Conditions Required in a Feudal Marriage
封建婚姻的条件
In feudal society,a marriage would be decided not by a young couple's love, but by their parents' desires. Only after o matchmaker's introduction and when parents considered the two family conditions were similar and could be matched，would the marriage procedures go forward. Conditions that should be taken into consideration included wealth and social status. If a boy’s family was well-off or an official family,his parents would never permit him to marry a girl from a poor family. Essential to the marriage process were the commonly recognized "three Letters and six etiquettes". The three letters were the betrothal letter,the gift letter with a gifts list and the wedding letter used on the day the bridegroom met his bride at her home. Six etiquettes then led to the final wedding ceremony.
在封建社会，婚姻不是由年轻夫妇的恋爱决定的，而是由他们的父母的愿望决定的。只有在媒人的介绍下，当父母认为两人家庭条件相似，并且可以匹配，结婚才会继续办理。应考虑的条件包括财富和社会地位。如果男方的家境殷实或是官员家庭，他的父母绝不会允许他娶一个家贫的女孩。婚姻过程中的普遍认可的必不可少的是“三书六礼”。三书是订婚信、礼单和新郎去他的新娘家迎娶那一天用的婚书。六礼仪则是通向最后的婚礼仪式。