![]() ![]() Before a meeting takes place, the groom’s family will have already made surreptitious enquiries through friends and acquaintances. This is of great importance as the reputation of the groom’s family is at stake. The ‘information gathering’ stage of a wedding involves the groom’s family ascertaining the reputation and lineage of the bride’s family, and the character and behaviour of the bride. If the parents are not happy with the lineage and status of the other family, a wedding will not occur. In Chinese culture, a marriage is not simply a love match between two people, but an establishing of a relationship between two families as well. The process begins when the parents are informed of their son/daughter’s intentions and, if they are in agreement, a meeting between the two families is arranged. Weddings are micro-planned and planning is highly time consuming. ![]() There are several stages to a Chinese wedding (described under), usually under the overseeing of the groom’s parents (or older relatives). Failure to provide a lavish wedding is likely to lower the status of the family, bring shame upon them and bring criticism from relatives raining down upon them. Two important componentss of Chinese culture- the need to avoid embarassment ('saving face') and to conspicuously display wealth and prosperity- come heavily to the fore in marriage, especially where the marriage is of the eldest son. However, once the couple have chosen each other, the arrangements are usually taken over by the parents (or older relatives), thus observing traditional customs and superstitions.Ĭhinese men tend to marry fairly late in life, as they need to save up for the expense of the wedding: a Chinese wedding can be very expensive, especially where the involved families are of high social status. Marriage is usually now based on the two people involved’s own choices. ![]() In the Chinese family system the wife lives with the husband’s family and is deemed as no longer part of her own family, but the 'property' of the husband’s family.Īrranged marriages, where the marriage match is arranged by the parents or relatives of the bride and groom were once common in Chinese society but are now rare and viewed as old-fashioned. In a culture where the perpetuation of family ancestral lineage and the family as a social institution are central, marriage is an important institution and has many intricate customs associated with it. Some traditions may no longer be observed apart from in small pockets of very traditionalist Chinese. The extent to which these customs will be observed will vary between areas within Greater China and between Chinese communities throughout the world. In this section you will find brief descriptions of a selection of traditional customs in certain areas of life. All three episodes suggest that miracles have a macrocosmic significance, as they become models for interpretation of similar situations in the future, and offer metaphoric yet detailed assessments of contemporary events.Chinese culture is rich in customs, traditions and superstitions. The third deals with the healing miracle attributed to the emperor Vespasian in Suetonius, Vespasian 7 and Tacitus, Histories 4.81-2. The second is recorded on Suetonius’ Life of Galba 1 and relates the remarkable story of an eagle dropping unharmed into the lap of Livia Drusilla, a hen carrying a laurel spring. The first concerns the emergence of a snake from the inside of the central column in the palace of Tarquinius Superbus as reported in Livy’s Ab Urbe Condita 1.56. The selected episodes come from the work of three Roman historiographers of different eras and political/cultural mindsets. The present chapter examines three episodes from the Roman historiographical tradition where the miraculous designates leadership and helps interpret historical progression. The tradition of imperial biography, which developed into a genre of literary prose during the imperial Roman period, redefined the miraculous in the Roman tradition as a trait of the emperor. Omens, as a powerful and impressive manifestation of divine favor, are a recurrent theme in Roman historiography, especially in Livy’s account of the Republican Roman past, and accompany the performance of individuals destined to become rulers of the Respublica or already serving as such. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |