To matchmaking: in a family, the boy to the age of twenty, the girl to the age of fifteen or so, parents began to plan for their children's marriage, to matchmakers to pull the red line, the red line to the men and women can not meet, let alone understand each other, even in the civil period can only steal a glance. Matchmaking, the first part of the payment to the matchmaker in advance, called buying shoes money (meaning that people need to find others to run). Afterwards, the matchmaker was given a gift and invited to dinner. Matchmaker took the money to buy shoes, began to fulfill the object of searching for the right match, and participate in the entire marriage process, until the bride into the bridal chamber, is not considered to have completed the task, there is a folk proverb that says: "newcomers into the bridal chamber, the matchmaker thrown over the wall". There are also individuals who keep in touch with the matchmaker, which is a good couple. There are also bad couples, cursing and fighting to find the matchmaker to settle accounts. After the marriage, to do thank the matchmaker wine and send gifts to express gratitude. In the late Qing Dynasty, some matchmakers gave two quintals of grain or sent a set of clothes, and some gave two dollars plus some gifts. At that time, matchmaking was a profession, usually female, so called "matchmaker". Matchmakers can talk, for money, regardless of other people's lives, both sides of the good words, said "water are lit with lights," as the saying goes: "tricked the bride through the door, regardless of your line."
Exchange of post: the matchmaker, both parents recognized, the daughter's birth date to the matchmaker, the matchmaker to the parents of the male, the male asked the fortune-teller to calculate the two eight characters are not. The so-called eight characters, according to the old calendar of the heavenly stems and earthly branches shown in the year of birth, month, day, time, with the five elements to project the two sides of the eight characters are together or grams, if grams, the marriage is exempted. If the match, both parents will be children's eight characters exchange, which is called for post, written on red paper, placed in front of the ancestors under the incense burner, after three days, the whole family is safe and sound, which is considered to be the success of the exchange post. If the family within three days out of a little thing, sent back to the Geng stickers, things to stop. After the success of the sticker, the female party to send a group of relatives to the male matchmaking, matchmaking see things do not see people, look at the house, livestock, fields, the female party that the male family can, please matchmaker to talk about the bride price, after a number of abrasion, the bride price to reach agreement, choose an auspicious day "pressure shoes", the male party will be shoes and "pressure sample money! The man will send the shoe samples and "pressure sample money" to the woman, and the girl will make a pair of shoes back to the man on the set date. When the man sees the shoes, he knows how good the girl's needlework is and expresses his satisfaction, and only then is the marriage finalized.
Choosing auspicious: the wedding from the success of the exchange of stickers, to the engagement, the line of recruitment, the wedding, the wedding ceremony, every aspect of the hall, we have to ask Mr. Star Diviner to choose auspicious, commonly known as picking the day. In addition to the auspicious day, the people of Nanchang is also fashionable every year, Lahai marriage, it is said that this is Qianlong Jiangnan, came to Nanchang on the eighth day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar, interpretation of an auspicious story, from now on, Lahai became an auspicious day, has been extended to the present.
Engagement: from the marriage is determined, the male party to choose the auspicious please "lead the East wine", also known as the engagement wine, wine, the male party will have been negotiating a good retainer, gold and silver jewelry, three generations of the whole post to the female side. The woman and her family's full allowance to the man. After the banquet, the man will also ask the matchmaker to send the "dragon and phoenix stickers" to the woman, the marriage to this is considered to be finalized.
Hiring: Before the wedding, the man sends a bride price to the woman, commonly known as the gift, also known as Na Cai. The bride-price has the present ocean, cloth, clothes, fish, meat, noodles, cakes and so on. Good family, fish, meat, noodles, cakes should be into the hundred, commonly known as "hundred meat hundred noodles". The woman to the man to send dowry, closet, table, dresser, the size of a set of five footbaths (symbolizing the five sons of Dengkuo), horse bucket, two red mopstick (a metaphor for good things come in pairs), quilts, clothes and other daily necessities. Rich parents even send their daughter's coffin as a dowry to the man. In a sense, a dowry for a parent who loves his daughter is more than the money spent on the marriage, and those patriarchal people in the society describe their daughters as money losers. So some poor people give birth to daughters they can't afford to raise on the one hand, and can't afford to marry on the other, and give them away at a young age to be child brides.
