Chinese Rites and Rituals

This book is an overall introduction of the Chinese ritual systems and the related social norms. The contents are divided into two parts, with the first part on traditional rites and rituals and the second on the modern practice. It is of special value for learning about the Chinese society and the Chinese way of thinking and life

Introduction
Part 1 Traditional Chinese Rites and Rituals
Chapter One Rites and Rituals in Daily Life
Daily Life
Meeting Rites
Residence
Costume
Family Rituals
Chapter Two Social Rituals
Entertainment
Congratulation and Condolence
Feasting
Gift Sending
Chapter Three The Rites of Passage
Birth
Coming of age
Marriage
Funerals
Chapter Four Seasonal and Production Rituals
Seasonal Rituals
Production Rites
Rites in Different professions
Chapter Five National Rites
Goodness Rites
Rites of Festival Celebrations
Rites of Guest Receptions
Military Rite

Part 2 Modern Chinese Rites and Rituals
Chapter Six Daily Life
Modern Behaviors
Modern Costume
Chapter Seven Important Events' in Modern Life
Rites of Birth and Death
Marital Rituals
Miscellaneous Rituals
Chapter Eight Public Affairs
Business Rites
National Affairs
National Symbols
Diplomatic Protocol

Chapter Seven Important Events in Modern Life

Quite Many traditional rituals concerning important events in life are still active in modern society, but some have changed a lot with the introduction of foreign rituals. The change reflects the feature of the time with the social and economic development.

Rites of Birth and Death Birth

There were rites of birth in ancient China to celebrate the newborn. In modern society, people will spread the news by calls or emails when a child is born. Their relatives and friends will usually call in with gifts such as children's clothing, feeding-bottle, tonics, and the like. Colleagues will also pool money to buy something needed as a gift. These gifts can be sent to one's home or delivered by other means. When the infant is one month old, a feast will be made for celebration.

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Clothes are mainly used to cover thebody， for decoration and against thecold. But the gorgeous ancient Chinesecostume also embodied the ritual sys-tem of life with its strict hierarchy andstrong spirit of unification. In the pastdynasties definite and strict regula-tions were provided for the costumeof people ranging from emperors andofficials to ordinary persons. Everyoneshould be dressed in conformity withhis own status and so it would be easyto distinguish， from the costume， mon-arch and subject， the male and thefemale， master and servant， and offi-cials and common people. Therefore，to Chinese people， clothing could alsobe taken as a ritual expression ratherthan the mere embodiment of freedomand comfort. Generally speaking， thedistinction between common peopleand the aristocracy was reflected bythe length of clothes. Laborers woreshorter clothes with simple colors anddecorative patterns， while nobles werein richly ornamented long clothing，graceful and poised. It was forbiddento wear clothes unsuitable for one'sown sex.   The Chinese costume system expe-rienced a dear evolution and appeareddifferently in each period of history.  As early as in the times of the Yel-low Emperor， the clothing systemcame into being. The combination ofthe dark upper garment and the yel-low lower one was the emblem ofheaven and earth， for the heavens aredark before dawn and the earth wasyellow. Rooted in nature-worship， thisconcept had a profound impact on thesubsequent clothing system. After theclass society began， with the formationand establishment of PatriarchalThe costume of the emperors of Qing Dynasty， inyellow color and dragon designs that are exclusivelyused.

Introduction to Chinese Lifestyle

China, a country of appealing mysteries.

The Chinese nation, a nation intermittently strong and weak, honorable and infamous, awake and asleep, with a history of five millennia at the shortest and probably longer, has experienced the highest stage of ancient civilizations in the most prosperous dynasties of the world, and made indelible contributions to the advance of human societies. As the world’s biggest nation, the Chinese people account for approximately a quarter of the whole population on earth.

And as a standing member of the UN Security Council, it is exerting enormous influence on international affairs. Economically speaking, it is the world’s largest consumer market and human resource reservoir, as well as the largest base of processing industries.

For the recent three decades, China’s opening to the world has brought about unprecedented contact with the people of all other countries, resulting in great advancement of the Chinese society and drastic growth of its economy, which have drawn ever greater attention of the world. Now again as in the past when China was in its prime, the world find it impossible to overlook China and its people.

However, for its many sufferings in pre-modern and modern history of social unrest and setbacks, natural disasters and social misfortunes, China has for a long time remained relatively backward, listed as a “developing country” of the world. And for the same reason, The Chinese people and their civilization have been neglected in the developed countries, and what is now known of China to quite many people in the West remains to be what it was 30 or 50 years ago.

In view of the above conditions, we hereby present to our readers this brand-new Chinese Lifestyle with the aim to help those interested in things Chinese learn about the people and their social life, and ultimately discover “the last hidden world” and the nation that is once more on the rise in the Oriental, so as to more effectively communicate with them in all walks of life...