{{short description|Confucian coming of age ceremony}} {{Italic title|reason=:Category:Chinese words and phrases}}{{Infobox Chinese | pic = | piccap = A Guan Li ceremony performed in 2013 | s = 冠礼 | t = 冠禮 | p = Guànlǐ | l = To put on a guan ritual | lang1 = English | lang1_content = Capping ceremony }}
The '''{{Transliteration|zh|Guan Li}}''' ({{lang-zh|t=冠禮|s=冠礼|p=guànlǐ}}'')'' is the Confucian coming of age ceremony. According to the {{Transliteration|zh|Li Ji}} ({{Lang-zh|l=Book of Rites}}), it is only after the coming of age ceremonies that young people could call themselves adults and could share social responsibilities.<ref name=":5">{{Cite web|last=Li|first=Hongrui|date=2017|title=Culture Insider: How ancient Chinese welcomed youth into adulthood[1]|url=https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/m/shandong/yantai/2017-05/04/content_29324001.htm|access-date=2021-04-02|website=www.chinadaily.com.cn}}</ref> The name {{Transliteration|zh|Guan Li}} refers to the ritual ceremony for men which involves the use of a {{Transliteration|zh|guan}}, while the {{Transliteration|zh|Ji Li}} ({{zhi|t=笄禮|s=笄礼|p=jīlǐ}}'')'' refers to the one for women and involves the use of a {{Transliteration|zh|ji}}. Both the {{Transliteration|zh|Guan Li}} and {{Transliteration|zh|Ji Li}} have important symbolic meaning for the Han Chinese.<ref name=":2">{{Cite journal|last=Hardy|first=Grant|date=1993|title=The Reconstruction of Ritual: Capping in Ancient China|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/44398771|journal=Journal of Ritual Studies|volume=7|issue=2|pages=69–90|jstor=44398771|issn=0890-1112}}</ref> Both of these ceremonies are key Confucian rites, and are part of the "four rites", along with marriage, mourning rites, and sacrificial rituals.<ref name=":5" />
The {{Transliteration|zh|Guan Li}} and the {{Transliteration|zh|Ji Li}} ceremony can be performed by people of any social class; however, rich people were more likely to hold the ceremony than poor people.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" /> In the 17th century, these ceremonies were banned as the traditional chinese top knot was forcebly replaced by the Manchu Queue, but there has been a recent resurgence of interest, especially in those who are interested in Confucian traditions and {{Transliteration|zh|hanfu}}.<ref name=":0" /> Since 2010, large {{Transliteration|zh|Guan Li}} ceremonies have taken place each year at Wenmiao, in Taiyuan, Shanxi.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mv7dCgAAQBAJ&q=capping+ceremony+china&pg=PA799|title=Modern Chinese Religion II 1850 - 2015|publisher=Brill|others=Jan Kiely, Vincent Goossaert, John Lagerwey|year=2015|isbn=9789004304642|pages=799}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Traditional Chinese coming-of-age ceremony in Shanxi -- china.org.cn|url=http://www.china.org.cn/learning_chinese/news/2010-05/07/content_19992915_2.htm|access-date=2021-04-02|website=www.china.org.cn}}</ref>
== History == thumb|150px| Juebian ({{lang|zh|爵弁}}) of the {{Transliteration|zh|shidafu}} ({{lang|zh|士大夫}}) nobles, first worn during Guan Li and other rites such as marriage ceremonies. The {{Transliteration|zh|Guan Li}} and the {{Transliteration|zh|Ji Li}} ceremony appeared in China in ancient times, prior to the Qin era.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title=Ethics: the Core Concept of Chinese Rite of Passage--《Northwestern Journal of Ethnology》2017年02期|url=https://en.cnki.com.cn/Article_en/CJFDTotal-SAGA201702017.htm|access-date=2021-03-18|website=en.cnki.com.cn|archive-date=2022-09-07|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220907115800/https://en.cnki.com.cn/Article_en/CJFDTotal-SAGA201702017.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> Some philosophical texts dating from the Zhou dynasty and Warring States period provide some evidence for the {{Transliteration|zh|Guan Li}} ceremony, for example in the Analects of Confucius and by texts written by Mencius.<ref name=":2" /> The {{Transliteration|zh|Guan Li}} ceremony can also be found in the Han Shu.<ref name=":2" />
== {{Transliteration|zh|Guan Li}} Ceremony == The {{Transliteration|zh|Guan Li}} is also known as the "capping" ceremony.<ref name=":1" /> The character {{zhp|c=冠|labels=|p=guān}} is sometimes translated as crown or cap.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Evolution of Caps in China|url=http://en.chinaculture.org/2014-12/11/content_584883.htm|access-date=2021-03-19|website=en.chinaculture.org}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=Yuan|first=Xiaowei|title=Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Contemporary Education, Social Sciences and Humanities (ICCESSH 2017) |chapter=Traditional Chinese Jewelry Art: Loss, Rediscovery and Reconstruction Take Headwear as an Example |date=2017|location=Paris, France|publisher=Atlantis Press|doi=10.2991/iccessh-17.2017.135|isbn=978-94-6252-351-7|doi-access=free}}</ref> As a coming of age ceremony, the {{Transliteration|zh|Guan Li}} ceremony marks the passage of man from childhood to adulthood.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2" /> It is only after the {{Transliteration|zh|Guan Li}} ceremony that a man is considered an adult and can be given adult responsibilities and rights; for example, a man could become the heir of his family, get married, inherit a business, and participate in other aspects of society.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web|title=On the Symbolism of Crown Ceremony and Hairpin Rite during the Pre- Qin Period--《Nankai Journal(Philosophy, Literature and Social Science Edition)》2011年04期|url=https://en.cnki.com.cn/Article_en/CJFDTotal-LKXB201104012.htm|access-date=2021-03-18|website=en.cnki.com.cn|archive-date=2023-02-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230202210538/https://en.cnki.com.cn/Article_en/CJFDTotal-LKXB201104012.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>
