{"id":14809,"date":"2019-08-05T07:00:57","date_gmt":"2019-08-05T11:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/?p=14809"},"modified":"2019-07-31T11:59:33","modified_gmt":"2019-07-31T15:59:33","slug":"marriage-in-china","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/marriage-in-china\/","title":{"rendered":"Marriage in China"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_14810\" style=\"width: 580px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone post-item__attachment\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-14810\" class=\" wp-image-14810\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/07\/heart-1-350x231.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"570\" height=\"376\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/07\/heart-1-350x231.jpg 350w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/07\/heart-1.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 570px) 100vw, 570px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-14810\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Image via Pixabay<\/p><\/div>\n<p>For the <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/qixifestival\/\">Qixi festival<\/a>, the Chinese Valentine\u2019s Day that is celebrated this year on August 7th, I delved into some Chinese marriage vocabulary. Marriage in China has undergone changes during the last century. In this post we\u2019ll take a closer look at different Chinese marriage practices.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u7231\u662f\u5a5a\u59fb\u7684\u57fa\u77f3\u3002<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>\u00c0i sh\u00ec h\u016bn y\u012bn de j\u012b sh\u00ed.<\/p>\n<p>Love is the cornerstone of marriage.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><strong>\u5305\u529e\u5a5a\u59fb <\/strong><strong>b\u0101o b\u00e0n h\u016bn y\u012bn<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>\u5305\u529e (b\u0101o b\u00e0n) is a verb meaning <em>to take sole charge of<\/em>, or <em>to undertake to do by oneself<\/em>. \u5a5a\u59fb (h\u016bn y\u012bn) means <em>marriage<\/em>. Together it\u2019s translated to <em>arranged marriage<\/em>, and refers to marriage that has been arranged not by the couple itself, but by a third party, usually the couple \u2019s parents.<\/p>\n<p>Arranged marriage was common during ancient times. An old Chinese saying, originated from Mencius texts, sums up the Chinese traditional marriage system in eight words: \u7236\u6bcd\u4e4b\u547d\uff0c\u5a92\u5981\u4e4b\u8a00 (f\u00f9 m\u01d4 zh\u012b m\u00ecng, m\u00e9i shu\u00f2 zh\u012b y\u00e1n), meaning <em>marriages were set by the parents order and the matchmaker words<\/em>. When the parents thought that it\u2019s time for their beloved son or daughter to marry, they summon the matchmaker to introduce them to suitable candidates without respect to the personal wishes of the young people.<\/p>\n<p>Nowadays, arranged marriage is illegal in China. The first law enacted after the founding of the People\u2019s Republic of China was the Chinese Marriage Law (\u5a5a\u59fb\u6cd5 h\u016bn y\u012bn f\u01ce) in 1980. The Marriage Law forbids any forced marriage, and other acts that interfere with the freedom of marriage, as the law stipulates: \u7981\u6b62\u5305\u529e\u3001\u4e70\u5356\u5a5a\u59fb\u548c\u5176\u4ed6\u5e72\u6d89\u5a5a\u59fb\u81ea\u7531\u7684\u884c\u4e3a (j\u00ecn zh\u01d0 b\u0101ob\u00e0n, m\u01cei m\u00e0i h\u016bn y\u012bn h\u00e9 q\u00ed t\u0101 g\u0101n sh\u00e8 h\u016bn y\u012bn z\u00ec y\u00f3u de x\u00edng w\u00e9i).<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u7ed3\u5a5a\u5fc5\u987b\u7537\u5973\u53cc\u65b9\u5b8c\u5168\u81ea\u613f\u3002<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Ji\u00e9 h\u016bn b\u00ec x\u016b n\u00e1n n\u01da shu\u0101ng f\u0101ng w\u00e1n qu\u00e1n z\u00ec yu\u00e0n.<\/p>\n<p>Marriage must be completely voluntary for both men and women.<\/p>\n<p>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zhihu.com\/question\/23077873\">question<\/a> on the popular Zhihu.com (a Chinese\u00a0question-and-answer website) asks: \u81ea\u7531\u5a5a\u59fb\u4e0e\u7236\u6bcd\u5305\u529e\u5a5a\u59fb\u54ea\u4e2a\u597d\uff1f (z\u00ec y\u00f3u h\u016bn y\u012bn y\u01d4 f\u00f9 m\u01d4 b\u0101o b\u00e0n h\u016bn y\u012bn n\u01ce ge h\u01ceo?, <em>which marriage is better <\/em><em>\u2013 free or arranged?<\/em>). One of the replies was: <em>reading this question made me feel like I went back to the 19th century<\/em>.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u5305\u529e\u5a5a\u59fb\u5728\u5f53\u4eca\u793e\u4f1a\u53ef\u80fd\u6bd4\u8f83\u5c11\uff0c\u4f46\u4e5f\u4e0d\u662f\u4e0d\u5b58\u5728\u3002<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>B\u0101o b\u00e0n h\u016bn y\u012bn z\u00e0i d\u0101ng j\u012bn sh\u00e8 hu\u00ec k\u011b n\u00e9ng b\u01d0 ji\u00e0o sh\u01ceo, d\u00e0n y\u011b b\u00f9 sh\u00ec b\u00f9 c\u00fan z\u00e0i.<\/p>\n<p>Arranged marriages in the Chinese society of today are rare, but still exists.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h3><strong>\u88f8\u5a5a <\/strong><strong>lu\u01d2 h\u016bn<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>\u5a5a (h\u016bn) means <em>marriage<\/em>, and \u88f8 (lu\u01d2) is a short of the adjective \u88f8\u4f53 (lu\u01d2 t\u01d0) means <em>naked<\/em>. Together it is translated to <em>naked marriage<\/em>, and refers to a form of marriage in which loving partners get united without having a solid material foundation. This frugal (\u8282\u4fedji\u00e9 ji\u01cen) type of tying the knot is a sharp contrast to the established Chinese marital customs. Betrothal gifts are a traditional part of marriage in China. In the past, small offerings were enough. These days, though, due to the skewed sex ratio, expensive dowry symbolizes a man\u2019s capability of providing a prosperous life for his wife. Owning a house or a car became an economic precondition for prospective suitors.<\/p>\n<p>Couples that choose naked marriage oppose mixing financial expectations with romantic feelings. They believe that requiring material possessions as a condition of marriage is wrong. In a search for pure love, they choose renunciation of material conditions over solid tradition. For others, naked marriage is the only option. Their economic situation leaves them no choice. They get married without owning a house or a car, without holding a big party, spending money on outfits, <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wedding-photos-in-china\/\">wedding photos<\/a>, or even a ring.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u8fd9\u79cd\u8282\u4fed\u7684\u5a5a\u59fb\u65b9\u5f0f\u8bc1\u660e\u81ea\u5df1\u7231\u60c5\u7684\u7eaf\u7cb9\u3002<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Zh\u00e8 zh\u01d2ng ji\u00e9 ji\u01cen de h\u016bn y\u012bn f\u0101ng sh\u00ec zh\u00e8ng m\u00edng z\u00ec j\u01d0 \u00e0i q\u00edng de ch\u00fan cu\u00ec.<\/p>\n<p>This frugal type of marriage proves the purity of love.<\/p>\n<p>There are different degrees of naked marriage. A full naked marriage (\u5168\u88f8\u5a5a qu\u00e1n lu\u01d2 h\u016bn) is a couple who gets married without owning a house, buying a car, or even celebrating their union: there is no diamond ring, no wedding party or honeymoon (\u4e0d\u4e70\u94bb\u6212\u3001\u4e0d\u529e\u5a5a\u793c\u3001\u4e0d\u5ea6\u871c\u6708 b\u00fa m\u01cei zu\u00e0n ji\u00e8, b\u00f9 b\u00e0n h\u016bn l\u01d0, b\u00f9 d\u00f9 m\u00ec yu\u00e8). Their only cost is 9 RMB paid at the registry office (\u767b\u8bb0\u5904d\u0113ng j\u00ec ch\u00f9) as a legal marriage registration fee.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u88f8\u5a5a\u8fd8\u5305\u62ec\u5168\u88f8\u5a5a\u548c\u534a\u88f8\u5a5a\u3002<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Lu\u01d2 h\u016bn h\u00e1i b\u0101o ku\u00f2 qu\u00e1n lu\u01d2 h\u016bn h\u00e9 b\u00e0n lu\u01d2 h\u016bn.