浅析中西方传统婚礼文化的差异.doc

Analysis on the Differences in Traditional Wedding Culture between China and Western Countries Applicant: Supervisor: Faculty: May 10, 2011Contents摘 要iiAbstractiii1. Introduction12. The origin of the Chinese and western wedding23. The differences between Chinese and western traditional wedding ceremony33.1 The difference in wedding contractor33.2 The difference in wedding location43.3 The difference in wedding dress43.4 The difference in wedding process54. To analyze the reasons which cause the differences between Chinese and Western wedding culture74.1 Social system84.2 Chinese and western values toward marriage84.3Religion94.4 Behavior criterion105. The measures of reducing conflict in wedding culture between China and western countries, promoting culture exchange and integration105.1 Studying western countries etiquette105.2 Changing students way of thinking by changing teachers way of thinking105.3Guiding students to contact with western culture materials diffusely115.4 Blending of wedding culture116. Conclusion13Bibliography15摘 要婚姻是一种人们为了维持正常的社会生活、社会风俗和法律规范化了的社会关系、社会行为。婚礼是一种法律公证仪式或宗教仪式，用来庆祝一段婚姻的开始，代表结婚。人们通过婚礼，把丈夫和妻子的关系公开并希望藉此能够得到大家的祝福。婚俗是文化风俗的重要组成部分。对于中西方婚礼文化来讲，两者有着自己不同的特点。由于全球融合趋势的影响，许多分歧阻碍了人们的交流，因此，我们必须了解不同的文化，促进交流与融合。婚姻是社会生活的重要组成部分，因此我们可以以婚礼文化为突破口，探讨中国与西方国家传统婚礼文化的差异，基于对两种不同文明之间存在不同文化的比较，找出产生这种差异的原因与历史背景，如社会系统，价值取向，宗教信仰，行为规范等等，从而我们可以采取措施减少这种差异给我们带来的负面影响，如学习西方的礼仪，改进教学方案，引导学生更广泛的接触西方文化，加大中国和西方国家文化融合等等。本论文旨在通过研究中西方不同的婚礼习俗来分析中西方传统婚礼文化的差异，并对造成这种差异的原因进行初步的探讨，从而了解中外传统文化和历史背景，加强人们对中西方历史的学习，提高英语水平和开阔视野，促进中西方文化的交流与融合。 关键词：婚俗 文化差异 文化交流 Abstract Marriage is a kind of social behavior that people do it in order to maintain the normal social life, social custom and social relation. A wedding is a kind of legal notarial ritual or a religious ritual, and its to celebrate the start of a marriage. People who hold the wedding tell everyone their husband and wifes public relations and hope to take this opportunity to get everybodys blessing. Marriage is an important part of culture. For Chinese and western wedding culture speaking, the two both have their own different features. This paper is to explore the differences in traditional wedding culture between Chinese and western countries. Based on the cultural differences between the two kinds of different civilizations, we can find out the reasons and different historical background, such as social system, value orientation, religious beliefs, behavior standards, etc. Due to the influence of the tendency of globalization, many differences hamper peoples communication, therefore, we must understand the different culture, promote the exchange and integration. Marriage is an important part of social life, so that we can make the wedding culture as a breakthrough point to analyze the factors hampering the globalization, thus we can take steps to reduce the negative impact that these differences have made, such as learning western etiquette, improving teaching plan, guiding the students to contact with western culture more diffusely, and increasing the blending of wedding culture, etc. This paper aims to study Chinese and western different wedding custom to analyze the cultural differences between Chinese and western traditional wedding ceremony, and the reasons why the differences have be caused carries on the preliminary discussion, and to learn Chinese and western traditional culture and history background, strengthen the study of Chinese and western history, improve our English level and broaden our horizons, promote the Chinese and western cultural exchange. Key words ：Marriage custom Culture differences Culture exchange151. IntroductionFor any country, wedding culture is one of the important reflections of social culture. Wedding is one of the great important events in peoples life because of its special significance. It means peoples another new life begins. As China has becoming more and more advanced these years, the connection between China and Western world become closer and closer. In order to get a better understanding of each other, there are a lot of people take exploration and analysis. All of them have made the important significance and influence, and have made a lot of achievements. China is a traditional country, and its traditional wedding is always bedecked with red, and it looks jubilant. While the Western peoples thought is more open, the traditional wedding is always bedecked with white which represents purity and romance, etc.This thesis aims to study Chinese and western different wedding custom to understand its related culture and history, promote the Chinese and western cultural exchange. Here the author first analyzes the origin of Chinese and western wedding culture. Second, the author has a detail discussion on its differences: The difference in wedding contractor, wedding location, wedding dress, and wedding processes. Then, the author analyzes the reasons which cause the differences between Chinese and Western wedding culture, and talks about the measures of promoting cultural exchange and integration.2. The origin of the Chinese and western weddingIn China, the wedding is a big process in a persons life. “婚”(Hun, means wedding), there is another word pronounce the same with婚:昏(Hun, means dusk). According to the comments of Zhen Xuan(A great master who was accomplished in Confucianism ), the bridegroom must marry the bride before dusk . So people always choose the wedding time at dusk, because it is the time that “Yin” comes and “Yang” goes. Then people add 女(nv, means female) beside the “昏” , and it comes “婚” . In ancient times, marriage was not only fulfilling the male and females desire but also have one mission: to have a son to carry on the family name. Therefore, marriage is not only the individual behavior, but also a great family event, so people always pay more attention to it. Even in modern China, parents often worry about their childrens marriage when the latters are in the proper age. This kind of situation is incomprehensible in the western countries.China consists of many nationalities since the ancient times and all nationalities have different marriage custom and etiquette. Since China stepped into the civilized society Shang dynasty, the wedding began to have a set of etiquette, and then was recognized as the wedding rules later. This is a classic rule: Confucian six etiquettes. It refers to offering initial presents for brides family, requesting for brides birth date, divining bride and grooms birth dates, giving the formal gifts for the brides family, selecting the wedding date, wiving the bride. In the west, Greek civilization is the base of western wedding culture, the wedding history is recorded in the Koran. It says: men and women are the reflection of the spouse. At the ancient time, the slaves have no right to marry others and women have no right to choose her husband, everything was decided by their father, this was very unequal. Until 19 century, the traditional weddings patterns were formed. A lot of wedding custom have distinctive symbol and connotation. The bible says, in ancient times, men must use a ring to propose to women, and this custom origin from 9 century the Pope Nicholas I enacted the law that men present a ring to women is an absolutely necessarily process .People always get married in June as June was named in Juno who is a goddess of love. It says Juno will take care of the new couples who get married in June. 3. The differences between Chinese and western traditional wedding ceremony Each country has its own wedding custom, the wedding ceremony is an important part of each countrys culture. With the development of the society and the effects of globalization, the forms of wedding are unceasing changing. Our wedding culture also constantly influenced by western wedding culture. Nowadays most young people in China often choose western-style wedding. How many differences sexist between Chinese traditional wedding culture and western traditional wedding culture? In this article, we discuss the wedding contractor, wedding location, wedding dress and wedding process to find out their differences. 3.1 The difference in wedding contractor In China, from time immemorial, there is a view that a man should get married at a proper age, and so should a girl. Only the boy can continue familys line. After marriage, women should obey all the rules that the husband told her. So, in China, the traditional wedding undertaking side is generally the grooms parents. The grooms parents think other peoples daughter marry their son, then she became one part of the family, so they will give the brides family some gifts and the brides parents prepare some dowry to their daughter. At the wedding date, the grooms parents invite some relatives and friends at their home or in a hotel to have a dinner. But in western countries, wedding contractor is not the grooms parents, while the brides parents will arrange the wedding ceremony. Because they think after their daughter gets married, they would never take care of their daughter like before; they need the son-in-law take care of their daughter well, therefore the brides parents hold a wedding ceremony, and send their best wishes to the new couple.3.2 The difference in wedding locationFor our Chinese people, the wedding should be grand and lively. The holder invites many friends and relatives, so the wedding location commonly is chosen in the place where the traffic is convenient and the space is capacious. While the Western wedding gives prominence to sobriety and sanctity. The wedding location is generally in a church or some place comparative quiet. The wedding is always in perfect order. But compare with Chinese wedding, it seems not so cheerful. 3.3 The difference in wedding dressIn China, red is a symbol of jollification and happiness, therefore in the traditional Chinese wedding ceremony, the bridegroom and the bride will wear red dress. The dragon and phoenixs pattern in China are always necessary in the wedding dress and they occupy an important position in wedding dress. According to ancient Chinese legend, dragons symbolize the male and phoenixes symbolize the female, both imply auspicious. As the dragon is the symbol of the emperor, therefore, In China, the groom usually dresses in red robe, wears a black hat, and puts a big red cloth flower before the chest. While the brides dress could have big phoenix designs, and wear chaplet and red robe. This dress root in the Qing dynasty GaoMing lady (the most important Monsignors wife)s dress, which is the symbol of power and position. Because it is full of jewelry, and extremely symbolize natural, graceful. It soon became the object that people admired and gradually evolved into rich familys wedding dress. And when the daughters of ordinary family married, they usually dressed in red skirt, a red head covering and red embroidered shoes, use a red sedan carried her into the husbands family. Western wedding presents more romantic. The brides dress is generally white, the bridegroom is a trim black dress, white and black make the whole wedding appears solemn. In western traditional wedding ceremony, the grooms dress has no special provisions. If the bridegroom is a soldier, military officers or noble, they wear their uniforms, if the bridegroom is just the ordinary man, he can just wear a new suit .The brides dress is root in the Catholics ceremony clothing. The dress can use four words to generalize: New, Borrowed, Blue, Old. New refers to the brides white wedding dress must be new, it is the symbol of purity, and the mark that the bride will start a new life. Old refers to the brides white head gauze must be the old gauze that her mother used, says the bride will not forget parents nurturance. Borrow refers to the brides handkerchief, it must be borrowed from her female friends, and means the bride wont forget the friendship. Blue refers to the brides ribbons must be blue, means the bride will be loyalty to love. Because of different history and tradition, the traditional wedding dress is always various in colors and styles, Chinas wedding dress presents happier, while the westerns looks more romantic, solemn. 