{"id":1733,"date":"2025-08-28T01:11:51","date_gmt":"2025-08-27T17:11:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.zhangruying.com\/en\/?p=1733"},"modified":"2025-08-26T18:22:43","modified_gmt":"2025-08-26T10:22:43","slug":"guan-li-%e5%86%a0%e7%a4%bc-ji-li-%e7%ac%84%e7%a4%bc-the-ancient-chinese-coming-of-age-ceremonies-of-the-han-people","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.zhangruying.com\/en\/1733","title":{"rendered":"Guan Li \u51a0\u793c &#038; Ji Li \u7b04\u793c: The Ancient Chinese Coming-of-Age Ceremonies of the Han People"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.zhangruying.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/zhangruying-Guan-Li-\u51a0\u793c-Ji-Li-\u7b04\u793c-The-Ancient-Chinese-Coming-of-Age-Ceremonies-of-the-Han-People-1.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1737\" src=\"https:\/\/www.zhangruying.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/zhangruying-Guan-Li-\u51a0\u793c-Ji-Li-\u7b04\u793c-The-Ancient-Chinese-Coming-of-Age-Ceremonies-of-the-Han-People-1.jpg\" alt=\"Zhang Ruying - Guan Li \u51a0\u793c &amp; Ji Li \u7b04\u793c: The Ancient Chinese Coming-of-Age Ceremonies of the Han People - 1\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.zhangruying.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/zhangruying-Guan-Li-\u51a0\u793c-Ji-Li-\u7b04\u793c-The-Ancient-Chinese-Coming-of-Age-Ceremonies-of-the-Han-People-1.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.zhangruying.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/zhangruying-Guan-Li-\u51a0\u793c-Ji-Li-\u7b04\u793c-The-Ancient-Chinese-Coming-of-Age-Ceremonies-of-the-Han-People-1-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.zhangruying.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/zhangruying-Guan-Li-\u51a0\u793c-Ji-Li-\u7b04\u793c-The-Ancient-Chinese-Coming-of-Age-Ceremonies-of-the-Han-People-1-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.zhangruying.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/zhangruying-Guan-Li-\u51a0\u793c-Ji-Li-\u7b04\u793c-The-Ancient-Chinese-Coming-of-Age-Ceremonies-of-the-Han-People-1-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.zhangruying.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/zhangruying-Guan-Li-\u51a0\u793c-Ji-Li-\u7b04\u793c-The-Ancient-Chinese-Coming-of-Age-Ceremonies-of-the-Han-People-1-200x200.jpg 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Before diving into today\u2019s topic, let\u2019s first get familiar with these two terms:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Guan Li (\u51a0\u793c), literally means \u201cGuan ceremony\u201d<br \/>\nGuan (\u51a0 ; gu\u0101n) means hat or crown<br \/>\nLi (\u793c; l\u01d0) means ceremony or ritual<\/li>\n<li>Ji Li (\u7b04\u793c), literally means \u201cJi ceremony\u201d<br \/>\nJi (\u7b04; j\u012b) means hairpin<br \/>\nLi (\u793c; l\u01d0) means ceremony or ritual<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>For simplicity, I\u2019ll use Guan Li and Ji Li throughout this article.<\/p>\n<h4>What Are Guan Li and Ji Li?<\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.zhangruying.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/zhangruying-Guan-Li-\u51a0\u793c-Ji-Li-\u7b04\u793c-The-Ancient-Chinese-Coming-of-Age-Ceremonies-of-the-Han-People-5.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1738\" src=\"https:\/\/www.zhangruying.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/zhangruying-Guan-Li-\u51a0\u793c-Ji-Li-\u7b04\u793c-The-Ancient-Chinese-Coming-of-Age-Ceremonies-of-the-Han-People-5.jpg\" alt=\"Zhang Ruying - Guan Li \u51a0\u793c &amp; Ji Li \u7b04\u793c: The Ancient Chinese Coming-of-Age Ceremonies of the Han People - 5\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.zhangruying.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/zhangruying-Guan-Li-\u51a0\u793c-Ji-Li-\u7b04\u793c-The-Ancient-Chinese-Coming-of-Age-Ceremonies-of-the-Han-People-5.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.zhangruying.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/zhangruying-Guan-Li-\u51a0\u793c-Ji-Li-\u7b04\u793c-The-Ancient-Chinese-Coming-of-Age-Ceremonies-of-the-Han-People-5-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.zhangruying.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/zhangruying-Guan-Li-\u51a0\u793c-Ji-Li-\u7b04\u793c-The-Ancient-Chinese-Coming-of-Age-Ceremonies-of-the-Han-People-5-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.zhangruying.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/zhangruying-Guan-Li-\u51a0\u793c-Ji-Li-\u7b04\u793c-The-Ancient-Chinese-Coming-of-Age-Ceremonies-of-the-Han-People-5-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.zhangruying.