| Abstract |
Yi-Lii “Shyh-Huen-Lii”(《儀禮˙士昏禮》)and Lii-Jih “Huen-Yih” (《禮記˙昏義》) are important records of Chinese wedding customs. This paper consists of the comparison of both the texts and the annotation by Jeng Shyuan, providing a new analysis of Chinese wedding. Studying Yi-Lii “Shyh-Huen-Lii”(《儀禮˙士昏禮》)and Lii-Jih “Huen-Yih” (《禮記˙昏義》) and Jeng Shyuan's annotation, we know that in traditional thought marriage offered the foundation for Chinese family; therefore, it must be strictly maintained in social order, in which such social expectations as respect, filial piety, and the affection within a family were settled down. In order to stabilize family ethics, women were educated to be tamed. With their activities limited in the family, women were asked to offer the internal assistance to the economics, labor, and childbearing in the marital relations. The ancient superstition to natural powers in China can be broadly classified into heavenly and earthly gods, and the festivals to the worldly materials that can be traced back the earlier history. Later there came the School of Yin Yong (the School of Positive and Negative Powers) corresponding to the natural phenomenon; therefore, people would do the festivals to the Five Emperors (Hwang Dih, Dih Kuh, Yau, Shuenn, and Juan Shiuh) and divide the year into five seasons (Spring, Summer, Semi-summer, Autumn, and Winter). Jeng Shyuan’s work implies this correspondence to natural powers. With the personification of natural powers, his annotation justifies the social meaning of marriage. Understanding the influence of traditional thoughts on Jeng Shyuan's writing, therefore, helps one to understand the working of the family ethics, the distinction of men and women, and the justification by natural powers. The understanding demands academic attention because the tradition occupies the fundamental part of Chinese culture.
|