Wedding: the day before the wedding, to hold a wedding, the man wearing a crown, the woman's head to wear Yeon, so it is also known as the crown Yeon ceremony. The groom first bowed to heaven and earth, ancestors, thank them for their blessings, and then bowed to his parents, thanking his parents for their upbringing, and then to the elders of the same clan, thanking them for their care and teaching, and then, the groom's parents opened the door to welcome guests, the son sat in a special seat, the parents in the public square to teach the son. To four o'clock in the afternoon or so, the sedan chair parked in the center of the house, began on the flower alone, the band played music, the groom again to heaven and earth, ancestors, parents kowtow, they opened the banquet, guests, the banquet, everyone sings the He Lang song, the turn of who will not be sung, must be punished for the wine, the contents of the song of the He Lang and the content of the wedding-related, said are good words, trying to get a good luck, and some of it is a tease to make a fuss. Such as: a pair of candles and music and music, eight bald sitting on the table, today ate the flower Lang wine, tomorrow peeled the bald shell. Another example: a pair of flower candles lined up on both sides, thanks to friends and relatives to send gifts. One sends a happy tent hanging up, two sends the flower candles to light up, three sends the official candles full of red, four sends five pounds of hooves, five sends the golden chicken groom to eat, six sends a set of hatless clothes, seven sends a gold ribbon, eight sends a pair of satin shoes, nine sends the red character of the tea flower cake, ten sends the carp to jump the Dragon Gate. A pair of fresh flowers fresh and fresh, a plug inserted into the side of the dried beans, dried beans are originally made of beans, a grain of beans hair thousand smoke ....... Women's side of the day, the bride to parents and patriarchs kowtow, and then bundled hair open face, bundled hair is also called and maturity, that is, the hair bundled to the top of the head heart, made into a bun inserted flowers. Open face, that is, with a line to the face of sweat hair boundary off. From this day onwards, the bride starts not to eat, but only to eat some thread powder, meatballs, cinnamon balls, lotus seed soup and so on. Before getting married, the bride has to cry for marriage, which indicates that it is difficult to part with the love of her relatives. Mothers should also cry and sing songs about crying for marriage, such as: "My mother teaches her daughter a few things, the first thing to remember, sweeping the floor first sweeping the grandmother's room, don't touch the dust on the grandmother's body. ......" The crying marriage song is very rich in content, teaching daughters to be filial to their in-laws, respect for elders, thrift and frugality, husband and wife in harmony and so on. Mothers cry the more sad the better, cry the longer the better, the more cry the more hair, the longest crying marriage has 48 days long. The time to cry is before going to bed, before dawn.
Welcome to worship: this day the man with a sedan chair to the woman to meet the bride. Sedan chair is divided into three levels: the senior sedan chair is decorated with gorgeous, sedan chair is surrounded by red damask, embroidered on the dragon wind is auspicious, mandarin ducks playing in the water, magpies, peonies and other patterns, the full complement of ceremonies, deacons, sedan chairmen are dressed in red dress. The sedan chair of the middle and lower grades are simply decorated, and the deacons and sedan bearers are not allowed to wear dresses. The male party before the sedan chair please two old lady shine sedan chair, these two old people, to husband and wife, son and grandson full, blessed with longevity of the old man, shine sedan chair's purpose, check the sedan chair is smooth, if the sedan chair slanting to the left, that the bride's future will be the heart of the mother's home, if the sedan chair slanting to the right, that the bride's future will be the heart of the in-laws, the sedan chair is not biased, not slanted. Shining the sedan chair is completed, the sedan chair door on both sides shall be affixed to a couplet, the male side first affixed to the right side of the couplet, to the female side, the female side of the left side of the couplet, the couplet is rich in content, such as:
Male right side of the couplet: marrying a woman who is added to the mouth of the people and add Ding
Women's left side of the couplet: marrying Pan Lang has a field of rice and even more water
from the sedan chair when the marriage procession to lamps and dragons as a guide, and then a ceremonial team, drums and drums blowing the hand, sedan chair in the middle of and line! The sedan chair is in the center of the procession. Matchmaker in the official sedan chair or rickshaw with the sedan chair and travel. The groom is at home waiting for the palanquin back. Welcome only this day, the bride early in the morning to dress up, accompanied by elders sitting in the room. The woman saw the marriage palanquin to come, they hurriedly closed the door, the male representative asked to open the door, the female representative took the opportunity to bargaining, the two sides on behalf of bargaining, arguing will be at noon, the female representative is an inch, the last is still unsatisfactory, but then adjusted to mediate by the matchmaker, the male side and then make up for the payment of a variety of gifts, the woman can let the palanquin into the yard, which is called the more the more the more the more the more the more the more the more the more the more the more the more the more the more, the noise is just a form, never really move the fire! This is called the noisy more and more hair, noisy is just a form, never really get angry. Sedan chair into the yard, the female party sent two old lady of good fortune and longevity to shine the sedan chair, shine the sedan chair by the bride's mother holding a paper twist dipped in oil to the sedan chair singing "shine the sedan chair song": sedan chair to come early, the children's shoes to the old, the sedan chair to come late, couples and eyebrow, sedan chair corner of the four lamps, you go to your in-laws hair a thousand cigarettes.
