In Jieyang, Guangdong, Cha [chá] bridge, Meixi, Meidong, and Xia Liusi villages have just lifted the century-old covenant of "no intermarriage".
No one can say the reason for the feud, it is generally because of "grabbing resources", but the "ancestral teachings" that cannot be intermarried have been circulated in Chaqiao, Gaomei, Taidong and the West. Villager Yang Lianghao told Jiupai News that in the past, some young people did not agree with the older generation's statement, but they rarely intermarried without permission. Previously, some men and women who had intermarried privately broke down their marriages for various reasons.
Now, they exchange plaques of good-neighborliness and inform their ancestors in each other's ancestral halls that the villages are now friendly and can intermarry with each other.
"My old leader did this when he was in office, but in the end it failed." Yang Yanchu, secretary of the party committee of Chaqiao Village, told Jiupai News that the most difficult thing was to get the village elders to nod. "At the first meeting, everyone disagreed, and we did the work repeatedly, and it took two months and more than a dozen meetings to solve the problem. ”
In this regard, Lu Dewen, a professor at the School of Sociology of Wuhan University, believes that the blood and geographical relations in the southern region are highly condensed. Its hilly geographical environment makes the village ecology relatively stable, and the competitive relationship is also highlighted. At a certain point in history, the two families may break up due to fierce competition.
But over time, this so-called "feud" ethic is not necessarily applicable in today's society, and although there will be occasional individuals who want to break this tradition, the pressure will be great. Local governments, on the other hand, represent a formal norm and system, which is a powerful hedge against the informal norm of "no intermarriage".
At the long table in the ancestral hall, the villagers sat together.
The following is a conversation with Yang Yanchuan, Secretary of the Party Committee of Chaqiao Village.
Restore the geographical distribution of the four villages of intermarriage. Photo/"Xianqiao Zhi"
Tai'an Radio and Television Station Tai'an Voice Rong Media Center
Source: Jiupai News
Editor-in-charge: Tian Yongqi
Review: Zhao Qi
Final review: Yu Yanhong