Bridal price is one of the wedding procedures in ancient China, also known as bride price, betrothal price and engagement.
Since ancient times, when China first reached a marriage agreement, it was a custom for men to give women bride price and dowry. This kind of bride price and dowry is commonly known as "bride price". For a period of time after the founding of New China, bride price and engagement related to bride price have been criticized and once abolished, but they still exist among the people.
The bride price is generally understood as the dowry or gift money given by the man to the woman when he gets married. In today's internet, it also refers to an act of giving each other lottery tickets and blessings. In some local customs, it is called "receiving the bride price", which means success, that is, after giving the bride price, the engagement is formally concluded, and it is generally impossible to go back on our word. If there is regret, if the woman goes back on her word, the bride price will be returned to the man; If the man goes back on his word, the bride price is generally not refunded. In the buying and selling marriage, the bride price represents the social status of women, which is called the gift of social status by some regions and nationalities. The amount of bride price given by the man's family to the woman's family depends on the requirements of the woman's family and the economic situation of the man's family. Chapter I General Provisions Article 3 of the Marriage Law of the People's Republic of China: "Arranging, buying and selling marriages and other acts that interfere with the freedom of marriage are prohibited. It is forbidden to ask for property by marriage. " It is forbidden to ask for property through marriage.
Second, the origin of the wedding bride price custom
The ancient book The Book of Rites. "Faint ceremony" uploaded: "Those who are faint in ceremony must be like two people, serving the temple first and succeeding the later generations, so the gentleman values it. Because of the fainting ceremony, seeking fame, Najib, recruiting and seeking appointment. Gentlemen have several seats in the temple, but they welcome guests outside the door and are promoted to guarding the temple when they go in. Therefore, it is prudent to faint. " Another "Book of Rites" said: "There are six rituals for fainting, namely, accepting gifts, asking names, accepting oneself, accepting levy, inviting an appointment and welcoming." This is the traditional custom of "six rites to get married", which was founded in the Western Zhou Dynasty and followed from generation to generation. It is also the origin of the custom of "bride price".
The Zhou Dynasty was a state of etiquette, and gradually formed a complete set of marriage etiquette. There are detailed provisions in the Book of Rites, which combine the whole set of rituals into "six rituals". The "six rites" marriage system established in the Western Zhou Dynasty and followed by successive generations is the origin of the custom of "bride price". The "six gifts" are: receiving gifts, asking names, receiving gifts, asking about the day and welcoming guests. The "receiving gift" in the six gifts is giving money, which is equivalent to the current "bride price". This form of marriage continued until the Republic of China. Generally refers to the money or things that men give women when they get married.