The mother sings the Song of the Sedan Chair as a blessing for her daughter. The bride is very well dressed, wearing a wind crown Xia Phi, wearing an embroidered brocade robe, change off the children's shoes, put on red satin embroidered shoes, by the uncle or brother to carry on the sedan chair. Bride change off children's shoes put on new shoes, feet can not touch the ground, dip is considered to take away the bride's family wealth, the bride's parents sitting in the daughter's room, with her feet stepped on a bundle of red silk tied Chai, because the "Chai" and "wealth" homophonic, the bride's family's wealth with the daughter! not go away. Before the bride was on the sedan chair, the mother and sisters crying marriage crying to the climax, while crying and singing wedding songs, one after another, the more you cry the more hair. Drummers play music and put a big red rooster on the sedan chair. When they left, the rich family played three cannons in the sky, and the poor family sent off with firecrackers. Family members to the sedan chair to throw tea and rice, as the saying goes: tea and rice a hair, next time back is a guest.
All the way blowing and beating, the sedan chair finally arrived at the in-laws, was welcomed by the crowd. At this time, the groom went up to lift the curtain, the silver hairpin inserted into the bride's head, remove the bride's head hairpin inserted into their own head, which is called "change hairpin". If you do not change the hairpin, the bride's hands or head of jewelry in the arms, which is called "kissing". Some people throw tea leaves to the palanquin, which is called "breaking the brake". Then, the sedan chair carried to the wedding hall, the bride held down the bride, the groom uncovered the red head, the first two people worship sedan chair, the four sides of the sedan chair bowed. In the cheers of the master of ceremonies in the worship of heaven and earth, a worship of heaven and earth, two worship ancestors, three worship parents, and then, husband and wife to worship. The bridegroom leads the bride to the guests to pay respect to the guests, the guests to be worshiped after the reward money. After worship, the new couple drink a cup of wine, to pellet rice with meat, a lift to the sky, to express their gratitude to their parents, called "filial piety and respect for the rice. At this time, the banquet was held in the hall, the bride stood on a stool in the living room, and the children watching the event threw grains to the bride to show that the bride would have more children in the future. After the banquet, the guests deliberately threw chopsticks on the ground, the bride from the stool down to pick up the chopsticks, the name: under the cupboard.
Sitting on the bed: newcomers into the bridal chamber, sitting on the bed of five men and two women, the singer sang "sitting on the bed colorful words", while singing to the bed to throw jujubes, peanuts, cinnamon, melons and other food, the children to grab food to show that the early birth of a noble son, sing the colorful words, to each sitting on the bed of the children to distribute a gift or give money.
Cave: cave night to make a cave, make too much fire, rough, the more the more hair, make the bride open mouth smile until.
Three days back to the door: the third day of marriage is called the three Chao, the bride and groom both back to the father-in-law's home, and to bring gifts to the parents-in-law, while the parents-in-law are sent to the road to meet the son-in-law, called the "new guest", three Chao back to the door is also known as "over the door". The parents-in-law should give the new son-in-law under the reward money, hold a banquet, mother and daughter to talk about the love after goodbye. A couple to return to the in-laws that day, can not stay overnight. Until the first month of the following year, the parents-in-law choose auspicious to meet the new aunt, back to the father-in-law's home couples first to meet their parents, and then worship the temple, worship relatives and friends, elders, friends and relatives with gifts, this time the little two can stay a few days more, but couples can not be in the same bed. Special marriage
Child brides: the past son preference, gave birth to a girl to others as a child bride, adopt a child bride's parents, if there is a boy want to match is good, if there is no boy yet to wait for the future birth of a boy, which is also known as the hope of the Lang Bride, a lot of child brides from childhood by the adoptive parents of the discrimination and abuse, to adulthood, and adoptive parents of the son of the end of the marriage, can be a big difference in age, there are women older than the male five to fifteen years old between. There is a big age difference, with some women being five to fifteen years older than their male counterparts. The marriage rituals are relatively simple: worship at home, a few tables of wine and that's it. This kind of marriage is mostly unhappy.