== Age == The {{Transliteration|zh|Guan Li}} ceremony typically occurs when a man reaches 20 years old and when a woman reaches 15.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":5" /><ref name=":6">{{Cite book|last1=Zhu|first1=Ruixi|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=40elDQAAQBAJ&q=capping+ceremony+china&pg=PA226|title=A social history of middle-period China : the Song, Liao, Western Xia and Jin dynasties|last2=朱瑞熙|date=2016|publisher=Cambridge University Press|others=Bangwei Zhang, Fusheng Liu, Chongbang Cai, Zengyu Wang, Peter Ditmanson, Bang Qian Zhu|isbn=978-1-107-16786-5|edition=Updated|location=Cambridge, United Kingdom|pages=226–227|oclc=953576345}}</ref>
== Location and organization of ceremony == The ceremony takes place in the young man's ancestral temple on a carefully chosen date, which was considered auspicious, and it was organized by a respectable senior relative of the young man.<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Understanding Chinese society|date=2011|publisher=Routledge|others=Xiaowei Zang|isbn=978-0-203-80328-8|location=Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon|oclc=784952529}}</ref> It could also be done by the eastern stairs (which was the entrance typically used by the master of the house) if the boy was a son by the proper wife, to symbolize that he was in the succession line.<ref name=":7">{{Cite book|last=Legge|first=James|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_sIxAQAAMAAJ&q=capping+ceremony+china&pg=RA1-PA55|title=The Sacred Books of China, The Texts of Confucianism|publisher=Clarendon Press|year=1885|volume=27|location=Pennsylvania State University|pages=437–438}}</ref>
On the day of the ceremony, many guests were invited, including the parents of the young man, the master of the ceremony, and an assistant.<ref name=":5" />
== Procedures of {{Transliteration|zh|Guan Li}} ceremony == The procedures of ceremony occur through the following steps:<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":0" /><ref name=":7" />
# Before the ceremony, the boy takes a bath; his hair is done and he then waits in a room. #At the beginning of the ceremony, the father of the boy gives a brief speech. #The boy comes out from the room and meets with the guests. #The father of the boy would hand him a cup, in the guest's place, without receiving one in return. #The senior relative, or the master of the ceremony, washes his hands. # The senior relative places three caps on head of the young man, as follows: ##The ceremony master washes his hand and places a {{Transliteration|zh|futou}} on the boy's head; the boy then goes to another room to wear clothing with the same colour as the cap. After that he comes out and returns to the ceremony master. ##The ceremony master then gives him another cap; the boy goes back to the room and comes back wearing a dark coloured clothing which is worn by adult men to match the cap. #The young man gives a salute to all the guests and officially becomes a "man". # The young man would obtain a courtesy name.
== Derivatives and influences ==
=== Korea === Following the Confucian tradition, Koreans also performed the "capping" ceremony, known as ''Gwallye'' ({{Korean|hangul=관례|hanja=冠禮}}) as a symbol of coming-of-age for men.<ref name=":9">{{Cite book|last=Clark|first=Donald N.|title=Culture and customs of Korea|date=2000|publisher=Greenwood Press|isbn=0-313-00727-6|location=Westport, Conn.|pages=96|oclc=51432263}}</ref><ref name=":10">{{Cite web|title=Coming-of-age ceremony for boys |script-title=zh:冠禮)|url=https://folkency.nfm.go.kr/en/topic/detail/49|access-date=2021-06-12|website=Encyclopedia of Korean Folk Culture}}</ref> On the day of the coming-of-age ceremony, Korean men would have their hair put up in a top knot and cover it with a hat (e.g. a gat) and were official given responsibilities as an adult men.<ref name=":9" /><ref name=":10" /><ref name=":11">{{Cite web|title=Coming-of-age Day|url=https://folkency.nfm.go.kr/en/topic/detail/255|website=Encyclopedia of Korean Folk Culture}}</ref><ref name=":12">{{Cite book|title=Guide to Korean culture.|date=2013|others=Haeoe Hongbowŏn|isbn=978-89-7375-571-4|location=Seoul, Republic of Korea|pages=107–108|oclc=882879939}}</ref>
== Related content ==
* Ji Li (ceremony) – equivalent ceremony for women * {{Transliteration|zh|Guan (headwear)}} * ''Hanfu''
== See also == *''Genpuku'', the Japanese coming-of-age ceremony *''Cug Huê Hng'', the Teochew coming-of-age ceremony
== References == {{Reflist}} {{Types of Han Chinese clothing}}
{{Religious Confucianism}}
Category:Chinese culture Category:Rites of passage Category:East Asian traditions Category:Confucian rites