摘 要婚俗反映着民族的传统文化，是一个民族历史和文化积淀的外在表现。拥有独特东方魅力的中国婚俗文化也就凝聚了中华文化的精髓。由于思想，宗教，地理，文化等诸多方面的差异，美国的婚姻风俗带有其鲜明的特点。本文将通过对比分析中美婚俗文化之间的差异，阐述中美婚俗在诸多方面的不同。此研究有利于让不同文化背景下的读者互相了解与沟通，进而促进双方的文化交流。83226

毕业论文关键词：中国；美国；婚俗；对比

Abstract  The marriage customs reflect the traditional culture and the history of the ethnic group。 The unique oriental charm of Chinese marriage customs are evolved from the essences of Chinese culture。 Influenced by thought, religion, geography and culture and so on, American marriage customs are accompanied by its own distinctive characters。 This paper exposits the different marriage customs between China and the United States in many ways by comparing the Chinese and American in culture, thought, geographic features, etc。 This paper would help the readers who are brought up in China and or the U。S。 comprehend and communicate with each other, and it would promote the cultural exchange of the two countries。

Key words: Chinese; U。S。; marriage customs; comparison

Contents

摘 要 i

Abstract ii

I。 Introduction 1

II。 A General Introduction of Marriage in China 2

2。1 Marriage Customs in China 2

2。2 Chinese Wedding Preparation 4

2。3 Traditional Chinese Wedding Ceremony 5

III。 A Gerneral Introduction of Marriage in the U。S。 6

3。1 Marriage Customs in the United States 6

3。2 American Wedding Preparation 7

3。3 American Wedding Ceremony 8

IV。 Differences Between Chinese and American Marriage Customs 9

4。1 Aim of Marriage 9

4。2 Aesthetic Taste 10

4。3 Marriage Mediums 10

4。4 Degree of Freedom 11

4。5 Levels of Equality 11

V。 Deep Reasons of the Different Marriage Customs 12

5。1 Cultural Origin 12

5。2 Thinking Mode 12

5。3 Religion 13

5。4 Marital Values 13

5。5 Geographic Features 14

VI。 Conclusion 14

Bibliography 16

Acknowledgements 17

A Comparative Analysis of the Differences in the Marriage Customs Between China and the United States

I。 Introduction

   Marriage customs in the U。S。 are different from that in China。 Chinese people  prefer to have a busy life, and their thought is more old-fashioned。 Therefore, in thousands of years in Chinese history, the marriage customs have not changed much(Lin 234)。 In ancient China, marriage was thought as the origin of rites。 Chinese culture have been always exerting great influence on marriage。 Therefore, the marriage culture have focused on Chinese cultural essence。 And Chinese marriage customs possess oriental characters。 Talking about traditional Chinese marriage, it is generalized by a saying: marriages are arranged according to the wishes of the parents。 In the traditional view of marriage, a marriage is not decided by two young persons’ own affection, but family’s holistic interests。 The aim of marriage is also to reproduce, expand the family, maintain and raise family’s fame and position。 Different from Chinese culture, the United States is a young country based on The Declaration of Independence in 1776。 It is a pretty typical contractual country。 The United States extremely emphasizes equality and freedom among inpiduals。 Meanwhile influenced by Greek Civilization, Hebrew Civilization and Christian Civilization, the U。S。 citizens fully agree that the inpidual’s worth is supreme。 Under such cultural influence, the concept of marriage possess strong inpidualistic characteristic。 Marriage is a very important event in life。 People often get married as they fall in love with each other。 Meanwhile, their parents would not interpose greatly to life。 By contrasting American and Chinese marriage customs, it can be easily seen that there are great cultural differences in a certain extent。 The study would promote cultural communication of China and the U。S。 文献综述