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The Guan Li (simplified Chinese: 冠礼; traditional Chinese: 冠禮; pinyin: guànlǐ) is the Confucian coming of age ceremony. According to the Li Ji (lit. 'Book of Rites'), it is only after the coming of age ceremonies that young people could call themselves adults and could share social responsibilities. The name Guan Li refers to the ritual ceremony for men which involves the use of a guan, while the Ji Li (simplified Chinese: 笄礼; traditional Chinese: 笄禮; pinyin: jīlǐ) refers to the one for women and involves the use of a ji. Both the Guan Li and Ji Li have important symbolic meaning for the Han Chinese. Both of these ceremonies are key Confucian rites, and are part of the "four rites", along with marriage, mourning rites, and sacrificial rituals.

The Guan Li and the Ji Li ceremony can be performed by people of any social class; however, rich people were more likely to hold the ceremony than poor people. In the 20th century, these ceremonies slowly phased out, but there has been a recent resurgence of interest, especially in those who are interested in Confucian traditions and hanfu. Since 2010, large Guan Li ceremonies have taken place each year at Wenmiao, in Taiyuan, Shanxi.

History

The Guan Li and the Ji Li ceremony appeared in China in ancient times, prior to the Qin era. Some philosophical texts dating from the Zhou dynasty and Warring States period provide some evidence for the Guan Li ceremony, for example in the Analects of Confucius and by texts written by Mencius. The Guan Li ceremony can also be found in the Han Shu.

Guan Li Ceremony

The Guan Li is also known as the "capping" ceremony. The character guan (Chinese: 冠; pinyin: guān) is sometimes translated as crown or cap. As a coming of age ceremony, the Guan Li ceremony marks the passage of man from childhood to adulthood. It is only after the Guan Li ceremony that a man is considered an adult and can be given adult responsibilities and rights; for example, a man could become the heir of his family, get married, inherit a business, and participate in other aspects of society.

Age

The Guan Li ceremony typically occurs when a man reaches 20 years old and when a girl reaches 15.

Location and organization of ceremony

The ceremony takes place in the young man's ancestral temple on a carefully chosen date, which was considered auspicious, and it was organized by a respectable senior relative of the young man. It could also be done by the eastern stairs (which was the entrance typically used by the master of the house) if the boy was a son by the proper wife, to symbolize that he was in the succession line.

On the day of the ceremony, many guests were invited, including the parents of the young man, the master of the ceremony, and an assistant.

Procedures of Guan Li ceremony

The procedures of ceremony occur through the following steps:

1. Before the ceremony, the boy takes a bath; his hair is done and he then waits in a room.
2. At the beginning of the ceremony, the father of the boy gives a brief speech.
3. The boy comes out from the room and meets with the guests.
4. The father of the boy would hand him a cup, in the guest's place, without receiving one in return.
5. The senior relative, or the master of the ceremony, washes his hands.
6. The senior relative places three caps on head of the young man, as follows:
   1. The ceremony master washes his hand and places a futou on the boy's head; the boy then goes to another room to wear clothing with the same colour as the cap. After that he comes out and returns to the ceremony master.
   2. The ceremony master then gives him another cap; the boy goes back to the room and comes back wearing a dark coloured clothing which is worn by adult men to match the cap.
7. The young man gives a salute to all the guests and officially becomes a "man".
8. The young man would obtain a courtesy name.

Derivatives and influences

Korea

Following the Confucian tradition, Koreans also performed the "capping" ceremony, known as Gwallye (Korean: 관례; Hanja: 冠禮) as a symbol of coming-of-age for men. On the day of the coming-of-age ceremony, Korean men would have their hair put up in a top knot and cover it with a hat (e.g. a gat) and were official given responsibilities as an adult men.

Related content

• Ji Li (ceremony) – equivalent ceremony for women
• Guan (headwear)
• Hanfu

See also

• Genpuku, the Japanese coming-of-age ceremony
• Cug Huê Hng, the Teochew coming-of-age ceremony

References

1. ^ Li, Hongrui (2017). "Culture Insider: How ancient Chinese welcomed youth into adulthood[1]". www.chinadaily.com.cn. Retrieved 2021-04-02.
2. ^ Hardy, Grant (1993). "The Reconstruction of Ritual: Capping in Ancient China". Journal of Ritual Studies. 7 (2): 69–90. ISSN 0890-1112. JSTOR 44398771.
3. ^ 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)
4. Modern Chinese Religion II 1850 - 2015. Jan Kiely, Vincent Goossaert, John Lagerwey. Brill. 2015. p. 799. ISBN 9789004304642.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
5. "Traditional Chinese coming-of-age ceremony in Shanxi -- china.org.cn". www.china.org.cn. Retrieved 2021-04-02.
6. ^ "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.
7. "Evolution of Caps in China". en.chinaculture.org. Retrieved 2021-03-19.
8. Yuan, Xiaowei (2017). "Traditional Chinese Jewelry Art: Loss, Rediscovery and Reconstruction Take Headwear as an Example". Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Contemporary Education, Social Sciences and Humanities (ICCESSH 2017). Paris, France: Atlantis Press. doi:10.2991/iccessh-17.2017.135. ISBN 978-94-6252-351-7.
9. "On the Symbolism of Crown Ceremony and Hairpin Rite during the Pre- Qin Period--《Nankai Journal(Philosophy,Literature and Social Science Edition)》2011年04期". en.cnki.com.cn. Archived from the original on 2023-02-02. Retrieved 2021-03-18.
10. 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.
11. ^ Legge, James (1885). The Sacred Books of China, The Texts of Confucianism. Vol. 27. Pennsylvania State University: Clarendon Press. pp. 437–438.
12. ^ Clark, Donald N. (2000). Culture and customs of Korea. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press. p. 96. ISBN 0-313-00727-6. OCLC 51432263.
13. ^ "Coming-of-age ceremony for boys(冠禮)". Encyclopedia of Korean Folk Culture. Retrieved 2021-06-12.
14. "Coming-of-age Day". Encyclopedia of Korean Folk Culture.
15. 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)

• Chinese culture
• Rites of passage
• East Asian traditions
• Confucian rites