International Social Science Journal (Chinese Edition)

No.4, 2022

 

Adulthood and Entering Society: An Examination Based on the Rites and Rituals of the Capping Ceremony

(Abstract)

 

Chaoyi Gu

 

The capping ceremony, as a highly rational and humanistic ritual, had an important place in ancient Chinese rites and music civilization. This article reveals the meaning of the capping ceremony for “adulthood” through an analysis of the rituals of pre-Qin Confucianism. The capping ceremony, in which the candidates are honored with the respect of the formal dress, marks a new stage for them to understand what it means to be human after the ritual, meaning that they are required to fulfil their ethical responsibilities as a son, a brother, an officer and a junior, and then to fulfil their political responsibilities to govern the clan and the state and to maintain the order of ritual and music, which reflected the unity of social responsibility and individual fulfillment in the life of the community.