Chapter 6 Section 4 Conditions for Establishment of Marriage

In the eyes of modern people, surname and family name are the same thing, but before the Spring and Autumn Period, surname and family name were two different concepts.At first, the surname was used to indicate matrilineal blood. Until the Western Zhou Dynasty, there was a rule that women called surnames and men called surnames.The initial surname may be the name of the tribe. Later, some tribes developed, the population multiplied, there were many branches, and they were divided into many different tribes and even countries. At this time, the surname can only be used as a symbol of blood relationship.

The reason for the surname is more complicated.For example, Yu, the ancestor of the Xia Dynasty, was surnamed Si because his mother was pregnant by swallowing coix; Qi, the ancestor of the Shang Dynasty, was surnamed Zi because his mother swallowed swallow's eggs.Legend has it that the Yellow Emperor took Ji as his surname because he lived on the bank of the Jishui River, and later only Houji inherited the Ji surname.In the early years of the Western Zhou Dynasty, the feudal lords were enfeoffed, among which there were 53 countries with the surname Ji.However, most of the descendants of these countries with the surname Ji changed their surnames to the name of the country, the name of the fief, or the name of their father, so there were not many surnames later.

Shi was originally the name of the tribes with the same surname, but later it specifically referred to the leader of the tribe.Later, due to the emergence of the country, different official positions appeared, and many of these official positions later became clan names.At this time, the surname represents a person's status and identity, so only nobles have it, and civilians and slaves have nothing to do with it.Due to the hereditary tradition of feuding the country and official positions, the surname can also be hereditary.Since one surname can be differentiated into many surnames, and the descendants of the same surname can also generate different surnames, the number of surnames greatly exceeds the number of surnames.After the Warring States period, because people generally called their surnames but not their surnames, there was a phenomenon of combining surnames.

The non-marriage of the same surname is probably an evolutionary form of the ancient extramarital marriage.In terms of blood relationship, the Shang Dynasty also emphasized that close relatives should not marry, and intermarriage can only be allowed after the fifth generation.King Wu's great-grandfather, grandfather, and father all married with different surnames. King Wu himself married the daughter of Lu Wang (Jiang Taigong), whose surname was Jiang.Zhou Li stipulated very strictly that "the same surname does not marry". As long as they have the same surname, "marriage cannot be established even if it is a hundred generations" ("Book of Rites·Biography").Therefore, Zhou Tianzi and the princes with the same surname Ji can only have the same vassal states with different surnames, such as Qi State (Jiang surname), Chen State (Cui surname), Qi State (Si surname), Song State (Zi surname), and Western countries. The Qin State (surnamed Ying) that rose and the Chu State (surname Mi [mi]) that rose in the south and other countries intermarried.In the Spring and Autumn Period, Lu Zhaogong married a wife from the State of Wu, but the surname of Lu State was Ji, and the surname of Wu State was also Ji. At that time, some people accused Lu Zhaogong of saying, "A king knows propriety, but who doesn't know propriety?" According to the routine obituary, the princes express their condolences, and the funeral at the wife level cannot be performed. "Zuo Zhuan" records: "Mrs. Zhao Gong's wife Mencius died, and Zhao Gong married Wu, so the surname is not written." "Not writing the surname" is a way to avoid marrying the same surname in violation of etiquette.At that time, not only did one have to identify a wife's surname, but even buying a concubine whose surname was unknown had to be solved by divination.It can be seen how much the concept of not marrying with the same surname was valued in the Zhou Dynasty.

Regarding the non-marriage of the same surname, someone explained it physiologically at that time: "Zheng Shudan said: Men and women with the same surname will not be born in different countries" ("Zuo Zhuan Twenty-five Years of Duke Xi"). "Mandarin Yueyu" also said: "If you have the same surname and do not marry, you are afraid that you will not reproduce." Even more important than physical reasons are political reasons.Aristocrats can use the same surname not to marry to connect power and maintain clan relations. This point is clearly stated in "Book of Rites·Jiao Special Sacrifice": "Marrying a different surname, so it is far away and farewell." "Fuyuan" refers to the support between different surnames, and "thick farewell" refers to the distinction within the same surname, so as not to disrupt the relationship between concubine, elder and younger, closeness, etc. within the same surname.

The age of marriage before the Shang Dynasty is no longer available.In the Zhou Dynasty, the etiquette system stipulated the age of marriage: men held the crown ceremony (a man's coming-of-age ceremony) at the age of 20, married at the age of 30, and "began to deal with men's affairs"; Marriage", if there are special reasons, you can not marry until the age of 23.The stipulations in the etiquette system are very inconsistent with the actual age of marriage. In real life, the age of first marriage of people in the Zhou Dynasty was very low.According to relevant historical records, princes of the emperor often get married before they are 20 years old.For example, Duke Huan of Lu got married when he was about 18 years old. Duke Xiang of Lu and Duke Xuan of Lu got married earlier, and they were married and had children when they were about 14 or 15 years old.In the scholar-bureaucrat class, they often get married around the age of 20.According to "Confucius's Family Language", Confucius married his wife at the age of 19.Sometimes, in order to increase the population, the rulers also forcibly stipulate that marriage should not be delayed.For example, at the end of the Spring and Autumn Period, after the defeat of King Goujian of Yue, in order to implement the plan of restoring the country of "ten years of gathering together, ten years of lessons", in addition to taking the lead with the generals to have more children, it is also stipulated that men who do not marry at 20 and women who do not marry at 17 should be punished. its parents.Because the actual age of first marriage is far from the age of late marriage stipulated in Zhou Rites, some people later interpreted "marry at thirty and marry at twenty" as "a widower if you don't marry at thirty, and outdated if you don't marry at twenty." "Are.