3.4 The difference in wedding processThe wedding process is the most important part of the wedding, the wedding process also have different styles. China has 56 nationalities and there are some differences in the wedding process of different nationality. In this paper, we mainly talk about the Han nationalitys wedding process: 1. The groom should offer sacrifices to ancestors before he goes with an escorting team to marry the bride. On the way to the brides house, the groom will give roadside pedestrians candy. 2. On the way to the brides house, the escorting team must set off firecrackers to show celebration. 3. When the groom and the escorting team arrive at the brides house, the groom should give red packets to the brides family and friends who are waiting for him beside the door, then he can go into the bride s house.4. The new couple also need offer sacrifices to ancestors before the bride leave home to her new family, and the bride will sent off with bamboo sieve or black umbrella by an elder female who has a good life, because on the wedding day, the brides status is the most important. 5. After the bride leaves, the brides family should put a bowl of water, some rice after the grooms escorting team, which presents their daughter has already left the family, and she has her own new life. They wish her live a better life.6. On the way to the grooms home, it also needs to set off firecrackers on the road to celebrate.7. When the team arrive at the grooms house, there is a child who is holding two oranges and waiting for the new couple, the bride should touch the oranges once, and give a red packet to the child. These two oranges should be kept till night, and then the bride will peel the orange, and give it to the groom, which means longevity. Before the bride goes into the hall, she should be received by the elder female who is full of fortune. At the door, the new couple cant step on the threshold, and the bride should across the fire-pan directly, and it denotes that the fire would put her unlucky and ominous things away. 8. Then comes the most important thing: salute to the heaven and earth, salute to the grooms parents and the new couple salute to each other. After this, they formally become husband and wife. 9. The wedding dinner is always held at noon. At the dinner time, the new couple will toast to every guest. After dinner, the host would prepare some entertainment activities，to make the guests have a happy time. Such as play a short comedy or play mah-jong.10. The relatives and friends play tricks on the new couple before the latters go to bed. To the new couple, it is a nervous but happy time and the “size” of the trick depending on the new couples humanness and if they ever played some tricks on other peoples wedding ceremony.In the west, they just invite the most important friends and relatives to witness wedding rite .However, the banquet appears more informal and lively than the rite, and the invited guests seems more widely. There in after is western traditional wedding process: 1. In the church, when the ceremony begins, everything is ready,. First, the father stands in his place, and then the bridesmaid and groomsman enter with the wedding march. 2. With the wedding march, the bride links her fathers arm to enter, and then the brides father put her hands to the groom. When the music stops, the bride and groom sworn and exchange rings, then a witness makes a speech. 3 With the completion of ceremony, music ringing, the new couple leaves among the petals which are threw by the guests. Then the guests took photos with the new couple. 4. The guests enter the restaurant and take the seat according to the number on the invitation card; the band starts to play music and the restaurant has prepared drinks and appetizers for guests. 5. The bride and groom enter into the restaurant. The first dish comes, the waiters give the guests champagne, important guests make a speech and send their congratulations.6. After the appetizer, the bride and groom start to dance. Then the groomsman and bridesmaid and other guests begin to dance.7. Everyone goes back to seat again and waits for the staple food. After that, the prom continues. 8. After the bride throws the bouquet to the single girls who attend the wedding, the new couple says thanks to the guests for their presence. Coffee and various kinds of postprandial drinks are prepared for guests. 9. The bride and groom cut the wedding cake together, serve them to the guests when they are having a rest after dancing. At this time, the guests can exeunt.4. To analyze the reasons which cause the differences between Chinese and Western wedding culture4.1 Social systemChinese emperors treated themselves as the son of heaven. Beside the heaven, they are the greatest person in the world, and all the people belong to him. While in the west, the emperors and their people are in accordance with Gods will and they control the country equally.Ancient Chinese political system is centralized system that the power of autocratic centralization is the core. Autocratic centralized system continuities 2000 years in China, and it had a profound impact on Chinese unification, the development of multi-ethnic, political system, bureaucratic administration, as well as culture and education.The source of western political ci