Birth Rituals

Reproduction is intimately linked to the perpetuation and survival of humankind. A large family, a thriving household, and a house full of descendants are the common aspirations of people. In feudal society, where filial piety was regarded as the cornerstone of governance, The ancient maxim, “Of the three great sins of filial impiety, the greatest is having no heir,” vividly underscores the profound importance that our ancestors attached to carrying on the family line and preserving the ancestral flame. From preconception prayers for a child and the taboos observed by expectant mothers, to the rituals surrounding childbirth and the subsequent care of the newborn, these customs all reflect people’s earnest hopes for bearing and raising children and for their healthy growth.

Birth marks the beginning of life and holds a preeminent place among the myriad rites and customs that accompany it. A complex web of rules and rituals governs every stage, from seeking offspring before conception through pregnancy, labor, the one-month celebration, the hundred-day (or first-year) milestone, the first birthday, and beyond.

One 、 Praying for a child  

Praying for a child on the wedding day

Praying for a child is a perennial theme throughout the wedding season and forms the foundation upon which many rituals and customs are built. “When a man grows up, he should marry; when a woman grows up, she should be married,” with the primary aim of establishing a family and ensuring the continuation of the lineage. Consequently, every stage of the wedding ceremony is imbued with the aspiration for having children. Numerous verses in the matrimonial and love poems of the Book of Songs vividly reflect the ancient people’s fervent desire for sons and their enduring custom of praying for offspring, which has persisted through the ages.

·Prayers for a child in the dowry

In rural counties, it is customary to prepare a variety of everyday household items as part of the bride’s dowry, such as bedding, wardrobes, and cosmetics.

In the former Zhaocheng County area, there was a custom of providing bedding—known as “peipei pu fang”—and before marriage, young women were expected to hand‑embroider it themselves. Bridal items such as “covering cloths” and “shoe insoles” are embroidered with auspicious motifs like “mandarin ducks playing in the water,” “carp among lotus flowers,” and “pomegranates with bees and butterflies,” symbolizing marital harmony and numerous offspring. Moreover, the base color of most of these dowry pieces is red.

The tradition of favoring red at weddings stems from primordial beliefs. When a married woman’s menstruation ceases and she experiences pregnancy‑related symptoms such as nausea, loss of appetite, food aversions, and fatigue, it is taken as evidence of conception. At that point, the fetus begins to develop within the mother’s womb. To people of old, blood was synonymous with life; since blood is red, red came to symbolize vitality itself. As procreation has long been one of the central aims of marriage, red naturally became the quintessential color of wedding celebrations.

Cabinets are essential for storing household items and, when a daughter gets married, they are an indispensable piece of the dowry. Once a young woman is engaged, the elders set out to find skilled artisans to craft a cabinet, which is then painted in bright red or deep crimson and adorned with motifs such as peonies and lotus flowers. The wooden cabinet is repeatedly polished with red cloth that has been pounded and thoroughly soaked in walnut oil, until it gleams brilliantly. Just before the wedding, two fresh walnuts are wrapped in red cloth and placed inside the cabinet, along with dried fruits like peanuts and red dates, symbolizing… The homophonic play on “zao” (early) and “hua sheng” (peanuts, which grow alternately male and female) carries the auspicious meaning of praying for an early-born noble child and a family blessed with both sons and daughters.

In earlier dowries, cosmetics were also an indispensable part of the trousseau; however, back then, they were kept in a washbasin. The “dressing box” contains snow cream, hair‑growth oil, a peach‑wood comb, a bamboo comb, and the like; and, of course, it is always filled with peanuts, red dates, and other delicacies, in the hope that the couple will live in harmony and be blessed with a son at an early age.

·Making the bed, cleaning the room

On the wedding day, after the wedding procession had departed, the groom’s family immediately invited two parents who were both still alive and had both sons and daughters. In the “whole‑person” tradition, a heated brick bed—known as a kang—is prepared for the new home, with pregnant women and widows strictly excluded from the process. At the very bottom of the kang lies the “dian,” or kang mat; above it comes the cotton quilt; and on top is the quilt cover. On the dian, beneath the quilt, peanuts and red dates are scattered, while a small handful of seed‑bearing cotton is tucked inside the quilt, symbolizing an early addition to the family and a swift birth. Once the new room has been fully arranged, the door is locked, and no one other than those officially invited may enter until the ceremony is complete—this practice, called “purifying the room,” is intended to ward off evil spirits and ensure good fortune.

