The Emperor Will Welcome Him

From the perspective of Confucianism,couples are the first in human relations,and two people become couples only after weddings.Therefore,Confucianism has valued weddings since ancient times.In the “six ceremonies” of a wedding,“Qin ying”(the ceremony of meeting bride)is the most important.Since ancient times,there have been many controversies about “Qin ying”.The most controversial one is whether the emperor should also carry it out.This article is based on the theme of “The Son of Heaven should also implement Qin ying” and investigates the ceremony from the perspective of New Text in the study of Confucian classics.The article consists of three parts.The first chapter is an investigation into “Qin ying”.Firstly,it illustrates that the ceremony originated from the Marriage by Capture,from the perspective of folklore and anthropology.Then combined with a large number of handed down documents and underground documents,it has been proved that the ceremony has been generally implemented in the pre-Qin Dynasty.Confucianism that values human relations has ritualized and systemized the original custom of “robbing marriage” into a “Qin ying”.In this process,“Qin ying” has come into contact with human relations,and its meaning has become richer and more significant.The second chapter is the identification of whether the emperor should also carry out “Qin ying”,focusing on the topic,combing and commenting on the viewpoints of Confucian Scholars.The main point which points out that the emperor should not carry out “Qin ying” mainly includes three parlances: “the son of Heaven is the most respected”,“meeting in the post station of capital city” and “the fatherless person shouldn't meet bride”.Tso Chuan is the representative that believes the first opinion that the son of Heaven who is the most respected shouldn't implement the ceremony.Cheng Yi and Kong Anguo are the representatives who believe the second view that the son of Heaven should meet the bride from the post station of capital city but overseas.Ao Jigong and Wan Sida insist on the last opinion that someone can't implement the ceremony without the command of his father.There are two sayings against them: “Qin ying” is a conventional ceremony which should be carried out by all men.This parlance is represented by Gongyang Zhuan and Guliang Zhuan.‘Qin ying' is a ceremony of Spring and Autumn which is created by Confucius,which is represented by He Xiu.The third chapter discusses why the emperor must meet the bride.It is pointed out that “Qin ying” was created by King Wen in order to show the meaning of “Qin qin”(love for relatives).Confucius carried forward the meaning of King Zhang Wen by “Qinying with Coronal”,and saved the disadvantages of “Zun zun(respect for seniors)” with “Qin qin(love for relatives)”.Confucian scholars of Han Dynasty put forward the proposition: getting the ceremonies of the son of Heaven on analogy of scholars'.On the one hand,that makes “Qin yin” of the son of Heaven in a concrete and operable way.On the other hand,it denies the existence of “ceremonies of the son of Heaven” which is beyond all others.It shows the stance that the monarchy cannot surpass the Way of Heaven,which scholars of New Text in the study of Confucian classics insist on.