Jiaobeijiu
Jiaobeijiu
A Chinese traditional wine-exchanged nuptial rite
Jiaobeijiu (Chinese: 交杯酒; lit. 'cross-cupped wine'), also known as Hejin (Chinese: 合卺; pinyin: héjǐn; lit. 'to join nuptial wine cup') in ancient times, is a traditional Chinese nuptial ceremonial rite where newlywed couples interlinking and crossing their arms to sip jiu (Chinese: 酒; lit. 'wine') from two separated cups to their future marital happiness, to promise their lifelong love and to make the vows of no separation in the presence of their guests.[1][2][3] This nuptial ceremony can be traced back to the ancient times and already existed in the Qin dynasty;[2] it is suggested that its earliest form had probably started in the late Neolithic period of China;[3] since then, the rite was transmitted down from generation to generation.[2] This ceremony was so common that it gradually became a standard practice in Chinese wedding that people eventually began to refer to marriage as Hejin.[4] This ceremonial rite is still a common practice in Chinese wedding in present-day.[1]