China
has called for the end of lavish and extravagant wedding ceremonies as
the government ramps up its campaign against gaudy displays of
wealth. The ministry of civil affairs said, weddings should “integrate
core socialist values and Chinese traditional culture” and shun anything
extravagant. Officials stressed at a conference on wedding reform over
the weekend that it was “necessary” to incorporate “Xi Jinping Thought,”
the Chinese president’s political ideology, into wedding and marriage
planning. The ministry will ask local authorities to come up with
“wedding etiquette” rules, following the example of one Chinese county
that already limits guests to 200 and permits no gift worth more than
60,000 yuan explicitly forbidding houses and cars. Weddings have long
offered an opportunity for the Chinese to show off their wealth in a
culture where “saving face” is hugely important. The more lavish the
wedding, the more expensive the gifts that must be given. The ministry’s
criticisms of this culture coincided with the long-delayed release
of Crazy Rich Asians, a romantic comedy with an all-Asian cast in which
one couple splurge 40 million dollars on their nuptials. The latest
crackdown partly aims to reduce “bride prices,” which have been on the
rise in China after four decades of the “one child policy” led to a
shortage of women. Last year, Dengzhou, a city in Henan province, capped
the cost for a bride at 30,000 yuan. These “reverse dowries” typically
include the cost of an expensive wedding and a cash payment to the bride
and her family. Prices have risen significantly in rural areas where
the gender imbalance is more acute than in cities. Authorities are also
concerned that the tradition of playing pranks on the bride and groom
originally thought to ward off evil spirits is out of hand. One groom
was hit by a car last week as he tried to escape a pre-wedding hazing
that saw him tied up and beaten.China bans extravagant wedding ceremonies as part of its morality campaign
China
has called for the end of lavish and extravagant wedding ceremonies as
the government ramps up its campaign against gaudy displays of
wealth. The ministry of civil affairs said, weddings should “integrate
core socialist values and Chinese traditional culture” and shun anything
extravagant. Officials stressed at a conference on wedding reform over
the weekend that it was “necessary” to incorporate “Xi Jinping Thought,”
the Chinese president’s political ideology, into wedding and marriage
planning. The ministry will ask local authorities to come up with
“wedding etiquette” rules, following the example of one Chinese county
that already limits guests to 200 and permits no gift worth more than
60,000 yuan explicitly forbidding houses and cars. Weddings have long
offered an opportunity for the Chinese to show off their wealth in a
culture where “saving face” is hugely important. The more lavish the
wedding, the more expensive the gifts that must be given. The ministry’s
criticisms of this culture coincided with the long-delayed release
of Crazy Rich Asians, a romantic comedy with an all-Asian cast in which
one couple splurge 40 million dollars on their nuptials. The latest
crackdown partly aims to reduce “bride prices,” which have been on the
rise in China after four decades of the “one child policy” led to a
shortage of women. Last year, Dengzhou, a city in Henan province, capped
the cost for a bride at 30,000 yuan. These “reverse dowries” typically
include the cost of an expensive wedding and a cash payment to the bride
and her family. Prices have risen significantly in rural areas where
the gender imbalance is more acute than in cities. Authorities are also
concerned that the tradition of playing pranks on the bride and groom
originally thought to ward off evil spirits is out of hand. One groom
was hit by a car last week as he tried to escape a pre-wedding hazing
that saw him tied up and beaten.