Recruitment: a woman who has lost her husband, or a couple who have never had a boy in their lives, and whose family is rich, will recruit a son-in-law to join the family, called "supporting the door", and the person who joins the family is often discriminated against, and the children are born with the mother's name.
Re-marriage: In the past, people's thinking feudal concepts are serious, "men are superior to women"; "strong women do not marry two husbands", men can be renewed by the loss of their wives, while women lose their husbands, they will be widowed for life, commonly known as "keep the festival! "The widow's mental anguish and the hardships of life. Widow mental anguish, hard life, abused by in-laws, but also to avoid the taboo, regarded as "Kefu" is an unlucky person. In the unlikely event that she is forced to remarry, the first thing to do is to burn paper and kowtow to her late husband, return her in-laws' wealth and gifts, and show her appreciation for her upbringing. On the day of the marriage, you can only go out through the back door. Even worse, a girl engaged to be married, or said the in-laws, after the bride price, the fiancé died, the girl how to do, in the past there are four practices:
One of the fiancé in the fiancé's serious illness, the wedding, commonly known as the "flush", the flush of the disease, if the death of the girl will be a lifetime of widowhood. Lin Yutang's long novel "The Smoke and Clouds of Beijing" is such a thing, Zeng family's youngest son called Zeng Pingya, typhoid fever, sick into blindness, the Zeng family for his son's wedding, so that he and his cousin Manny in Jiangxi Province to get married, is the night to drink the cup of wine, and even more sick, Manny lifelong widowhood.
Two is the fiancé after the death of the girl holding a sign to worship, widowed for life. The end of the Qing dynasty, Nanchang County, Songshan Liu village, there is a first family named Liu Guanqing, he was an official in Jiangxi Dingnan, his youngest daughter Liu Tingzi betrothed to his cousin Koo Yisheng as his wife, after the Yisheng's family because of his father ate opium gradually fell, Tingzi's mother proposed the abolition of this marriage, with a high-priced bride price as the reason for the rejection of the Koo Yisheng out of the door, the cousin had no choice but to hang himself in a fit of pique. Pavilion girl sad to the extreme, the eighth day of the waxing moon, the sky floating goose feather snow, Pavilion dressed in mourning clothes, sitting in a white sedan chair, to the Koo family embrace the cousin's spirit of marriage, door-to-door widowhood, the later compiled into Nanchang words of love called "Koo family record", widely circulated in the community.
Third, the southern parents are more enlightened, after the death of his son, so that the woman to return the bride price, to eliminate the marriage contract.
Four also have a very few men and women have a certain emotional basis, the sudden death of the fiancé, the two sides negotiation, the bride price can not be returned, but the woman must send two things to the deceased; the first send a girl through the pants, to the deceased to wear; the second is to send a couplet to the New Year's Day is a traditional Chinese folk custom, is the people of the old to welcome the new, each other to express their good wishes in a way. In ancient times, the original meaning of the word "New Year's greeting" was to pay respects to the elders, including kowtowing to the elders, congratulating them on a happy New Year, and greeting them on a good life, etc. In the case of relatives and friends of the same generation, it was also said that they would pay respects to the elders. When there are relatives and friends of the same generation, they should also bow to congratulate them. Nanchang poet Lai Guan's "Early Spring" poem: "The new calendar will only be half-paper open, small pavilion is still gathered popping pole ash." Written at the time of the Nanchang Spring Festival burning bamboo poles. With the change of the times Nanchang people do not burn firecrackers on New Year's Eve, to the 24th day of the lunar month, Nanchang people began to "New Year's Eve". The night of the New Year's Eve, this day's dinner is called "Family Fun", every family member out of the house to rush home to eat New Year's Eve dinner, if something can not come back, family members should also be set up for its tableware to show that there is no shortage of reunion, over the New Year's Day this meal must be eaten rice cakes, braised fish, fried rice noodles, rice, rice, boiled paste, the meaning of which is, in turn, the year high, the year with the fish, the food crop, rice into strings, eight treasures into the fortune, rich every year; New Year's Eve Households should be red candles shine high, all night long, so Nanchang has "thirty night fire, Lantern night lights". Breakfast on the first day of the year, in accordance with Nanchang's custom to eat vegetarian, only eat noodles or vegetables and rice, do not dip meat, heralding a year of "vegetarian". The first day, the second day, each family began to visit relatives to pay tribute to the New Year. The