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/zhangruying-Guan-Li-\u51a0\u793c-Ji-Li-\u7b04\u793c-The-Ancient-Chinese-Coming-of-Age-Ceremonies-of-the-Han-People-5-200x200.jpg 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Guan Li and Ji Li, are important traditions of the Han people in ancient China, a kind of \u201ccoming-of-age ceremony\u201d that marked the change of status from child to adult. Different from just a birthday party or sweet seventeen, this ceremony had deep social and moral meanings.<\/p>\n<p>In ancient times, becoming an adult was not only about age or physique, but also about the responsibility of being an official adult in society.<\/p>\n<p>The coming-of-age ceremony, also called Cheng Ding Li (\u6210\u4e01\u793c ; ch\u00e9ng d\u012bng l\u01d0), signified that when a young man or woman reached a certain age, already considered mature biologically, they were allowed to marry, and from that time on, they were recognized as adults in their clan and participated in various activities.<\/p>\n<p>Only by being able to practice virtues such as filial piety (\u5b5d ; xi\u00e0o), respect (\u608c ; t\u00ec), loyalty (\u5fe0 ; zh\u014dng), and obedience (\u987a ; sh\u00f9n), could one become a worthy child, a worthy sibling, a worthy citizen (in the past, meaning a worthy subordinate), and a worthy junior, and thus a proper member of society.<\/p>\n<h4>The Difference Between Guan Li and Ji Li<\/h4>\n<p>For males, the coming-of-age ceremony was called Guan Li (\u51a0\u793c).<br \/>\nFor females, it was called Ji Li (\u7b04\u793c).<\/p>\n<h5>Guan Li (\u51a0\u793c): The Male Coming-of-Age<\/h5>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.zhangruying.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/zhangruying-Guan-Li-\u51a0\u793c-Ji-Li-\u7b04\u793c-The-Ancient-Chinese-Coming-of-Age-Ceremonies-of-the-Han-People-2.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1736\" src=\"https:\/\/www.zhangruying.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/zhangruying-Guan-Li-\u51a0\u793c-Ji-Li-\u7b04\u793c-The-Ancient-Chinese-Coming-of-Age-Ceremonies-of-the-Han-People-2.jpg\" alt=\"Zhang Ruying - Guan Li \u51a0\u793c &amp; Ji Li \u7b04\u793c: The Ancient Chinese Coming-of-Age Ceremonies of the Han People - 2\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.zhangruying.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/zhangruying-Guan-Li-\u51a0\u793c-Ji-Li-\u7b04\u793c-The-Ancient-Chinese-Coming-of-Age-Ceremonies-of-the-Han-People-2.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.zhangruying.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/zhangruying-Guan-Li-\u51a0\u793c-Ji-Li-\u7b04\u793c-The-Ancient-Chinese-Coming-of-Age-Ceremonies-of-the-Han-People-2-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.zhangruying.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/zhangruying-Guan-Li-\u51a0\u793c-Ji-Li-\u7b04\u793c-The-Ancient-Chinese-Coming-of-Age-Ceremonies-of-the-Han-People-2-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.zhangruying.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/zhangruying-Guan-Li-\u51a0\u793c-Ji-Li-\u7b04\u793c-The-Ancient-Chinese-Coming-of-Age-Ceremonies-of-the-Han-People-2-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.zhangruying.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/zhangruying-Guan-Li-\u51a0\u793c-Ji-Li-\u7b04\u793c-The-Ancient-Chinese-Coming-of-Age-Ceremonies-of-the-Han-People-2-200x200.jpg 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Guan Li (\u51a0\u793c ; gu\u0101n l\u01d0) was one of the \u201cceremonies of happiness (\u5609\u793c ; ji\u0101 l\u01d0)&#8221;. Underage males did not wear the Guan (hat\/crown), so the wearing of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zhangruying.com\/en\/tag\/guan\">Guan<\/a> became a sign of maturity for a male, meaning he was already allowed to marry and take part in various clan activities.<\/p>\n<p>According to records in the classics, this ceremony had already been practiced since the Zhou dynasty. Based on Zhou regulations, males underwent Guan Li at the age of 20. However, emperors and nobles sometimes did it earlier so that they could soon manage governance. It is said that King Wen of Zhou (\u5468\u6587\u738b ; Zh\u014duw\u00e9n w\u00e1ng) wore the Guan at the age of 12, while King Cheng (\u6210\u738b ; Ch\u00e9ng w\u00e1ng) wore it at the age of 15.<\/p>\n<p>In ancient times, Guan Li was held in the ancestral temple, usually in the second month. Ten days before the day of the ceremony, the participant first had to divine a good day (\u535c\u7b6e\u5409\u65e5 ; b\u01d4 sh\u00ec j\u00ed r\u00ec). If, within ten days, no good day was found, then another good day was chosen within the next ten days, and then the chosen day was announced to relatives and friends.