【正文】 ff or an official family, his parents would never permit him to marry a girl from a poor family. Essential to the marriage process were the monly recognized “three Letters and six etiquettes”. The three letters were the betrothal letter, the gift letter with a gifts list and the wedding letter used on the day when the bridegroom met his bride at her home. The book propriety and ceremony, which records earliest wedding ceremony, says that marriage, usually, involves six necessary procedures, namely, proposing, asking the name, asking for fortune, sending betrothal present to girl’s family, discussing date of marriage and meeting the bride. First, Proposing is the first etiquette in marriage and is the first meet between the members in the two families. Thus, it is very important. Using a mon expression, it is making an offer of marriage to another family on behalf of the son or daughter. Second, asking the name aims to ask for girl’s name and pray. In ancient times the girl’s name would not be known by other people until the girl was in an age of marriage. First of all, one must have the matchmaker and inform of the man’s family through a card. And the man’s family would lastly receipt for postal remittance. Thus it can be seen that “asking the name” not only meant that the man’s family wanted to know the girl’s name, but also wrote down the woman’s birthday and Eight characters (in four pairs denoting the time, date, month and year of a person’s birth, each pair consisting of one Heavenly Stem and one Earthly Branch, used in fortunetelling). If the birthday and Eightcharacters were not harm the man, the man’s family would lastly receipt for postal remittance. It has been simplified today and many marriages do not need this process. Third, after asking the name, the bridegroom’s side had got the woman’s birthday and EightCharacters and they went to consult a fortuneteller then which was called “asking for fortune”. It included two aspects of contents. One was consult the female virtues. Ancient people regarded female virtues as the most important one in the gospel of three obedience that were obedience to one’s father before marriage, to one’s husband after marriage, and to one’s son after one’s husband’s death and four virtues that was morality, proper speech, modest manner, and diligent work for a woman according to Confucian ethics. The other one was consult good or bad luck. If they were not fit for each other in EightCharacters according to the birthday and what’s more, the woman would harm the man, the result was that this marriage would not be held and would be cancelled. If the result was fit for each other and moreover the woman would make the man prosperous, the man’s side would inform the woman’s side through the matchmaker and send the betrothal gifts and exchange cards. Thus the marriage was actually decided to be held. Fourth, the groom’s family sends betrothal presents to the girl’s family. The book propriety and ceremony wrote by the scholars in Han dynasty regards it as sending money. If there is no receipt of gifts, there is no marriage. Hence whether receipt the gifts or not is the implication of the agreement of the marriage by the woman’s side. The significance of it includes two aspects of meaning. One is the thanks for the woman’s parents because the parents feed up her. The other is help the woman’s family prepare for dowry. Fifth, the two families discuss the date of marriage. In the past, the bridegroom’s side decided the lucky day and sent the matchmaker to inform the woman’s family. People paid much attention to the marriage time. They usually had a person looked at the almanac or asked for fortune. They liked having marriage in spring or autumn because spring was the time that everything es back to life and time when spring was changing into summer and was favor to pregnant with new life。 they serve God together. Then get married, start career and produce an heir to carry on the pious descendants. The final purpose is to carry on the pious descendants to serve to God. So they do not stress the blood relationship. They can remedy the defect of nonchild by adopting other children. B. Different Marriage Media 1. Chinese Marriage Media: Matchmaker Matchmaker has many functions in China. Almost in every process in marriage in old times, the matchmaker would attend. First, it was the matchmaker that introduced a man to a woman or a woman to a man, most the former. If matchmaker did not introduce them to each other, they would not know about each other for ever. If some accident event happened, that is they knew each other not through the matchmaker, they would be called “mitting adultery with each other “or “a thief if a man and a whore if a woman”. 6 Second, the other procedures after introduction in marriage were also done by the matchmaker. There were three conditions in marriage in old China that were the matchmaker’s proposals, six gifts and meet, people kept honoring the ancestors as the center in these three conditions. The regulation of listening to matchmaker’s proposals was the rule tha t people must abide by. The reason was not only the function the matchmaker had in society, but also the meaning that the matchmaker had in later generation reproduction. 2. Western Marriage Media: Priest In Christian’s opinions, wedding ceremony is consid ered as an important way to get god’s save and wedding ceremony is a very important part of marriage. Priest plays an essential role in it. And marriage is not valid, unless the ceremony is hosted by priest. There are three conditions in marriage too. First, there should be some correct things that will be used in church。 【標題】 中西方婚俗的差異 【作者】 孫 菊 英 【關(guān)鍵詞】 發(fā)展歷史；婚俗；差異；原因 【指導(dǎo)老師】 程瓊 張婕 【專業(yè)】 英語