The Transition Of Wedding And Funeral Customs And The Reconstruction Of The Function Of The Families

The marriage and funeral customs which contain marriage and funeral ceremony is a typical phenomenon of inheritance of traditional culture. This article tries to reveal the marriage and funeral ceremonies as a series of folk activities which is influential continually from generation to generation. Besides, this article has also stretches its content to the folk activities such as selection of spouses, the acceptance and presentation of betrothal money, Child bearing and the old people's support, etc. To the author's opinion, only from these angles of views, can we approach close to and also reflect Zhengning people's lives. Except the introduction and the conclusion, the main body of the article contains nine parts:1. Located in the southeast part of Qingyang City, Gansu Province, the country of Zhengning is a small but complete embodiment of the characters of the Loess Plateau, which can be summarized as "a crisscross network of gullies and a fragmented geographical features. " Besides, low family income and the outdated modes of cultural notion have also exerted a direct and potential influence on the customs of weddings and funerals and the construction of the functions of families.2. The traditional matrimonial value, as is used to say, "The command of parents and the good offices of a good between is the proper way of contracting a marriage." has been varied during its course of spread. The function of a matchmaker is still indispensable, especially for a family that has an unmarried young. As free courtship has been tied by traditions and social conditions, a special square for the unmarried young which is called "The Matrimonial Market" has quietly come into existence, which is helpful for the young to expend the scope to find a partner in marriage.3. The traditional matrimonial values of "A couple should produce a male heir to continue the family line." have been copied again in people's value system. "A man's motive for marriage is to find a wife that can give birth to boys and take care of the whole family." "There are three ways of being a bad son. The most serious is to have no heir." all these understandings toward the meaning of marriage have been shackled by thousands of years' traditional notions.4. Being predicated on mutual benefit of each part, the value of a female in a marriage is embodied by her price, so it is no doubt a mercenary marriage for her. The raising speed of betrothal money is much faster than the family's growth of income, the acceptance and presentation of betrothal money is restricted by "the quotation" of the matrimonial market, its undulation follows the latent principle of "mutual complement".5. After thousands years of extendibility, the traditional significance of wedding ceremony is still clearly discernible, whose aim is to select a spouse prudently, restrain marriage tightly and express to the social public and so on. The legal restraint is only a kind of procedure for a couple's marriage, while the folk custom plays a leading role in matrimony, for the folk matrimonial etiquette is much easier to be proved by the public.6. Comparing the two parties' behaviors in a wedding ceremony, it is easy for us to find out the psychological differences of them. On one hand, a double blessing has descended upon the groom's family, for they have gained both a wife and a large quantity of money after the ceremony. Especially the "Kowtow Money" is quite a considerable income. On the other hand, the bride's family has experienced a mixed feeling of grief and joy. Their weeping marriage expresses a complicated emotion which shows the daughter's pain to part from her mother forever, and their everlasting miss of each other. Meanwhile, the weeping marriage reflects the bride's pressure and worry for her transformation of the family role.7. Child bearing is the main function of a family. Give birth to a child is a kind of dedication for a couple, which also reveals a sense of responsibility. It is the key value of children bearing to produce a male heir to continue the family line and to rear a male heir against old age. Backward culture and economy has led up to even more backwardness of culture and economy. People who have merged into such a vicious circle have firmly made up their minds to give birth to boys, and they try their best to bear as many boys as they can, which has become their intense desire. 8. Respect and support the old is a fine tradition of Chinese nation, and is also one of the basic functions of a family. However, the speed of economic growth can not catch up with the rhythm of social vicissitude. In such a kind of social condition, the education of culture is doomed to fall behind and loose its direction. The lack of reverence for the old, the attenuation of people's provision for the aged, an early childbirth, and a high birth rate have been seriously disloyal to the original notion of children bearing to produce a male heir to continue the family line and to rear a male heir against old age.9. The funeral is one of the folk customs which have been completely inherited. Though it is tedious and ceremonious, the funeral reposes the people's ethic of final duty which is believed as "the cautious end of a late senior family member shows the respect of the family members who are still living to their ancestors." And also, consecrate the family's ancestors in order to gain their blessing and protection embodies the folk's complicated emotion. Behind such phenomenon, hides the competition among brothers for the benefits of the funeral.