<\/p>\n<p>Three days before Guan Li, another divination was performed to choose the \u201cgreat guest (\u5927\u5bbe ; d\u00e0 b\u012bn)\u201d who would lead the ceremony, as well as a \u201cGuan assistant (\u8d5e\u51a0 ; z\u00e0n gu\u0101n)\u201d to help the ceremony proceed. On the day of the ceremony, the host (usually the participant\u2019s father), the great guest, and the participant all wore ritual clothing. First, the Zibu Guan (\u7f01\u5e03\u51a0 ; z\u012b b\u00f9 gu\u0101n) was worn, then the Pi Bian (\u76ae\u5f01 ; p\u00ed bi\u00e0n), and finally the Jue Bian (\u7235\u5f01 ; ju\u00e9 bi\u00e0n). Each time a hat was put on, the great guest recited a blessing prayer (\u795d\u8f9e ; zh\u00f9 c\u00ed).<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1734\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1734\" style=\"width: 582px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.zhangruying.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/zhangruying-Guan-Li-\u51a0\u793c-Ji-Li-\u7b04\u793c-The-Ancient-Chinese-Coming-of-Age-Ceremonies-of-the-Han-People-4.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1734\" src=\"https:\/\/www.zhangruying.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/zhangruying-Guan-Li-\u51a0\u793c-Ji-Li-\u7b04\u793c-The-Ancient-Chinese-Coming-of-Age-Ceremonies-of-the-Han-People-4.jpg\" alt=\"Zhang Ruying - Guan Li \u51a0\u793c &amp; Ji Li \u7b04\u793c: The Ancient Chinese Coming-of-Age Ceremonies of the Han People - 4\" width=\"582\" height=\"900\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.zhangruying.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/zhangruying-Guan-Li-\u51a0\u793c-Ji-Li-\u7b04\u793c-The-Ancient-Chinese-Coming-of-Age-Ceremonies-of-the-Han-People-4.jpg 582w, https:\/\/www.zhangruying.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/zhangruying-Guan-Li-\u51a0\u793c-Ji-Li-\u7b04\u793c-The-Ancient-Chinese-Coming-of-Age-Ceremonies-of-the-Han-People-4-194x300.jpg 194w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 582px) 100vw, 582px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1734\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Song dynasty, anonymous\u300a\u5bb6\u5c71\u56fe\u4e66\u300b(Jia Shan Tu Shu):\u300a\u4e09\u52a0\u51a0\u56fe\u300b(Three Crownings)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>After that, the Guan Li participant paid respect to his mother. Then, the great guest gave him a courtesy name (\u5b57 ; z\u00ec). During the Zhou dynasty, this name was usually in the form \u201cBo Moufu\u201d (\u4f2f\u67d0\u752b ; b\u00f3 m\u01d2u f\u01d4), where Bo (\u4f2f ; b\u00f3), Zhong (\u4ef2 ; zh\u00f2ng), Shu (\u53d4 ; sh\u016b), Ji (\u5b63 ; j\u00ec) were determined according to birth order.<\/p>\n<p>Afterward, the host escorted the great guest to the temple gate, offered him drinks, and presented gifts in the form of five rolls of silk fabric and two pieces of deerskin, as well as animal meat as a reward. The Guan Li participant then changed into ritual clothing and paid respects to the ruler, bringing offering gifts to greet the village officials.<\/p>\n<p>If the father had already passed away, the Guan Li participant had to offer a ritual to his father\u2019s spirit tablet, showing that Guan Li was performed before his father. After the offering, he greeted his uncles, and then a banquet was held.<\/p>\n<p>The ceremony of wearing the Guan, receiving a courtesy name, as well as paying respects to the ruler and elders, later varied depending on time and region.<\/p>\n<h5>Ji Li (\u7b04\u793c): The Female Coming-of-Age<\/h5>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.zhangruying.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/zhangruying-Guan-Li-\u51a0\u793c-Ji-Li-\u7b04\u793c-The-Ancient-Chinese-Coming-of-Age-Ceremonies-of-the-Han-People-3.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-1735\" src=\"https:\/\/www.zhangruying.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/zhangruying-Guan-Li-\u51a0\u793c-Ji-Li-\u7b04\u793c-The-Ancient-Chinese-Coming-of-Age-Ceremonies-of-the-Han-People-3.jpg\" alt=\"Zhang Ruying - Guan Li \u51a0\u793c &amp; Ji Li \u7b04\u793c: The Ancient Chinese Coming-of-Age Ceremonies of the Han People - 3\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.zhangruying.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/zhangruying-Guan-Li-\u51a0\u793c-Ji-Li-\u7b04\u793c-The-Ancient-Chinese-Coming-of-Age-Ceremonies-of-the-Han-People-3.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.zhangruying.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/zhangruying-Guan-Li-\u51a0\u793c-Ji-Li-\u7b04\u793c-The-Ancient-Chinese-Coming-of-Age-Ceremonies-of-the-Han-People-3-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.zhangruying.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/zhangruying-Guan-Li-\u51a0\u793c-Ji-Li-\u7b04\u793c-The-Ancient-Chinese-Coming-of-Age-Ceremonies-of-the-Han-People-3-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.zhangruying.