Why do Chinese force boys to lie on the marriage bed (7 photos)

It's a ritual, a very ancient one, but it's still preserved. And the further you go into the countryside, the more seriously it's taken. Will there be a wedding? You can't have a boy in bed, otherwise Mom and Dad will fight!





Oh, everyone's so dressed up!

This tradition is centuries old and is called gong zhuang, or "rolling over on the bed." It originated in northern China but has since spread throughout the country because it hits a nerve. A preschool-aged or elementary school-aged boy must roll around on a beautifully decorated bed, which will become the newlyweds' marriage bed. He must sing rhymes while doing so, encouraging the couple to have children and a prosperous life. He is taught phrases in advance: "This bed is wide, next year it will be filled with mountains of gold and silver," or "This bed is long, and soon a distinguished scholar will live in this house."



Here I'm more interested in the groom; his family is probably wealthy.

The fact is that in ancient China, the survival of a family depended on the number of workers. And of course, they needed an heir who could plow the fields better and chop more firewood. If a family had too many young daughters, they would literally fall into poverty. According to legend, a woman from the Zhao family gave birth to six daughters in a row and desperately wanted a son. That night, she dreamed of a wise old man with flowing white hair, who whispered to her the secret of having a son.





Some boys may start eating gifts if they are very young.

The next morning, the wife went to visit her son-in-law and brought his two young sons. At home, she made them roll around her bed three times. A few months later, she gave birth to twin sons. She shared this with her friends, and this method of "praying for a son" soon became a well-known tradition.

Not every boy is suitable for this!



But older children are mischievous and jump around, dropping dates.

The selection of "riding" boys was strict: they had to be between five and six years old, and usually they belonged to the groom's family. Although nowadays, if such a child is not found, the age limit can be extended (sometimes to strange extremes). Some emphasize the child's age, while others focus on the degree of kinship. There are many different schools of thought here, "professed" by the guardians of Chinese tradition. The bed is also prepared: characters for "son" or "soon birth of a happy child" are laid out of dates or peanuts, and the like. During the riding, the boy must ensure that these objects do not fall apart, symbolizing the unbreakable love and well-being of the newlyweds.



Here, two children were found at once, one of them not even two years old.

Everyone watches the boy skate and then applauds. The boy receives payment for his work (very logical for a country where children are given red envelopes with money at New Year's). It's usually a small sum, up to 50 yuan. All Chinese people really enjoy this custom, unlike humiliating wedding pranks.

Are only boys needed?



They asked for a foreign child, but he doesn't understand what to do.

It seems strange for a country with such a crisis with girls that they still insist on performing the ritual for the birth of a boy. It's so wonderful for a daughter to see her mom and dad's wedding photos later, where they're crossing their fingers, "I hope it's a boy, I hope it's a boy." Therefore, the most advanced couples might send a couple of children, forcing a boy and a girl to be together. Or just a girl.



It's so simple, but so sweet!

And since China has a cult following for academic achievement and titles, sometimes an adult student from a very prestigious university is invited. One recorded case: in southern China, a 26-year-old graduate student rolled around on the bed at his older sister's wedding. The bride explained that she was doing this to wish her future children the same academic success as their uncle. Creative, nothing to say!