seventh day of the first month, Nanchang people call it "on the seven", "on the seven big like the year," said the evening to meet the God of the stove to return to the position, the family also hosted a feast to celebrate. Lantern Festival night, hanging lanterns in front of every house, the family gathered together to eat "Lantern" (dumplings), followed by dragon lanterns, fireworks, firecrackers in the house are all shot, more than 20 days of the year is considered finished. Lantern Festival Lantern Festival is called "Lantern Festival" by Nanchang people, and it is also called "16th Festival" after the 15th Festival. On the day of the Lantern Festival, both city dwellers and rural residents must eat Lantern Festival to symbolize the reunion and happiness of the whole family. After eating the Lantern Festival, the Lantern Festival will begin. Nanchang neighboring counties in rural Lantern Festival lanterns, a variety of dragon lanterns, bench lamps, Guan Gong lamps, Cailian lamps and so on. The longest bench lantern consists of more than 1,000 benches with more than 1,000 people. When the bench lamps dance, they are neat and uniform, which is very spectacular. The Guan Gong Lantern in Taiping Township, Wanli District is very beautiful. Nowadays, the folk Lantern Festival has added various folk songs and dances. On the night of the Lantern Festival, lanterns are hung in every house. Village lights all night long, the sound of firecrackers, the sound of playfulness, to the night, until the sixteenth of the first month, in the joyful atmosphere, we began to set the 24th of Lunar New Year's Eve to remove the table will be lighted to put away, held to send God's activities to send God is finished, the New Year's activities also came to an end.
Wanshou Chaoxian Society Chaoxian Society, also known as the honoring of incense will be worship Xu Xun's temple. The most worshipped person in Nanchang is Xu Xun, who is called the Bodhisattva of Fortune by the people. According to legend, about 1500 years ago, 136-year-old Xu Zhenjun and his whole family of 42 people (even the house and the dogs and chickens) ascended to heaven together. In order to commemorate Xu Zhenjun, the people of Nanchang commonly designated the day of his ascension as his birthday. For this reason every year, Gao'an, Shanggao, Jing'an, Fengxin, Fengcheng, Jinxian and other counties of the townspeople, voluntary fasting and bathing, organized to the township, village, clan as a group, composed of Chaoxian will go to Xishan Wanshou pilgrimage to pay homage to, incense. Wanshou Chaoxian will have many taboos: 1, before the pilgrimage need to fast for a week; 2, must be bathed to change clothes; 3, slanting yellow incense bag on the shoulder to go in a group with gongs and drums. In order to be able to get the first pillar of incense in the early morning of the first day of August, pilgrims need to be rushed around the clock to Wanshougong. Anyone who gets the first pillar of incense is considered to be the luckiest person and is happier than winning the Scholarship. Longgang ascending Chinese people have always been the custom of ascending, Nanchang is also popular. Longsha on the outskirts of Nanchang City, since the Jin Dynasty, since the Southern Dynasties, is the resort of climbing. According to the song dynasty music history "tai ping huan yu ji" citation said: "the north has dragon sand, pile mound winding, white and high, and looks like a dragon shape, even five or six miles, the old custom of the ninth of september to ascend the place." The custom of ascending on September 9, Nanchang area is extremely prevalent. People or climb Mei Ling, or Tengwang Pavilion, in order to text will be friends, high gathering feast. The custom of climbing high on the ninth day of the ninth month has been inherited for a long time. Nanchang Tea Picking Opera Nanchang Tea Picking Opera originated in the Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty, and was formed by the combination of "Tea Lights" and "December Tea Picking Tune" of the Nanchang folk. Later, it absorbed the folk dance of Nanchang area and combined with it. Roughly through the "lamp play", "three-legged class", "half class" and other stages of development, after the liberation of the official name of "Nanchang tea-picking opera". The Nanchang Tea Casting Opera is characterized by witty and funny performances, beautiful and affectionate singing, and a rich Nanchang local flavor. It often uses coincidence, exaggeration, misunderstanding and other techniques to render the dramatic atmosphere. Especially in the lines of those hiatus, wrong pull language, antonym, Wanqu language and the clever use of countryside proverb, make the performance more interesting and lively. Nanchang Tea Casting Opera is good at comedy, song and dance. Lively clowns and small Dan, especially loved by the masses, tea-picking opera singing method requires men and women to sing with real voice, the traditional preserved repertoire of the four records: "Ming Grievance Record", "Koo Record", "Sedan Chair Record", "Pumpkin Record", collectively known as the "Nanchang Four Records". They are taken from the Nanchang folk tales.