Abstract:A wedding, loaded with great happiness and sweet memories, is a ceremony for the combination of the two lovers. While wedding customs, accompanied by a variety of weddings, are formed by practice for a long period of time. They represent important cultural features of one nation. Wedding customs can fully show the social life, aesthetic views, religion and ethics values and the national psychological development of the ethnic groups. Both China and Britain are countries with a long history and a rich culture, presenting the different wedding customs and wedding concepts due to the different cultural backgrounds.

The thesis aims at comparing of wedding customs and analyzing causes of differences in China and Britain through the films Wedding Banquet and Four Weddings and a Funeral. By comparison of the wedding customs of the two countries can help readers have a better understanding of the cultural origins and enhance the consciousness of cross-cultural communication.

Keywords:  China  Britain  wedding customs  comparative study

Contents

Abstract

摘要

Chapter One Introduction-1

1.1 An Overview of the Films-1

1.2 Purpose and Significance of the Study-1

1.3 Organization of the Thesis-1

Chapter Two Literature Review-3

2.1 Definitions of Marriage-3

2.2 Origins of Marriage and Wedding Customs-3

2.3 Previous Researches of Wedding Customs-4

Chapter Three The Comparison of Different Traditional Wedding Customs between China and Britain-5

3.1 The Differences of Traditional Wedding Customs in the Two Countries-5

3.1.1 The Atmosphere of the Weddings-5

3.1.2 The Places of the Weddings-5

3.1.3 The Background Colors of the Weddings-5

3.1.4 The Dresses of the Weddings-6

3.1.5 The Procedures of the Weddings-7

3.1.6 The Cost of the Weddings-8

3.2 The Similarities of Traditional Wedding Customs in the Two Countries-8

Chapter Four The Causes of Different Traditional Wedding Customs between China and Britain-9

4.1 The Different History Background-9

4.2 The Different Religious Beliefs-9

4.3 The Different Ways of Thinking-9

4.4 The Different Aesthetic Standards-10

Chapter Five Conclusion-11

References-12