economic productivity．After considerable pressure from the rulers of the earlier dynasties，the people later gradually accepted the earlymarriage policy．
Notes:①prescribed规定的②withstand抵挡③full-grown完全的;丰满的④penalize处罚⑤conflict冲突⑥interfere冲突⑦productivity生产力⑧considerable相当大的
4中国古代妇女是为何开始裹脚的?
Why did women begin to have their feet bound in ancient China?
The origins of foot-binding are unclear though legends exist that point to possible historical explanations．One of these legends recounts how foot-binding began in the court of the Southern Tang State(南唐) in Nanjing．The Tang prince ordered his concubine to bind her feet with silk to shape them like halfmoons and towhirl them around to give the appearance of dancing on clouds or over the top of golden lilies．This legend is probably not true because women with bound feet could hardly walk，let alone dance．However，this dancing concubine was renowned for her tiny feet and beautiful bow shoes(弓鞋)．
Anyway，it was around the Tang Dynasty(618－907) that the practice became the standard for feminine beauty in the imperial court．The custom started with court dancers，and later all the women of the imperial court followed suit．In time foot-binding spread downward from the north to all parts of the country as the lower classes strove to imitate the style of the elite．
Notes:①foot-binding裹脚②concubine妾③lily百合花④feminine女性的⑤elite精英
5以前妇女裹脚的情况是怎样的?
How did the women have their feetbound in ancient China?
Many women had their feet bound in ancient China．This tradition lasted for nearly one thousand years．Foot-binding was a sadistic attempt to stop the growth of women's feet and therefore people today are hard to understand the tradition．The reason for women binding their feetwent deeper than fashion and reflected the role of women in ancient Chinese society．
Foot-binding consisted ofwrapping the feet of a girl at the age of 4 to 6 years．The process began early in life so that the arch did not have time to fully develop．The bandages，which were ten feet long and two inches wide，were wrapped around the smallest toes and pulled tightly to the heel．Every two days，the binding was removed and rebound．This part of the processwent on for two years．After these two years，a girl's feet would be three to four inches long．To assure the feet stayed small，the ritual continued for at least ten more years．The aim was to produce a tiny foot，a“golden lotus(金莲)，”which would be three inches long and was regarded as both lovely and alluring．
As time went on，the feet became so compressed that women usually hobbled about with difficulty，and had to lean on a wall or another person for support．Women with bound feet were physically prevented from moving about freely，and thus a young girl from a wealthy family would often receive a body servant at the time of her initial binding，to look after her personal needs and carry her into the garden when her feet were too painful to walk on．
How did this bizarre tradition continue for one thousand years? First，men in ancient China would not marry a woman who did not have bound feet．Every son'smother was always responsible formaking sure the woman her son was to marry had bound feet．A family with a young girl had no choice but to submit to this tremendous social pressure and bind their daughter's feet; if not，their daughter would be ineligible formarriage．
Notes:①sadistic残酷成性的②arch足背;足弓③bandage绷带④alluring诱惑的⑤compressed压缩的⑥hobble蹒跚⑦initial最初的⑧bizarre古怪的⑨ineligible没资格的
6妇女裹脚是如何终止的?
How was the custom of foot-binding discontinued?
In themid-1600s，with the startof the Qing Dynasty，weak opposition against the foot-binding began to emerge．The Qing nobility，whowere ethnically Manchu，attempted to prohibit this custom，but the foot-binding practice nevertheless continued．After over 500 years such a practice was so firmly rooted in Chinese culture that the Qing government could not prohibit it．
In 1911，the Qing Dynasty was overthrown，and foot-binding was officially made illegal．The social movement responsible for the ban used three strategies．First，a modern education campaign was organized to highlight that the rest of the world did not bind women's feet．Second，another education campaign explained the advantages of natural feet and the disadvantages of bound feet．Third，natural-foot societies were launched that had members pledged neither to bind their daughter's feet nor to allow their sons to marry women with bound feet．These three tactics effectively succeeded in bringing foot-binding to a quick end．
Foot-binding cannot be seen as a simple fashion statement as its roots spring from many parts of Chinese culture．Foot-binding started outas a definition of beauty and ended up crippling Chinesewomen for centuries．Unfortunately，it took muchmore than laws and protests to bring foot-binding to an end．
Notes:①ethnically种族上②prohibit禁止③strategy策略④highlight使突出;强调⑤disadvantage不利条件⑥tactics战术⑦definition定义⑧crippling极有害的
7“设男女之大防”是怎样出现的?
How did gender segregation begin?
In the beginning of recorded Chinese history there existed no strict gender segregation．Young men and women enjoyed each other's companionship freely．Shi Jing(The Classic of Poetry，《诗经》) contains an early collection of poems and folk songs from ordinary people; here is an example of one:
Guan-guan go the ospreys，
On the islet in the river．
Themodest，retiring，virtuous，young lady:
For our prince a good mate is she．
(关关雎鸠，在河之洲，窈窕淑女，君子好逑。)
During festivals of the Spring and Autumn(770 BC－476 BC) or the Warring States Period(475 BC－221 BC)，men and women gathered together to personally select their spouses．Historical records are filled with examples．The Zhou Rites(《周礼·地官司徒·媒氏》) states，Mid-spring is a good season for men and women tomeet together．It is also the time not to forbid men and women to be privately engaged formarriage(仲春之月，令会男女。于是时也，奔者不禁)．The Records of the Historian(《史记·田敬仲完世家》) by Sima Qian(司马迁) of the Han Dynasty records，in 254 BC，Le Yi(乐毅)，a general of the State of Yan led the army to attack the State of Qi．The King Min of the Qi(齐闵王)and his son Fa Zhang(法章) fled to Ju City(莒城)where the king was eventually assassinated．To protect himself，Fa Zhang changed his name and later started to work as a servant for Grand Astrologer Jiao(太史敫)．Fa Zhang's handsome appearance attracted the attention of Jiao's daughter．Gradually，the two young people fell in love．After receiving the assistance from local people and officials of the State of Qi，Fa Zhang was chosen to be King Xiang of the State of Qi(齐襄王)，with Jiao's daughter as the queen．Grand Astrologer Jiao was not happy about their marriage，complaining angrily，“My daughter chose her spouse and gotmarried without a matchmaker to help．She is notmy daughter．”He swore never to see his daughter again．This story shows how sometimes even feudal ethical codes were unable to prevent young people like Fa Zhang and Jiao's daughter from gettingmarried．
As late as the second century BC，courtship was still possible．The Han poet Sima Xiangru(司马相如) used his lute to court a widow whose name was Zhuo Wenjun(卓文君)．He succeeded in persuading her to elope with him．Such occurrencewould be impossible in a later period．After the Song Dynasty(960－1279)，the gender segregation widened and becamemore rigid．What caused this change? The main reason came from the spread and acceptance of Confucian morals．For instance，Zhu Xi(朱熹)advocated strict gender separation，and also glorified widowhood．Because his philosophy dominated the intellectuals of the time，his bleak ideas were widely received，and thus the status of women began its decline in ancient China．
In 1949，the Chinese government passed“The Marriage Law”granting men and women equality and freedom tomarry whomever they choose．
Notes:①segregation分离②osprey鹭鸶羽毛③islet小岛④virtuous有美德的⑤assassinate暗杀⑥persuade说服⑦elope私奔⑧advocate提倡⑨widowhood孀居
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