1 - Ancient Marriage Certificates Reveal Women's Hidden Stories

Marriage is one of the substantial matrimony that we might come across when we alter to a right age of settlement of having a family. It is defined as a sacred ceremony were a man and woman commits in a social union in order to established the rights and obigations of becoming spouses and parenthood. This usualy happens when a couple wants to set aside on having of their own a responsibilty that will forever be an intimate in life. When we defined marriage broadly, its is a cultural universal, since it has many legal recognition that we might to choose with when it comes to complexity and variations. Its either interacial marriage, interfaith marriage or same sex marriage. Some say that marriage is a state as well as an organiztion or religous adept and tribal group which they follow the rules which viewed as contract. For many reasons marriage follows the cultivism that we inherited in our ancestors a thousand years ago. Still, it has manage to go on and succeed up to this day. In a feudal China, there a lot of cases of fixed marriage were a parents decide of who the man they want to be marry with their daughter. Usually, it varies upon the accord of both parties, its either the family of both were confidant and they made an arrangement according to their birthdtaes and already settle it before their child was born. Or the family of the woman wants a well-endowed man for her in such is to carry the names of their kin as well as to accomply the needs of their family. A folklore researcher and a president of Louyang Museum of Folk Customs in Louyangs city at the central of Chinas Henan Province, Wang Zhiyuan, who collected a 26 marriage certificates from the late Dynasty of Qing (1644- 1912) up to the primitive time of the Peoples Republic of China. He stated that the civilian marriage certificates were the holding key of the historical event for China. This is not the only evidence as an antique or documentary but an objective for establishing of changes for China. He also said that married is the gaurantee of a happy life not sadness and sorrow. Wang manage to collect this certificates which tells the story of the lives of women way back before who were practicing a custom of the three obediences as well as the four virtues. In order to attain this, a woman must comply with her father before she got married, then, to comply with her husband when they got married and last adhere her son when she gets widowed. Moreover, with four virtues mentioned which comprises of fidelity, propriety in speech, physical charm and the capabilty on a needle work. By Wangs collection of antique credentials that includes the remarriage certificates with a signed of Dong Bingchen during the year of 1912 and 1949 of Republic of China. He wrote the note which singned-in at the year of 1942, were his daughter-in-law got widowed in young age and cannot take her by herself and claiming to be remarried. With a concurence of both parents

she was free and contend to remarried again to a man named An Shun. This man who married the daughter-in-law must pay a 3,000 of silver dollars as a gift for the father of the late husband of his current wife in which later used as the possession for his future purposes when he comes to an aged. In such term, bethoral present is a Chinese tradition of devotion and virtue that represents of caring for an elderly people. In other cases of Wangs collective certificates which singed in the year of Republic of China were a couple came to a settlement of divorce which recorded at the legal county. It was stated that Cao Jiujing and his wife, named Niu are are not in good terms when it comes of their married life. Cao always invective Niu for a year, so it was decided to end their relationship and cannot live together because both have no sensibilites with each other. With the help of by their fellow villagers, named Cao Junsan, Jiang Jintang, Tang Yatang and Cao Ruizhang served as the moderators, the settlement was arrange that Cao JiuJing had to pay a 3,000 silver dollar with a 60 kilogram of wheat to Niu as a spouse support. The ex-couple signed voluntarily that in the future, they are not able to intrudes each others new married life. The two signed a divorce certifcates with a having a duplicate copy with each other. Thats why this papers are the literal evidence that the term of divorce in China a decades ago is not considered but an end the marriage or abandon. Im most cases, husband can reject his wifes offering of seperation but a wife cannot divorce his husband. By the gender inequality, the divorce was signed in 1942 which shows the people are becoming dynamically open for progressing their mindsets of cultures and customs. An Unusual Marriage Certificate With a father thruth of the marriage certificate which collected by Wang, another case which wrote in the red of piece of paper which presented by the father of the bridegrooms father, Zang Binyao of the female party. Stated that the bridesgroom name Zhang Zengwu and his soo n to be wife were not put on the certificate. This credintials have matched their birthdates and the male gives a bethoral present on the female on October 7 with a planned of marriage on October 13. The certificate was marked by their parents and matchmakers as a fixed marriage. At the wedding day, their relatives and friends were born in the year of the Zodiac sign, goat, pig and rabbit which not evidently to be present. A Ghost Marriage The most interesting of the Wangs collection of a credentials is the ghost marriage certificate were a person name Lang Ruyi had a cousin died on a accident and the daughter-in-law also died with no child. But the ceremony was able to continue, this ghost marriages were able to perfor for a couple who had die before they got married. Even in eastern the Han dynasty, Cao Cao, a warlord and the penultimate Chancellor offers a gift of bethoral to a dead woman to become his wife in which his favorite son Cao Chong died as the age of 13. Many belives in China that a single tomb is no good of leverage in earning money at the fortune of the family.

Thats why this standard traditions are still performed and manage to embrace it without hesitations Click here get more information about chinese wedding.