DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CHINESE MARRIAGE CUSTOM AND WESTERN MARRIAGE CUSTOM中西方婚俗的差异.docx

DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CHINESE MARRIAGE CUSTOM AND WESTERN MARRIAGE CUSTOM中西方婚俗的差异.docx

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DIFFERENCESBETWEENCHINESEMARRIAGECUSTOMANDWESTERNMARRIAGECUSTOM中西方婚俗的差异

DIFFERENCESBETWEENCHINESEMARRIAGECUSTOMANDWESTERNMARRIAGECUSTOM

中西方婚俗的差异

1Introduction

Marriageisformedinalonghistoricalevolutionofthemarriagecustominanation.Itistheregularityoftheactivitiesthatrestrainspeople'sawarenessofmarriageandmarriage.Marriagecustom’sbindingdoesnotdependonthelaw,anditcannotrelyonsciencetestsneither,butontheforceofhabit,traditionalcultureandnationalpsychology.Duringthedevelopmentofhumanhistory,theinstitutionofmarriageandfamilysystemhasexperienceddifferentprocessesofdevelopment.Humanhaveexperiencedgroupmarriage,thedualsystemofmarriageandindividualmarriagesystem（monogamy）.

2ChineseMarriageCustom

Likeotherfolk,marriagecustomhasthesamedevelopmentandevolvingprocess.Intheearlydaysofhumanity,thehumanrelationshipinaverylongperiodoftimestillcarriedtheirregularrelationsliketheanimalworld.Therewasnomarriageatall,ifsuggestsome,theonly"arbitrarymarriage."

InChina,marriagehasgonethroughforalongtime.Asamostgrandetiquette,ithasalwaysbeenahighdegreeofattention.Tocontrolthemarriage,thefamilyandthewholesociety,sincethebeginningofZhouDynasty,Chinesemarriageshouldcomplywithsixprocedures,whichistheso-called"sixetiquettes."AndLaterinTangandMingDynastyinChina,marriagealsocompliedwiththe"sixetiquettes".Astimegoesby,althoughmanyweddingcustomsexperiencedvariouschanges"Sixetiquettes"asthebasicpatternhasnotchangedmuch.Itisstillessentialandcoreinmarriagecustom.

Marriagehaschangedmuchtoday,butinmanyplaces,therestillremainstraditionsuchas:

A.Proposing

B.AskingtheName

C.AskingforFortune

D.SendingBetrothalPresentstotheGirl’sFamily

E.DiscussingtheDateofMarriage

F.MeetingtheBride

3WesternMarriageCustomditionalmarriagecustom.

Inthemiddleageschildrenweremarriedatayoungage.Girlswereasyoungas12whentheygotmarried,andboysasyoungas14.Thearrangementofthemarriagewasbasedonmonetaryworth.Thefamilyofthegirlwhowastobemarriedgaveadowry,ordonation,totheboyshewastomarry.Thedowrywentwithherwhenthemarriagewasheldandstayedwiththeboyforeverafterthemarriage.Afterthemarriagewasarranged,aweddingnoticewaspostedonthedoorofthechurch.Thenoticewasputuptoensurethattherewerenogroundsforprohibitingthemarriage.Thenoticestatedwhowastobemarried,andifanyoneknewanyreasonsthatthetwocouldnotmarry,theyweretocomeforwardwiththereason.Ifthereasonwasavalidonetheweddingwouldbeprohibited.

Thereweremanyreasonsforprohibitingamarriage.Onereasonwasconsanguinity,ifthetwoweretoocloselyrelated.Iftheboyorthegirlhadtakenamonasticorreligiousvow,themarriagewasalsoprohibited.Sometimeswidowsorwidowerstookvowsofcelibacyonthedeathoftheirspouse,andlaterregretteddoingsowhentheycouldnotremarry.Otherreasonswhichalsoprohibitedmarriage,butwerenotgroundsforadivorce,wererape,adultery,andincest.Acouplecouldnotbemarriedduringatimeoffasting,suchaslentoradvent.Norcouldacouplebemarriedbysomeonewhohadkilledsomeone.

Inthemiddleagestherewerefewreasonstheweddingcouldbedissolved.Onereasonwasifeitherthemanorwomanwerenotoflegalage,12forgirlsand14forboys.IfthehusbandorwifehadpreviouslymadeareligiousormonasticvoworwerenotChristian,themarriagewouldbedissolved.Thelastreasonamarriagecouldendwasifthewoman,nottheman,wasincapableofsexualrelations.

A.Proposal

B.ChangingSurnames

C.ChoosingtheDay

D.HoldingtheWedding

4Differences

ItisclearthatChinesemarriagecustomandwesternmarriagecustomdifferfromeachotherinmanyaspects.

4.1DifferentMarriageMedia

Matchmakerandpriestaredifferent.InChina,themarriagemediaismatchmaker,butinWesterncountries,themarriagemediaispriest.

4.2Freedom:

FreeorNot

MarriageinChinawasarrangedbyfamily.“Behestofparentsandproposalsofmatchmaker”decidedeverythingaboutmarriage.Usuallythehusbandandthewifedidnotmeeteachotherbeforegettingmarried.Theyouthsarenotfreewhenchosetheloverinsomeplaceseventoday.