<\/p>\n<p>Naked marriage includes full-naked and semi-naked marriages.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u5168\u88f8\u5a5a\u53ea\u82b19\u5757\u94b1\u767b\u8bb0\u7ed3\u5a5a\u7684\u7ed3\u5a5a\u5f62\u5f0f\u3002<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Qu\u00e1n lu\u01d2 h\u016bn zh\u01d0 hu\u0101 9 ku\u00e0i qi\u00e1n d\u0113ng j\u00ec ji\u00e9 h\u016bn de ji\u00e9 h\u016bn x\u00edng sh\u00ec.<\/p>\n<p>Full-naked marriage is a type of marriage in which spending only 9 Yuan on marriage<\/p>\n<p>registration.<\/p>\n<p>Semi-naked marriage (\u534a\u88f8\u5a5ab\u00e0n lu\u01d2 h\u016bn) is a marriage with consideration of the economic ability of the couple, both the groom and the bride. A semi-naked marriage is usually a couple who arranges a simple feast (\u9152\u5e2d ji\u01d4 x\u00ed), celebrates his honeymoon (\u871c\u6708 m\u00ec yu\u00e8), but postpones the expensive procedures of buying a car and a house for a later period in life (\u4e0d\u4e70\u623f\u3001\u4e0d\u4e70\u8f66 b\u00fa m\u01cei f\u00e1ng, b\u00fa m\u01cei ch\u0113).<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_14813\" style=\"width: 583px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone post-item__attachment\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-14813\" class=\" wp-image-14813\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/08\/heart2-350x224.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"573\" height=\"367\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/08\/heart2-350x224.jpg 350w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/08\/heart2.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 573px) 100vw, 573px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-14813\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Image via Pixabay<\/p><\/div>\n<h3><strong>\u95ea\u5a5a <\/strong><strong>sh\u01cen h\u016bn<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>\u5a5a (h\u016bn) means <em>marriage<\/em>, and \u95ea (sh\u01cen) is short of \u95ea\u7535 (sh\u01cen di\u00e0n), meaning <em>lightning<\/em>. It is translated to <em>flash marriage<\/em>, and refers to a marriage between partners who\u2019ve known each other for a short time. There isn\u2019t yet general consensus as to how short this period should be, but the feeling is that of a spontaneous marriage, of a couple who haven\u2019t had the time to know each other properly.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u95ea\u5a5a\u662f\u4ece\u8ba4\u8bc6\u5230\u7ed3\u5a5a\u65f6\u95f4\u76f8\u5f53\u77ed\u7684\u7ed3\u5a5a\u5f62\u5f0f\u3002<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Sh\u01cen h\u016bn sh\u00ec c\u00f3ng r\u00e8n sh\u00ec d\u00e0o ji\u00e9 h\u016bn sh\u00ed ji\u0101n xi\u00e0ng d\u0101ng du\u01cen de ji\u00e9 h\u016bn x\u00edng sh\u00ec.<\/p>\n<p>In flash marriage the time from acquaintance until getting married is quite short.<\/p>\n<p>There are several reasons for a flash marriage. One of them is impulsive emotion (\u611f\u60c5\u51b2\u52a8\u578bg\u01cen q\u00edng ch\u014dng d\u00f2ng x\u00edng) that leads the couple to a speedy relationship, when both the man and the woman quickly fall in love in each other, and instantly take the next step together. They feel they are meant to be, and nothing can stop them (\u6321\u4e5f\u6321\u4e0d\u4f4fd\u01ceng y\u011b d\u01ceng b\u00f9 zh\u00f9).<\/p>\n<p>Other couples choose to get married after a short period of acquaintance for the wrong reasons. Depression, confusion, or a past failure lead people to commit too quickly. Once they meet someone suitable, once they click with someone (\u4e00\u62cd\u5373\u5408y\u012b p\u0101i j\u00ed h\u00e9) they believe it\u2019s the right person, their one match that will heal them. Consciously or unconsciously, marriage becomes for them a painkiller (\u6b62\u75bc\u836fzh\u01d0 t\u00e9ng y\u00e0o).