·Transfer to the Cabinet

In earlier times, after the bride stepped down from the sedan chair, she was required to… “Treading the silk” refers to laying down cushioning or mats from the spot where the sedan chair is set down to the wedding hall, over which the bride slowly walks. High-ranking officials and wealthy families would spread red carpets, while ordinary households, lacking such resources, substituted with “maolian sacks”—sacks used for storing grain. These sacks are one to two meters long and more than 30 centimeters wide; three to five of them were laid out starting at the point where the sedan chair alighted. After stepping down, the bride, assisted by a trusted attendant, walked slowly across this makeshift pathway. Once she had passed, the mats were rolled up and re‑laid ahead, continuing all the way to the wedding hall—commonly known as “using sacks to bear the carpet.” This practice was called “passing the sack,” with each generation passing it on, symbolizing the transmission of tradition. As the bride entered the house, the floor was covered with these sacks, which were alternately laid down and replaced, encouraging her to walk gently upon them—a ritual that came to be known as both “passing the sack” and “transmitting the legacy.”

As the “stepping‑on‑silk‑bag” ritual unfolds, someone nearby holds up a “sheng”—an ancient square measuring vessel—filled with grains, wheat bran, and wedding candies. These are tossed over the newlyweds, accompanied by the chant: “One toss of bran—auspiciousness and good fortune fill the home; two tosses of candy—joyous celebration welcomes the bride; three tosses of grain—may the crops of the coming year climb high upon the kang.” Such customs all embody the cherished wish for numerous children and descendants, ensuring an ever‑lasting lineage.

Praying for a child in the temple

After marriage, when childlessness sets in, the elderly parents, eager to hold their grandchildren, begin to feel anxious, while the son and daughter-in-law, too, are… Under the influence of traditional beliefs such as “having no heir is a great misfortune” and “raising sons to provide for old age,” people will go to great lengths to conceive as soon as possible, believing that this is the only way to maintain their social standing. In times when medical and sanitary conditions were rudimentary, it was only natural for people to turn to divine power, giving rise to practices like entering temples to pray for children or seeking conception and childbirth through the aid of sacred forces.

·Wangwu Tomb for Childbearing Prayers

The Ancestral Goddess of Humanity —Nüwa, in folk tradition, is remembered for the myth of “molding humans from clay.” She established the institution of marriage and became the progenitor of human matchmakers; henceforth, men and women came to love one another and bear children. Among the people, she is revered as the most efficacious deity of childbirth, invoked by those seeking sons and grandsons.

Hou Village in Zhaocheng Town has “The Mausoleum of Nüwa”—according to legend, after accomplishing such heroic feats as “refining stones to mend the sky,” “first bequeathing the six domestic animals,” “molding humans from clay,” and “uniting in marriage through the zither and se,” Nüwa lived out her days and was laid to rest here. According to the seventh year of the Daoguang era of the Qing dynasty, as recorded in the “Chronicles of Zhaocheng County” (Volume Twenty‑Seven: Temples and Altars): “The Temple of Nüwa stands in Hou Village, eight li east of the county; its original foundation is unknown… Within the temple, an ancient statue depicts Nüwa in imperial robes, holding a ceremonial tablet, attended by concubines; on the hall walls are painted scenes of the broken tortoise and the refining of stones… Behind the temple lie the mausoleum and the stone used to mend the sky. From the Song dynasty onward, annual sacrificial rites were observed; during the Qing period, officials were dispatched on multiple occasions to offer sacrifices, with the ritual orations inscribed on stone tablets erected within the temple. The local magistrates performed two seasonal ceremonies each year—spring and autumn…” Furthermore: “Every year in the third lunar month, villagers hold a festival to honor the deity at the temple; women seeking offspring dig into the soil atop the mausoleum, retrieving small stones which they wrap in silk. A square stone portends a son, while a round one foretells a daughter.” When a woman conceives, she is required to present a pair of embroidered shoes at the temple, entering the main hall to give thanks to the goddess and fulfill her vow.

·Praying for a child at the Auntie Temple

In Yangxie Village, Ganting Town, Hongtong County, there is a… “Tang Yao’s Hometown” houses the “Hall of the Two Phoenixes of the Imperial Princesses,” a shrine dedicated to the two daughters of King Yao. During the temple fairs held on the third day of the third lunar month and the twenty-eighth day of the fourth lunar month, women who are married but childless often come here to pray for offspring. This practice of praying for a child is also known as “stealing a child.” Before the statues of the two aunt‑figures, one can find embroidered shoes offered in gratitude by those who have previously fulfilled their vows. Anyone seeking to conceive lights incense before the statues, closes their eyes, and then randomly selects one embroidered shoe from in front of the statues: taking the left‑foot shoe is believed to bring a son, while the right‑foot shoe is said to bring a daughter. The same ritual applies when praying for a child at the Hall of the Lady of Mount Lishan in Wan’an.

In addition to these two large-scale temples, people throughout the region… Temples such as the Guanyin Bodhisattva Temple, the Hall of the Goddess of Childbearing, and the Jade Emperor Temple, as well as other Daoist monasteries and shrines, also observe the custom of praying for offspring, with rituals and practices that are broadly similar.