多重视角下彩礼的解读

Abstract

Betrothal gifts is a concept of Chinese betrothal marriage, and its ultimate meaning is linked to how Chinese culture views the union of the sexes. At present, Chinese academic researches on betrothal gifts mainly focus on the analysis of the formation mechanism of sky-high betrothal gifts from the perspective of sociology at the macro level, and lack of researches on the significance of betrothal gifts from the perspective of individuals at the micro level. At the same time, the subjects of previous studies are mainly rural youth, and there is a lack of research on how urban youth understand the significance of betrothal gifts. Taking C County in the southwest of Shandong Province as the field observation point, this paper selects and interprets the representative cases in the process of negotiating betrothal gifts according to the observation experience, and tries to explain their views on the betrothal gifts and their cognition of the functions held by the betrothal gifts from the three different identity perspectives of men, women and parents, so as to provide a reasonable research path for an all-round understanding of the phenomenon of "high price betrothal gifts". Five research participants in this paper gave oral accounts of their experience and understanding in the negotiation process of betrothal gifts and their views on the role of betrothal gifts. In the process of negotiating betrothal gifts, due to their different positions, their understanding of betrothal gifts is also different. In short, the main motivation of the study participants from love to marriage is the responsibility for the feelings during this period, and the second is to judge whether the other party is suitable for their life partner. It has nothing to do with the motive of marriage. The man has no right to decide the amount of the betrothal gifts. After the woman proposes the amount, the amount of the betrothal gifts is finally decided by both parties through negotiation. In this process, the phenomenon of maximizing the meaning of betrothal gifts will also occur. From a man's perspective, "betrothal gifts" is a "stumbling block" for love to move towards marriage. Once the betrothal gifts is collected, it is equivalent to having an entrance ticket to marriage. From the perspective of women, the "betrothal gifts" is the "reassurance" given by the husband and the family in law. The "betrothal gifts" is not only the guarantee of marriage, but also the guarantee of their own life after marriage. From the perspective of parents, "betrothal gifts" is the largest amount of "pocket money" given to children, which is not only the meaning of money, but also the greatest blessing given by parents to children.