Chinese Culture

•Marriage

•Zodiac

•The five elements and color symbolism

•Confucius

Marriage – Six Etiquettes

1. Proposing: If an unmarried boy's parents identified a girl as their future daughter-in-law, they would then locate a matchmaker. Proposals were the specialties of the matchmakers. The matchmaker would formally present his or her client's request to the identified girl's parents.

Marriage – Six Etiquettes (cont.)

2. Birthday matching: If the potential bride's parents did not object to the marriage, the matchmaker would then ask for the girl's birthday and birth-hour to assure the compatibility of the potential bride and bridegroom. If the couple's birthdays and birth-hours did not conflict according to astrology, the marriage would continue onto the next stage. If there was any sign of astrological conflict, which meant the marriage would bring disasters upon both families, the proposed marriage was immediately quashed.

Marriage – Six Etiquettes (cont.)

3. Presenting betrothal gifts: Once both birthdays matched, the bridegroom's family would then arrange for the matchmaker to present betrothal gifts, including the betrothal letter, to the bride's family.

Marriage – Six Etiquettes (cont.)

4. Presenting wedding gifts: After the betrothal letter and betrothal gifts were accepted, the bridegroom's family would later formally send wedding gifts to the bride's family. Usually, gifts may include tea, lotus seeds, longan, red beans, green beans, red dates, nutmeg, oranges, pomegranate, lily, bridal cakes, coconuts, wine, red hair braid, money box and other delicacies, depending on local customs and family wealth.

Marriage – Six Etiquettes (cont.)

5. Picking a wedding date: An astrologist or astrology book would be consulted to select an auspicious date to hold the wedding ceremony.

Marriage – Six Etiquettes (cont.)

6. Wedding ceremony: On the selected day, the bridegroom departs with a troop of escorts and musicians, playing cheerful music all the way to the bride's home. After the bride is escorted to the bridegroom's home, the wedding ceremony begins.

Zodiac• The Chinese animal signs are a 12-year cycle used for

dating the years. They represent a cyclical concept of time, rather than the Western linear concept of time. The Chinese Lunar Calendar is based on the cycles of the moon, and is constructed in a different fashion than the Western solar calendar. In the Chinese calendar, the beginning of the year falls somewhere between late January and early February. The Chinese have adopted the Western calendar since 1911, but the lunar calendar is still used for festive occasions such as the Chinese New Year. Many Chinese calendars will print both the solar dates and the Chinese lunar dates.

Zodiac (cont.)

• According to Chinese legend, the twelve animals quarreled one day as to who was to head the cycle of years. The gods were asked to decide and they held a contest: whoever was to reach the opposite bank of the river would be first, and the rest of the animals would receive their years according to their finish.All the twelve animals gathered at the river bank and jumped in. Unknown to the ox, the rat had jumped upon his back. As the ox was about to jump ashore, the rat jumped off the ox’s back, and won the race. The pig, who was very lazy, ended up last. That is why the rat is the first year of the animal cycle, the ox second, and the pig last.

Zodiac (cont.)• 1991 – The Year of the Ram• People born in the Year of Ram are elegant and

highly accomplished in the arts. They seem to be, at first glance, better off than those born in the zodiac’s other years. But ram year people are often shy, pessimistic, and puzzled about life. They are usually deeply religious, yet timid by nature. Sometimes clumsy in speech, they are always passionate about what they do and what they believe in. Ram people never have to worry about having the best in life for their abilities make money for them, and they are able to enjoy the creature comforts that they like. Ram people are wise, gentle, and compassionate. They are compatible with Rabbits, Pigs, and Horses.

Zodiac (cont.)

• 1992 – The Year of the Monkey• People born in the Year of the Monkey are the erratic

geniuses of the cycle. Clever, skillful, and flexible, they are remarkably inventive and original and can solve the most difficult problems with ease. There are few fields in which Monkey people wouldn’t be successful but they have a disconcerting habit of being too agreeable. They want to do things now, and if they cannot get started immediately, they become discouraged and sometimes leave their projects. Although good at making decisions, they tend to look down on others. Having common sense, Monkey people have a deep desire for knowledge and have excellent memories. Monkey people are strong willed but their anger cools quickly. They are most compatible with the Dragon and Rat.

Five Elements and color symbolism• Red: fire, reaching upwards, corresponds to the south as dictated by

the traditional Chinese cardinal points, and coincides with the warm season of summer.

• Black: water, delving into the depths, is in the north. Its season, winter, is marked by the absence of water, which at this time gathers in the northern "shallows of the world".

• Green: wood, is in the east and relates to spring. Green, the color of spring, is also the color of the world of plants.

• White: metal, is in the west, with its season autumn with white as its colour — a white with a blue tint. Incidentally, contrary to Western colour-systems, black and white are part of the same circle in Chinese colour-systems.

• Yellow: earth. In the code of the five elements, the earth has a carrying, supporting function, and thus also assumes the function of primary source and nutrition: the plants sprout from the earth, from where fire, too, breaks out; metals are extracted from its mines, and water flows from its wells. The earth is the center — the color yellow; its taste is sweet, and its aroma is that of perfume. Mankind as the yellow race, the inhabitants of this world, stems from this equivalent.

Color symbolism

• BLACK: Considered the king of all colors and the color of heaven

• WHITE: Nature of purity, brightness and fullness

• RED: Good fortune and joy• YELLOW: The center of all colors; the

color of earth• GREENISH BLUE: Spring; everything is

full of vigor and vitality

Confucius

• Born 551 B.C.• His philosophy

emphasized personal and governmental morality, correctness of social relationships, justice and sincerity.

• Greatly influenced political and social movements in China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam

Confucius say …

• A superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions.

• An oppressive government is more to be feared than a tiger.

• And remember, no matter where you go, there you are.

• Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life.

• Do not impose on others what you yourself do not desire.

• Faced with what is right, to leave it undone shows a lack of courage.

• He who learns but does not think, is lost! He who thinks but does not learn is in great danger.

• I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.

• If you shoot for the stars and hit the moon, it's OK. But you've got to shoot for something. A lot of people don't even shoot.

• It is easy to hate and it is difficult to love. This is how the whole scheme of things works. All good things are difficult to achieve; and bad things are very easy to get.

• Our greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.

• Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance.

• The more man meditates upon good thoughts, the better will be his world and the world at large.

• We should feel sorrow, but not sink under its oppression.

• What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others.

• When anger rises, think of the consequences. • When it is obvious that the goals cannot be

reached, don't adjust the goals, adjust the action steps.

• When we see persons of worth, we should think of equaling them; when we see persons of a contrary character, we should turn inwards and examine ourselves.

• You cannot open a book without learning something.