Traditional Chinese coming-of-age for women
Ji Li (Chinese: 笄禮), also known as the hairpin ceremony,[1][2][3] is the equivalent of the Guan Li; the Ji Li marks the transition from childhood to adulthood of a Chinese woman and involves the use of a ji (lit. '[Chinese] hairpin').[1][4] It is only after the Ji Li ceremony that a woman is considered an adult and is therefore eligible to be married.[1][4][3][5] In ancient times, the Ji Li ceremony could be performed by people of any social class; however, rich people were more likely to hold the ceremony than poor people.[6]
Origins
Both the Guan Li, the capping ceremony for Chinese men, and the Ji Li ceremony appeared in China in ancient times, prior to the Qin era.[7]
Age
The Ji Li ceremony occurs when a girl is engaged or if she is getting married.[4] However, it typically takes place when a young girl reaches the age of 15 even if the girl is not engaged or married.[8][1][4][3] If the young girl was still not betrothed at the age of 20, the Ji Li ceremony had to be performed again.[5]
Procedures of Ji Li ceremony
The procedure of the Ji Li ceremony occurs through the following steps:[8][1][4][5]
- A married woman, typically one of the girl's relatives, combs the hair of the young woman,
- The hair of the young woman is gathered up into a bun before being fastened with a ji (hairpin) which is typically inscribed with auspicious patterns.
- She is then given an adult name.
- The hairpin is later removed after the ceremony.
After the Ji Li ceremony, women had to learn how to be proper wives; this learning including the proper manner of speech and dress.[8] They also had to learn needlework.[8]
Derivatives and influences
Korea
Korean women perform a coming-of-age ceremony that follows the Confucian tradition known as Gyerye (Korean: 계례; Hanja: 筓禮) where they would braid their hair and roll it up into a chignon before putting it in place with a binyeo (i.e., a hairpin) on their 15th birthday.[9][10][11]
Vietnam
The tuổi cập kê (also known as the age of wearing hairpin) occurs when a girl reaches the age of 15.[12] At the age of 15, the girl starts to wear a hairpin, and the hairpin becomes an inseparable aspect of a woman; as such, giving a hairpin to a man symbolizes that the woman trusts the man completely.[12] It is based on a Chinese custom.[12]
Related content
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e Understanding Chinese society. Xiaowei Zang. Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. 2011. ISBN 978-0-203-80328-8. OCLC 784952529.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: others (link) - ^ "Ethics: the Core Concept of Chinese Rite of Passage--《Northwestern Journal of Ethnology》2017年02期". en.cnki.com.cn. Retrieved 2021-03-18.
- ^ a b c Francis, Sing-Chen Lydia (2002). "Body and Identity in Liaozhai Zhiyi". NAN NÜ. 4 (2): 207–231. doi:10.1163/15685260260460829. ISSN 1387-6805.
- ^ a b c d e Zhu, Ruixi; 朱瑞熙 (2016). A social history of middle-period China : the Song, Liao, Western Xia and Jin dynasties. Bangwei Zhang, Fusheng Liu, Chongbang Cai, Zengyu Wang, Peter Ditmanson, Bang Qian Zhu (Updated ed.). Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. pp. 226–227. ISBN 978-1-107-16786-5. OCLC 953576345.
- ^ a b c Zang, Yingchun; 臧迎春. (2003). Zhongguo chuan tong fu shi. 李竹润., 王德华., 顾映晨. (Di 1 ban ed.). Beijing: Wu zhou chuan bo chu ban she. p. 18. ISBN 7-5085-0279-5. OCLC 55895164.
- ^ Understanding Chinese society. Xiaowei Zang. Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge. 2011. ISBN 978-0-203-80328-8. OCLC 784952529.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: others (link) - ^ "Ethics: the Core Concept of Chinese Rite of Passage--《Northwestern Journal of Ethnology》2017年02期". en.cnki.com.cn. Retrieved 2021-03-18.
- ^ a b c d Li, Hongrui (2017). "Culture Insider: How ancient Chinese welcomed youth into adulthood[1]". www.chinadaily.com.cn. Retrieved 2021-04-02.
- ^ "Coming-of-age Day". Encyclopedia of Korean Folk Culture.
- ^ "Coming-of-age ceremony for girls(筓禮)". Encyclopedia of Korean Folk Culture.
- ^ Guide to Korean culture. Haeoe Hongbowŏn. Seoul, Republic of Korea. 2013. pp. 107–108. ISBN 978-89-7375-571-4. OCLC 882879939.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link) - ^ a b c Tri C. Tran; Tram Le (2017). Vietnamese Stories for Language Learners : Traditional Folktales in Vietnamese and English Text (Audio Download Included). Tuttle Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4629-1956-7. OCLC 1017727951.
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)