Chapter 10 Chapter Three Adult Etiquette and Customs

The crown ceremony is the ritual of crowning a man when he enters adulthood in ancient times.According to the book of ceremonies, in ancient times, men usually held the crowning ceremony at the age of 20.However, the emperors of the Zhou Dynasty were quite special, and crown ceremonies were often held at the age of 12 to 15.For example, "Wen Wang will be crowned on the twelfth year of his reign, and he will be crowned on the fifteenth day of Cheng Wang." ("General History · Lie") The crowning ceremony was carried out in the ancestral temple, which reflects that the crowning ceremony is a very solemn etiquette.Most of the people who preside over this ceremony are the fathers of the crown recipients (there are also elder brothers who preside over the crown ceremony for younger brothers).Before the crowning ceremony, it is necessary to "divinate (shi is) the guest of the day", that is, to determine the auspicious day for the crown ceremony through divination, and which "guest" will be invited to crown the youth.Why did the ancients attach so much importance to crown ceremony? "Book of Rites · Guanyi" pointed out: "Respecting the crown is the reason why the ceremony is important, and the ceremony is the foundation of the country." In the eyes of the ancients, the crown ceremony is an important part of a person's etiquette education. It also grasped the fundamentals of governing the country that "the monarch and ministers are upright, father and son are close, the elders and the younger are reconciled, and then the righteousness is established" ("Book of Rites·Guanyi").Therefore, the choice of time, place and winners are very careful.

On the day of crowning, the father of the crowned person first sets up the seat for the crowned person at the north side of the zuo (zuo do) step of his ancestral temple.The so-called "East Step" is the east step, where the host receives guests.The crowning of the first son in the palace means that from then on, the crown recipient has the right to receive guests instead of his father.At the beginning of the crowning ceremony, the crowned person will receive the crown seat when he comes out of the east room, and the guests who assist in the crowning will comb his hair, pull up a bun, add hairpins, and wear 緉〔shi何〕.After the bun is completed, the crown recipients will be crowned by the crown recipients who are selected by divination in advance among the guests.The crown is an ordinary hat worn by nobles, but it is very different from the hats of later generations.The crown does not completely cover the top of the head like a modern hat, but has a crown loop on the bun, with a not too wide crown beam covering the top of the head from front to back.The function of the crown is mainly to bind the hair, and it is also a decoration.The ancients used crowns to name clothes, and wearing different crowns should be matched with corresponding clothes. Therefore, although the crowning ceremony is called adding a crown, in fact, each addition of a crown also includes a change of clothes.

Crowning is generally added three times.First of all, add Zi [zi Zi] cloth crown, that is, a hat made of black linen, which means that you will not forget your origin (or that you can rule people and family from now on).Secondly, add leather Bianguan, that is, a hat made of several pieces of white deerskin, which means that you will serve in the military from now on.Finally, the Juebian crown is added, which is a kind of hat second only to the crown.This kind of crown is generally 0.8 feet wide and 1.2 feet long.Because its shape is like a jue (ancient wine vessel), and the jue is like a sparrow, it is also called the sparrow crown.This kind of crown is the attire worn by Shi Zhujun when offering sacrifices, and adding this crown means that he has the right to participate in sacrifices from then on.The above is the crown ceremony of ordinary scholars, and the crown is three plus.If it is the crown ceremony of the princes, the crown will be added four times, that is, on the basis of the three additions of the scholar's crown ceremony, the Xuanmian will be added.The Xuanmian is the crown for the princes to offer sacrifices to forests, lakes, tombs, Yan and all things in the four directions.If it is the crown ceremony of the son of heaven, the crown is five additions, that is, on the basis of the four additions of the princes' crown ceremony, the crown (gun roll) is added.Dagon crown is the crown used by the emperor to worship the ancestors.

After crowning, congratulate the crowned youth with wine.Then the recipient went down the west steps to meet his mother.After seeing his mother, go back to the east of the west steps, and the person in charge of crowning will teach him characters.Zi is Biao Zi, which is an alias chosen by relatives and friends according to the meaning of the name when the crown ceremony is held.Why take the word?Because the name was given by the father, it is mainly used in childhood; after growing up, it is not appropriate for others to call his name, so another word has to be chosen.There is a meaningful connection between a character and a name, which usually explains the nature and meaning of the name, so it is also called "Biao De".After the word of fate, the crowned person puts on a black top hat and dress, and pays respects to brothers and sisters, Jun, Qing, doctor and Mr. Xiang (retired officials living in the countryside).All kinds of visits are to show that the crown recipient is an adult and can be an official, start a family, start a business, and have children.

The crown ceremony is a grand ceremony in the etiquette and customs of life, which has been attached great importance to in the past dynasties.After the Qin and Han Dynasties, although there were slight changes in individual ceremonies, such as one or two additions to the number of crowns, and crown princes sometimes crowned in the Taiji Hall, the form of crown ceremony has been retained for a long time and has always been popular in ancient society.