Age-old wedding culture re-enacted in Shanghai

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Age-old wedding culture re-enacted in Shanghai

(CNTV) 13:35, September 25, 2013

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In Shanghai, a traditional wedding ceremony from more than 800 years ago has been performed. The ceremony is part of a wide array of activities at the Confucius cultural festival in the city.

An age-old ceremony based on Confucian philosophy and Chinese folk customs. This wedding ceremony emphasizes faithfulness in marriage and is said to bring blessings to the union. The overseer of the re-enactment of the ceremony is a direct descendant of Zhuxi, a renowned scholar of Confucian philosophy from more than 800 years ago.

In Shanghai, a traditional wedding ceremony from more than 800 years ago has been performed. (Photo/CNTV)

Zhu Jieren said, "The bride and the groom cross arms and drink, this symbolizes their coming together for the rest of their lives."

The various procedures of the ceremony are carried out down to the last detail. It is performed at the Jia Ding Confucius temple, one of the top centres of Confucianism since the Ming dynasty more that 4 hundred years ago. The entire event is narrated to explain the meaning of each segment to visitors.

Audience member said, "I saw something like this when I was little, and its just great to see it being preserved and acted out here."

More traditional culture will be featured and acted out at the festival, including drama and folk culture presentations. The festival will last until the end of this week, so come and see for yourself in Shanghai.