Marriage etiquette in China appeared at the end of the pairing marriage system.The initial wedding was very simple, and then it became more and more complicated.At the end of primitive society, fishing and hunting were still the main means for people to make a living, and animal skins were the most expensive at that time.Animal skins can not only keep out the cold, but also symbolize men's bravery and wisdom, so there is a legend that "Fuxi made a marriage, with the ribbon as a gift" ("Historical Records Bu Sanhuang Ji").Li means a pair, and "Lipi" means two pieces of buckskin.

In the Xia and Shang Dynasties, there was already the saying of "welcome in person at court" and "welcome in person at hall" (see volume 58 of Du You's "Tong Dian").In the Zhou Dynasty, weddings became more and more perfect and cumbersome. The "Book of Rites: Rites" clearly stipulated this: "There are six rituals in marriage: Nacai, asking names, Naji, Nazheng, asking for a date, and welcoming in person." These are the so-called "six rituals", that is, the six etiquettes and procedures that must be followed in marriage. After practicing one by one, the marriage can be regarded as a serious, formal and legal union.

nace.This is the first item of the wedding, that is, the beginning of the wedding stage.When a man's family chooses a woman as the object of marriage proposal, he invites a matchmaker to come to the woman's home to talk about marriage, and invites the matchmaker "Zhiyan" as a courtesy to meet, explain his intentions, and solicit the intention of the woman's parents.Why do you want to send geese as a gift?Geese are migratory birds, and there must be a fixed time for moving from south to north. Males belong to yang and females belong to yin. Geese come from south to north according to yin and yang. The geese are a ritual, which symbolizes the harmony of yin and yang between men and women.Among the six rites, except for "Na Zheng", other etiquettes use geese as the gift of admiration. In later generations, geese became more and more rare, so geese, ducks, and chickens were gradually replaced.

Ask for a name.After the woman accepts the goose, if she feels that the man's family is suitable, she will issue the woman's Nian Geng horoscope, and the matchmaker will return to the man's house to find a fortune teller.Because the procedures of "Na Cai" and "Ask for Name" are mainly completed by matchmakers, they were later called "marriage" and "matchmaking". Najib.After asking the man's name, he used the tortoise shell yarrow [shishi] grass to divination through the wizard, so it is also called "Buji".After divination, it will be known whether the marriage between a man and a woman is harmonious. If there is no conflict, an envoy or a matchmaker will be sent to the woman's home to inform.In later generations, Najib evolved into exchanging invitations and engaging in marriage.This is a procedure that formalizes the marriage contract.

Accept levy.Na refers to accepting money, and the levy is "success".Nazheng also means "accept wealth first, and then get married".In the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, this procedure was also called "Nabi" or "Currency" (coin is a general term for goods), and clearly stipulated the quantity of materials to be married into coins according to different grades.At that time, people usually used silk as gifts.Later generations called this ceremony "betrothal gift", "betrothal gift" or "excessive gift". Sacrifice ceremony is the key to the marriage of a man and a woman. For those who have not passed the taxation, there is a saying that "no money will not be handed over or kissed" and "no money will not meet each other", so both parties value it very much. Please period.Also known as a due date ceremony.The man's family chooses an auspicious day to marry.In the Zhou Dynasty, this day was often set from the spring to the beginning of summer. The specific date was determined by the wizard and agreed by the families of both parties. The "makeup reminder" of later generations evolved from the date.The wedding day is approaching, and the man sends someone to inform the woman to set up makeup for the bride as soon as possible, so as to welcome the marriage in person in time.After the woman receives the dowry reminder, she will send the dowry to the man's house to "spread the house", arrange everything one by one, and wait for the establishment of a family. Welcome.The last of the six rituals.When King Wen of Zhou got married, he personally greeted him in Weishui River, so the Zhou Dynasty made this custom for marriage.On the day of marriage, a man must go to the woman's house to greet her with courtesy, so it is called "welcome in person".On the wedding day, the male family sends a carriage (the sedan chair was used later) to meet the bride, and the groom rides a horse to greet the bride.Later, through evolution, the groom often does not go to marry in person. After returning home, the bride and groom worship the heaven and earth, the ancestral tablet, the high hall, and the husband and wife worship each other, and then drink the 卺 (jin tight) wine to get married.