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Family Life in Traditional China
An overview of households, generations and family roles in traditional China, and how region, class and period shaped everyday life at home.
Daily Life and Customs
Family Life and Customs
Weddings, births, mourning, gifts and the home.
Birth Customs and the First Month Celebration
Traditional Chinese care of new mothers during the first month and the full-month celebration of a baby, with red eggs, gifts and regional variety.
Chinese Wedding Customs Through History
How traditional Chinese weddings were arranged and celebrated, from the classical six rites to red symbols, tea ceremonies and modern changes.
Clan Halls and Family Genealogies
How Chinese lineages kept written family records and built shared ancestral halls, what these records contained, and how the tradition continues today.
Coming-of-Age Rites in Chinese Tradition
A look at the classical capping ceremony for young men, the hairpin ceremony for young women, and how adulthood is marked in China today.
Matchmaking and Betrothal in Old China
How go-betweens, parents and birth-date matching shaped marriage arrangements in old China, with notes on regional variety and modern change.
Mourning Customs and Remembrance
A respectful overview of traditional Chinese mourning: white clothing, mourning periods, memorial rites and remembrance, with regional differences.
Red Envelopes and Gift Giving
Why Chinese families give money in red packets, when the custom is used, and the etiquette around presenting and receiving gifts.
Table Etiquette in Chinese Homes
How seating, serving, chopstick manners and shared dishes work at a Chinese family meal, and why the customs stress respect for elders and guests.
The Courtyard House and Home Life
How the traditional Chinese courtyard house organized family life, privacy, hierarchy and the seasons, with notes on regional variations.
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