什么是“包办婚姻”

7　什么是“包办婚姻”?　What is“arranged marriage?”

Traditional Chinese marriage was not the free union of two young adults to establish a new household.It was the movement of a woman from her birth family to her married family and assimilation into the new family.Traditionally friends and relations were constantly attentive for possible mates for young boys and girls.In spite of this，professional help was sometimes needed.Thus professional matchmakers(媒人)were a constant feature of the Chinese social scene.

Typically matchmakers representing the man's family would approach the woman's clan.Token presents and horoscopes were exchanged.If the offer was not wholly unacceptable，the girl's birth date would be written on red paper and given to the matchmaker，who would return to the man's family.The man's family would invite a professional fortune-teller to interpret the horoscopes.If the interpretation satisfied both families，the red cards with the family background of the pair would be exchanged.Presents were exchanged between the families and then another professional was paid to find an auspicious date for the wedding ceremony.Finally the groom，relatives and friends went to the girl's home and accompanied her to his home，where she would then become part of his family.According to older traditions，the bride and groom didn't see each other until he lifted the veil from her face in the wedding chamber.

When the new marriage law was put in force with the establishment of the People's Republic，arranged marriages were officially prohibited.People realized that marriage should be based on the complete willingness of the two parties to become husband and wife.Neither party could use compulsion，and no third party was allowed to interfere.However，in some remote villages，young peasants still currently sometimes seek the help of matchmakers.But the young people have the freedom to accept or reject the proposed candidate.

Notes: 1)union 结合 2)assimilation 同化 3)attentive 注意的 4)matchmaker 媒人 5)horoscope 占星术 6)unacceptable 不可接受的 7)fortune-teller 占卜者 8)veil 面纱 9)willingness 自愿，乐意 10)reject 拒绝1 1)candidate 候选人