The bride price was originally a "gift", that is, one of the marriage procedures of men and women in ancient times, and it was a big gift to be prepared in the process of accepting gifts. Because it is a lot of wealth, people simply call it a "gift". According to the Book of Rites, in the early years of the Western Han Dynasty, the Liu royal family had such a rule: "After being hired, there are 200 Jin of gold and 12 horses; Madame has fifty catties of gold and four horses. " 200 Jin of gold in Han Dynasty (some scholars think it is copper), which is equivalent to 49,600 grams in modern times. Based on the current international transaction price per gram of 330 yuan, this dowry is nearly16.368 million yuan.
This is a lot, but the actual expenditure is much higher than this standard. For example, when Liu Ying, Emperor Hui of Han Dynasty, married Princess Luyuan, "20,000 Jin of gold, 0/2 horse/kloc".
Gold and silver were one of the necessary gifts for a wife in the ancient emperor's era, and so was the Qing Dynasty. According to the book of Qing Dynasty, the standard of Manchu Dynasty is: 220 taels of gold, 22,000 taels of silver, one gold tea tube, two silver tea tubes, two silver pots, 1,000 satin horses, 20 Marvin horses, 40 idle horses and 20 pairs of armor. The emperor will also give generous rewards to his parents-in-law: gold 120 Liang, silver 5200 Liang, a gold tea cone, a silver tea cone, a silver basin and so on.
The emperor's wife, the queen, was a balance of yin and yang in ancient times, and the emperor was the anode and the sky; The queen is the cathode of the earth. The emperor and the queen are really a match made in heaven. Although the emperor has seventy-two concubines in three palaces and six courtyards, he can only have one wife-monogamy was also practiced in feudal times in China, but he can also "have more concubines" and allow him to marry small concubines. The emperor's wife is the "mother of the country" of etiquette, the emperor's gift is amazing, and the queen's dowry is extremely rich.
The emperor has a gift when he marries his wife. Does the woman have to marry the emperor? That's for sure. You have to buy a dowry to be a queen. But the emperor's husband's family has nothing, and the dowry that is casually accompanied may not be suitable for the palace. Therefore, the royal family will participate in the dowry purchase, and the expenses will be "paid" by the royal family.
For example, Zai Chun, Emperor Tongzhi of the Qing Dynasty, married Alut's wife, the daughter of imperial academy Chongqi, and Alut's wife's dowry was located in the palace. At that time, it was presided over by Empress Dowager Ci 'an and Cixi, and formulated by ministers of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Rites through collective discussion. This dowry amounts to 572 pieces, all of which are plural. For example, there are as many as 28 crowns, including 8 crowns, 12 crowns and 8 hats, each of which is inlaid with precious stones. This point is recorded in detail in the Red Archives of Tongzhi Wedding in Qing Dynasty.