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/zhangruying-Guan-Li-\u51a0\u793c-Ji-Li-\u7b04\u793c-The-Ancient-Chinese-Coming-of-Age-Ceremonies-of-the-Han-People-3-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.zhangruying.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/zhangruying-Guan-Li-\u51a0\u793c-Ji-Li-\u7b04\u793c-The-Ancient-Chinese-Coming-of-Age-Ceremonies-of-the-Han-People-3-200x200.jpg 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>For girls, the parallel ceremony was Ji Li (\u7b04\u793c ; j\u012b l\u01d0), also counted among the Jia Li (\u5609\u793c ; ji\u0101 l\u01d0). It was often called \u201cShangtou\u201d (\u4e0a\u5934 ; sh\u00e0ng tou) or \u201cShangtou Li\u201d (\u4e0a\u5934\u793c ; sh\u00e0ng tou l\u01d0). <a href=\"https:\/\/www.zhangruying.com\/en\/tag\/ji\">Ji<\/a> (\u7b04 ; j\u012b) means hairpin. Usually performed at the age of 15, but if not yet betrothed by the age of 20, then the ceremony was still carried out.<\/p>\n<p>As the coming-of-age ceremony for females, Ji Li held the same status as Guan Li (\u51a0\u793c) for males, namely marking that one had already become an adult. In Ji Li, the girl in question would change her childhood hairstyle; her hair would be coiled into a bun, then wrapped with black cloth, and then a hairpin would be inserted to fasten the bun.<\/p>\n<p>The main executors of Ji Li were the girl\u2019s parents, while female guests invited would help insert the hairpin, which signified that the girl had become an adult and was already allowed to marry.<\/p>\n<p>Usually, after Ji Li, aristocratic girls had to receive adult education in the palace or in noble families, being taught about women\u2019s virtues (\u5987\u5fb7 ; f\u00f9 d\u00e9), women\u2019s appearance (\u5987\u5bb9 ; f\u00f9 r\u00f3ng), women\u2019s skills (\u5987\u529f ; f\u00f9 g\u014dng), and women\u2019s speech (\u5987\u8a00 ; f\u00f9 y\u00e1n). All of these were regarded as the qualities, manners, and household skills a woman must possess (as a daughter-in-law after marriage), including etiquette in interactions and the ability to sew, weave, and do handicraft work.<\/p>\n<p>In later times, this ceremony changed into the delivery of admonitions by the girl\u2019s mother, teaching ethics and manners, which was called Jiao Cha (\u6559\u8336 ; ji\u00e0o ch\u00e1).<\/p>\n<p>A girl who reached the age of fifteen was called \u201cJi Ji (\u53ca\u7b04 ; j\u00ed j\u012b),\u201d meaning she had reached the age of Ji Li.<\/p>\n<p>It should be noted that, compared with the coming-of-age ceremonies, whether Guan Li (\u51a0\u793c) or Ji Li (\u7b04\u793c) of the royal\/noble descendants, the coming-of-age ceremonies for common people were much simpler.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Before diving into today\u2019s topic, let\u2019s first get familiar with these two terms: Guan Li (\u51a0\u793c), literally means \u201cGuan ceremony\u201d&#46;&#46;&#46;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":1737,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[1115,1114,551,50,52,1128,53,1121,1119,1123,1125,1117,1124,1126,1127,1112,1129,1116,1122,1120,55,1113,1118],"class_list":["post-1733","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history-culture","tag-cheng-ding-li","tag-coming-of-age-ceremony","tag-guan","tag-guan-li","tag-ji","tag-ji-ji","tag-ji-li","tag-jue-bian","tag-pi-bian","tag-shangtou","tag-shangtou-li","tag-zibu-guan","tag-1124","tag-1126","tag-1127","tag-1112","tag-1129","tag-1116","tag-1122","tag-1120","tag-55","tag-1113","tag-1118"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zhangruying.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1733","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zhangruying.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zhangruying.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zhangruying.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/38"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zhangruying.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1733"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.zhangruying.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1733\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zhangruying.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1737"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.zhangruying.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1733"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zhangruying.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1733"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.zhangruying.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1733"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}