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導(dǎo)語：不知從什么時(shí)候開始，11月11日成為了單身男女的“節(jié)日”。各種形式的相親大會(huì)都在以不同的形式舉辦。那么，古代是不是也有相親呢？古人是怎么找對(duì)象的呢？

Compared to ancient people, we should feel grateful for having more freedom to find the person we want to be with.?
跟古代人相比，我們應(yīng)該心懷感恩，因?yàn)楝F(xiàn)代人找對(duì)象要比古人自由得多。

In ancient China, marriage was often decided by parents or even the government. And during some periods, like the Jin Dynasty (265-420), marriage policies could go to extremes. Single women must get married by a certain age. If a female was still single at 17, there would be a forced marriage with local administrators' involvement.
在中國的古代，婚姻大事多由父母或官府定來定奪。在一些歷史時(shí)期比如金朝（公元265-420年），婚姻政策則比較極端。律法規(guī)定，單身女子必須在一定的年齡前結(jié)婚。如果單身女子到了17歲仍未嫁娶，當(dāng)?shù)毓俑蜁?huì)介入并強(qiáng)行安排婚配。

Extreme policies to force people to get married were rare. Ancient Chinese had milder ways to encourage people to find a spouse.
當(dāng)然，這種極端的婚姻政策在歷史上是比較少的。在中國古代可是有不少比較溫和的方式鼓勵(lì)年輕人找對(duì)象的。

As early as the Zhou Dynasty (c.11th century-256BC), officials in charge of people's marriages appeared. The Rites of Zhou (Zhou Li), a Chinese book on organizational and bureaucracy theory that came out in the middle of the 2nd century BC, recorded the creation of this kind of officer, who served to manage people's marriages.
早在周朝（公元前11世紀(jì)-公元前256年），官府就開始負(fù)責(zé)婚嫁事宜。先秦儒家經(jīng)典《周禮》（成書于公元前2世紀(jì)中葉，記載古代禮法官制）就記載了這種官職的產(chǎn)生——官媒，專門負(fù)責(zé)婚嫁事宜。

During the Three Kingdoms (220-280), Southern frontiers in China that were still behind in civilization had official matchmakers as well.
三國時(shí)期（公元220-280年），中國一些文明比較落后的南疆地區(qū)也有官媒一職。

The traditional complicated engagement processes before marriage were also simplified by the policies of the Tang (618-907) and Song (960-1279) governments, to encourage more people to get married quickly.
古代傳統(tǒng)婚嫁前的定親儀式是繁瑣復(fù)雜的。到唐（公元618-907）宋（公元960-1279）時(shí)期，為了讓更多青年男女盡快成親，定親儀式已經(jīng)大為簡化。

Official match makers became more professional, especially appointed by the government even with certifications later in the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368).
官媒隨著年代的變遷也逐步專業(yè)化。到了元代（公元1271-1368年）官府甚至統(tǒng)一委派，后期對(duì)主體資格都有明確的規(guī)定。

And in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), there were many such matchmakers in Xinjiang where large numbers of male criminals and farmers were sent for land reclamation. And to let them settle down, official match makers would help the singles to find spouses.
到了清朝（公元1644-1911年），新疆地區(qū)有很多所謂的“媒官”。當(dāng)時(shí)大批的犯人和農(nóng)民被流放至西北開墾荒地，為了讓他們安家，官媒負(fù)責(zé)給這些“遣戶”安排對(duì)象。

Yet not all of them were lucky enough to marry someone, due to the small number of women in the area.
但是，由于當(dāng)?shù)氐呐员容^少，并不是所有的“遣戶”都能夠幸運(yùn)的結(jié)婚。

Opportunities during festivals
古代相親大會(huì)

Ancient Chinese still had certain freedoms to get married with people they liked, rather than being completely manipulated by their parents or government.
當(dāng)然古代的中國人在婚嫁上還是有一定的自由度跟自己喜歡的人成親的?；橐龃笫虏⒉蝗筛改富蚬俑?u>操控。

In the Spring and Autumn Period (770-476BC), there was an annual "Mid-Spring Meeting" on the third day of lunar March that provided unmarried people a chance to get to know each other.
春秋戰(zhàn)國時(shí)期（公元前770-476年），每年的農(nóng)歷三月初三都會(huì)舉辦“仲春會(huì)”，給未婚男女提供見面認(rèn)識(shí)的機(jī)會(huì)。

Lantern Festival was another opportunity for single people to meet. On the night of that day, unmarried men and women would meet at the flower fair and lantern-decorated street.
元宵節(jié)是古代單身男女相見的另一個(gè)機(jī)會(huì)。正月十五晚上，花市和燈籠妝點(diǎn)的集市都是未婚男女約會(huì)的最佳場(chǎng)所。

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