Marriagemarksthebeginningofcompleteindependencefromtheparents.AccordingtotheEnglishlaw,noonewasallowedtogetmarriedundertheageofsixteen.Marriagebetweentheageofsixteenandeighteenmusthavetheparents’consent.Butwhenthegirlwasovereighteen,shewasfreetochooseherlove.One’swillingwassuperiortoanything.

4.3Right:

EqualorNot

Chinesemenweresuperiortowomeninoldpeople’seyes.Andwomenmustcomplywiththreeobedienceandfourvirtues.Butmancouldhaveawifeandmanyconcubines.InnorthofChinainsomeplaces,husbandandwifearestillunequal.

TheBiblesaysthathusbandshouldrespectwifebecausebothofthemareblessedbyGod.Anditemphasizesthattherelationsbetweenhusbandandwifeshouldincludeduty.

4.4DifferentPurposesofMarriage

ThemainpurposeofgettingmarriageinChinaistocontinuethemaleoffspring.Inwesterncountries,theyareinfluenceddeeplybyreligion,especiallytheChristianity.TheythinkthatitistheGodwhohascreatedmarriage.Sotheydonotstressthebloodrelationship.Theycanremedythedefectofnon-childbyadoptingotherchildren.

5ReasonsfortheDifferencesAbove

5.1Religions

Amongallthereligionbywhichpeopleseektoworship,Christianityisbyfarthemostinfluentialinthewest.Everyphaseofman’slifeistouchedbythisreligion,somuchsothatithasbecomepartandparcelofwesternculture.BritishdominantreligiousbeliefisChristianfaith;orrathertheU.K.isacountryofChristianity.

Bishoporderedmarriagelawasthefourthchapterin1234.Afterissuingthelaw,itwascarriedonunderthestrongchurchcontrol.In1917,themarriagelawreferred:

weddingceremonyshouldbeheldbypriestoratleasttwowitness;thewillingshouldbetrueandnotbeforced.

MostChinesepeoplebelievesBuddhismwhichadvocates“whyandbecauserelationship”.Inthispointofview,skyisthereason,andearthistheresult;parentsarethereason,andsonsordaughtersaretheresult;husbandisthereason,andwifeistheresult.

5.2CulturalOrigins

TraditionalChinesetraditionalmarriagecustomwascharacterizedbyadistinctivepatriarchalclansystem.Marriagesometimeswasakindofwaystoallyinpolitical.Thepolicyofcementingfriendlyrelationsthroughpoliticalmarriageswasatypicalexampleinhistory.ThetraditionalmarriagecustomwasinfluenceddeeplybyConfucianism..

Westernmarriagecustomisinfluenceddeeplybyreligion,however,whichemphasizesbothmenandwomenareGod’ssonsanddaughters,sotheyareequalunlikeChinesewhopaymoreattentionstoboys.Westernpeopleconsidergirlsarealsothefruitoflove.

5.3MarriageConcepts

Chinesepeopleoncethoughtthatmarriagewasakindofwaystoincreasefamilies,offspringandprotectandenhancefamily’sreputationandposition.Inwesterncountries,marriageisthelove’shometoreturnto.Theaimofmarriageistomakethewomanandthemanlivetogetherallthelife.

5.4Geographies

Britainisoveronethousandkilometersfromsouthtonorth.Itscoastlinerunsabouttenthousandkilometers,makingitoneofthecountrieswiththelongestcoastlinesintheworld.InBritainnoplaceisoveronehundredandtwentykilometersfromthesea.Duringthefightwiththesea,Britishpeoplefeelthestrongforceofthenaturethatisdifficulttocontrol.ThustheybelievedGod.TheythinkGodisomnipotentandtheyrespectGodverymuch.

China’sgeographyisextremelyvariedandcomplex,includingmountains,plateaus,plains,grasslands,basins,hills,islands,desert,glaciers,andfrozenearth.ChinesepeoplerespectancestorsandwesternpeoplerespectGodthatleadthespiritworldinChinaintoethicsthattakethemainpositionandinwesternreligiontakethemainposition.Thusitcausesmarriagedifferences.

6Conclusion

MarriagecustominbothChinaandwesterncountrieshasgonethroughforalongtime.Asamostgrandthinginpeople’slife,ithasalwaysattractedahighdegreeofattention.

Astimegoesby,althoughmanyweddingcustomshaveexperiencedvariouschanges,asthebasicpattern,“sixetiquettes”inChinahasnotchangedmuch.That’stosayproposing,askingthename,askingforfortune,sendingbetrothalpresentstothegirl’sfamily,discussingthedateofmarriageandmeetingthebridearestillessentialandcoreinmarriagecustom.

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《生命列车》TheTrainOfLife

1.不久以前，我读了一本书。

书中把人生比作一次旅行。

2.人生一世，就好比是一次搭车旅行，要经历无数次上车、下车;时常有事故发生;有时是意外惊喜，有时却是刻骨铭心的悲伤……

3.降生人世，我们就坐上了生命列车。

我们以为我们最先见到的那两个人------我们的父母，会在人生旅途中一直陪伴着我们。

4.很遗憾，事实并非如此。

他们会在某个车站下车，留下我们，孤独无助。

他们的爱、他们的情、他们不可替代的陪伴，再也无从寻找。

5.尽管如此，还会有其他人上车。

他们当中的一些人将对我们有着特殊的意义。

6.他们之中有我们的兄弟姐妹,有我