Chinese Blog Post #2

我觉得小张的弟弟好玩。
是吗？为什么？
他是好看！他也觉得跳舞有意思。
你们昨天晚上跳舞？你后来喝什么了？
我喝了两瓶啤酒，小张喝了一杯茶。

At first I considered writing a blog entry on the traditional wedding ceremonies of the Chinese, but while doing my research into the subject, I found that the process leading up to the ceremony is just as interesting. When the groom decides he wants to marry a certain girl, his family will hire a spokeswoman (in the old days, she was usually a midwife or an elderly woman) to communicate the desire for marriage to the bride's family. If the request is accepted, the groom's family will ask for the brides 'Eight Letters' which represent her birthdate. A fortune teller will take both the bride's and groom's 'Eight Letters' and determine whether or not they will make a suitable couple. The groom's family will then gather together a series of initial and formal gifts to present to the bride's family on a specially selected day (including cash, food, and sacrifices for worshipping ancestors) before the families finally select a wedding date and hold the ceremony. Compared to the traditions of American weddings, I think that these steps are extremely elaborate and very respectful to both parties. I would be curious to try it myself if I lived in the country. The customs that they follow seem to show complete reverence for both the bride and the groom and the love they share (in an idealized setting), which would be what I would want in my marriage.

Source: http://www.chinese-poems.com/wedcus.html