User:Luo Yan

Chinese Coming-of-Age Ceremony

1.Introbuction

Rituals paly an indispensable role in human social interaction, embodying shared norms and customs. Life-cycle rituals——encompassing birth, coming-of-age, marriage, and funeeral ceremonies——carry profound cultural significance. As one such ritual, the coming-of-age ceremony marks the transition from childhood to adulthood. This article explores traditional and modern Chinese coming-of-age ceremonies and their contemporary relevance.

2.Traditional Coming-of-Age Ceremonies: Capping Ceremony(Guanli) and Hair-Pinning Ceremony(Jili)

Traditional coming-of-age ceremony is a rite performed when youths reach adulthood, serving as a cornerstone of ancient adult education.Through this ceremony, society educates and admonishes young people, signifying their departure from parental protection and their new responsibilities. In China, the primary ceremonies are the Capping Ceremony(Guanli) for males and the Hair-Pinning Ceremony(Jili) for females. Though distinct, both share similar rituals and procedures.

2.1Capping Ceremony

Capping Ceremony is the coming-of-age ceremony for aristocratic males. As recorded in Liji(Book of Rites), Qu Li Shang:" At the age of twenty, a man undergoes the Capping Ceremony called 'ruoguan', signifying that he has reaches adulthood but his body is still not fully robust." At 20, a father or elder brother would crown the youth with a cap in the ancestral temple before esteemed guests, symbolizing his entry into adulthood. Historically evolving from "male coming-of-age ritual"(Chengdingli), Capping Ceremony emerges during the Zhou Dynasty. Throughout the Han Dynasty, it emphasizes adult education, while the Ming Dynasty imbues it with political significance. After the Ming Dynasty, Capping Ceremony declines and eventually merges with wedding ceremonies by the early Republican era.

The traditional Capping Ceremony mainly includes the following procedures:

1.Divining an auspicious date; Notifying and instructing guests; Divining the chief guest

Several dyas before the Capping Ceremony, an auspicious date is determined through divination(using yarrow stalks or turtle shells) to express good wishes for the initiate. If the divined date is auspicious, it is adopted; if inauspicious, the divination is repeated until a favorable date is found. This process is known as "divining the auspicious date". The host then notifies the guests of the chosen date several dyas in advance and invites them to attend. After the invitees politely declines the first invitation as a formality, they accept the host's reinvitation. This ritual exchange is called "notifying and instructing the guests". Three days prior to the ceremony, a divination is performed to select the chief guest who would confer the caps on the initiate. The procedure mirrors that of divining the auspicious date, known as "divining the chief guest".

2.Displaying robes and vessels; Laying out mats; Threefold capping

Before the formal ceremony, the host first displays the robes, headgears and sacrificial offerings for the Capping Ceremony, then lays out the ceremonial mats north of the eastern steps in the ancestral temple——where the chief guest would confer the caps on the initiate. This precedes the core ritual: the threefold capping, in which the chief guest successively bestows three caps upon the initiate: first a black cloth cap, then a leather cap, and finally a ceremonial cap. The initiate also changes into three sets of matching robes. After each capping, the chief guest presents distinct blessings, symbolizing the initiate's progression toward adulthood. The escalating nobility of the robe in each capping stage is intended to make the initiate appreciate the journey to maturity.