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Ji Li (ceremony)

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]

Ji Li
Traditional Chinese笄禮
Simplified Chinese笄礼
Literal meaningHairpin ceremony
Transcriptions

Origins

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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

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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

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The procedure of the Ji Li ceremony occurs through the following steps:[8][1][4][5]

  1. A married woman, typically one of the girl's relatives, combs the hair of the young woman,
  2. 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.
  3. She is then given an adult name.
  4. 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

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Korea

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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

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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

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ 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)
  2. ^ "Ethics: the Core Concept of Chinese Rite of Passage--《Northwestern Journal of Ethnology》2017年02期". en.cnki.com.cn. Archived from the original on 2022-09-07. Retrieved 2021-03-18.
  3. ^ 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.
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ 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)
  7. ^ "Ethics: the Core Concept of Chinese Rite of Passage--《Northwestern Journal of Ethnology》2017年02期". en.cnki.com.cn. Archived from the original on 2022-09-07. Retrieved 2021-03-18.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ "Coming-of-age Day". Encyclopedia of Korean Folk Culture.
  10. ^ "Coming-of-age ceremony for girls(筓禮)". Encyclopedia of Korean Folk Culture.
  11. ^ 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)
  12. ^ 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)
 

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