<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\u5a5a\u59fb\u4e0d\u80fd\u513f\u620f\uff0c\u662f\u9700\u8981\u614e\u91cd\u8003\u8651\u9009\u62e9\u7684\u3002<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>H\u016bn y\u012bn b\u00f9 n\u00e9ng \u00e9r x\u00ec, sh\u00ec x\u016b y\u00e0o sh\u00e8n ch\u00f3ng k\u01ceo l\u01dc xu\u01cen z\u00e9 de.<\/p>\n<p>Marriage is not a game; it needs to be carefully considered.<\/p>\n<p>Many believe flash marriage is not stable. A short time period of partnership before tying the knot is not enough for the couple to love and to understand each other. In their opinion, a flash marriage has led to \u201c\u77ed\u9ad8\u5feb\u201d\u2013 \u8ba4\u8bc6\u65f6\u95f4\u77ed\u3001\u6fc0\u60c5\u9ad8\u3001\u79bb\u5a5a\u5feb (\u201cdu\u01cen g\u0101o ku\u00e0i\u201d\u2013 r\u00e8n sh\u00ed sh\u00ed ji\u0101n du\u01cen, j\u012b q\u00edng g\u0101o, l\u00ed h\u016bn ku\u00e0i), which means <em>\u201cshort, high, fast\u201d \u2013 short time, high passion, fast divorce<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><u>Text vocabulary<\/u><\/p>\n<p>\u7231 \u00e0i = to love<\/p>\n<p>\u7ed3\u5a5a ji\u00e9 h\u016bn = to get married<\/p>\n<p>\u5a5a\u59fb h\u016bn y\u012bn = marriage<\/p>\n<p>\u5a92\u5981 m\u00e9i shu\u00f2 = matchmaker<\/p>\n<p>\u53cc\u65b9 shu\u0101ng f\u0101ng = both sides<\/p>\n<p>\u94bb\u6212 zu\u00e0n ji\u00e8 = diamond ring<\/p>\n<p>\u5a5a\u793c h\u016bn l\u01d0 = wedding ceremony<\/p>\n<p>\u9152\u5e2d\u00a0 ji\u01d4 x\u00ed = feast<\/p>\n<p>\u871c\u6708 m\u00ec yu\u00e8 = honeymoon<\/p>\n<p>\u8282\u4fed ji\u00e9 ji\u01cen = frugal<\/p>\n<p>\u7eaf\u7cb9 ch\u00fan cu\u00ec = pure, purely<\/p>\n<p>\u8ba4\u8bc6 r\u00e8n shi = to know<\/p>\n<p>\u6fc0\u60c5 j\u012b q\u00edng = passion<\/p>\n<p>\u9009\u62e9 xu\u01cen z\u00e9 = to choose<\/p>\n<p>\u79bb\u5a5a l\u00ed h\u016bn = to get a divorce<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><span style=\"color: #ff0000\"><strong>\u597d\u597d\u5b66\u4e60\uff0c\u5929\u5929\u5411\u4e0a\uff01<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<hr \/>\n<h4>\u200d\u200d\u200d\u200d\u200d\u200d<\/h4>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<img width=\"350\" height=\"231\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/07\/heart-1-350x231.jpg\" class=\"attachment-post-thumbnail size-post-thumbnail wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/07\/heart-1-350x231.jpg 350w, https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2019\/07\/heart-1.jpg 640w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 350px) 100vw, 350px\" \/><p>For the Qixi festival, the Chinese Valentine\u2019s Day that is celebrated this year on August 7th, I delved into some Chinese marriage vocabulary. Marriage in China has undergone changes during the last century. In this post we\u2019ll take a closer look at different Chinese marriage practices. \u7231\u662f\u5a5a\u59fb\u7684\u57fa\u77f3\u3002 \u00c0i sh\u00ec h\u016bn y\u012bn de j\u012b sh\u00ed. Love&hellip;<\/p>\n<p class=\"post-item__readmore\"><a class=\"btn btn--md\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/marriage-in-china\/\">Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":135,"featured_media":14810,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14809","post","type-post","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-culture"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14809","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/135"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14809"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14809\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14815,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14809\/revisions\/14815"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/14810"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14809"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14809"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/chinese\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14809"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}