Marriage certificate in 1972
The "Grand View of Chinese and Foreign Marriage Certificates", which records more than 100 years, more than 100 kinds of marriage certificates, and more than 100 countries and regions, was officially published
Text/Yangcheng Evening News all-media reporter Fu Chang
Photo / Yangcheng Evening News all-media reporter Song Jinyu
Source: Guangdong Marriage and Family Construction Association
The time span is more than 100 years, covering more than 100 countries and regions, more than 100 kinds of marriage certificates, and the "Grand View of Chinese and Foreign Marriage Certificates" that integrates three "one hundred" has been officially published. It is reported that the book was compiled by the Guangdong Marriage and Family Construction Association.
"We want to let everyone know the difference in marriage certificates at different times. The change of the marriage certificate also reflects the changes in the history and culture of the mainland, and each design is closely related to the context of the times and the imprint of history. Chen Wanling, president of the Guangdong Marriage and Family Construction Association, said.
Marriage certificate in Foshan in 1959
Marriage Certificate: From one sheet of paper to eight pages of small books
Guangdong is adjacent to Hong Kong and Macao, and is a major province for overseas Chinese affairs, and its social and economic development is in the forefront of the country, taking the Marriage Certificate of Guangdong Province as an example, we can roughly understand the historical situation of the evolution of the Marriage Certificate in the mainland.
In 1950, after the promulgation of the first Marriage Law in the mainland, the marriage certificate still followed the style of the Republic of China period. From 1955 to 1979, marriage certificates on the mainland were printed by various localities in accordance with national regulations. Most of the marriage certificates in this period are award-style designs, with specifications of 8 open, 16 open, etc., and the design pattern is also similar to the award, and there are a variety of colors.
From the second half of 1979 to 2000, the "Marriage Certificate" across the country was designed according to the size of 32 open, and the cover color of the marriage certificate was mostly dark red.
In May 1986, the Ministry of Civil Affairs uniformly designed the style of marriage certificates in accordance with the provisions of the 1985 Marriage Registration Measures. Guangdong Province has revised the marriage certificate in accordance with the regulations.
In 1991, the Ministry of Civil Affairs issued the "Notice on the Uniform Preparation and Issuance of Marriage Certificates", and Guangdong, like all parts of the country, produced marriage certificates in accordance with the uniform specifications of the Ministry of Civil Affairs.
In 2003, the Ministry of Civil Affairs promulgated a new Regulation on Marriage Registration, ending nearly 50 years of printing marriage certificates separately by each province.
Overall, the mainland marriage registration certificate has roughly undergone changes from one piece of paper to eight pages of small books, and has experienced the diversification of certificates from various places to the gradual unification of the country. Taking Guangdong Province as an example, the marriage certificate in Guangdong "promoted marital autonomy" and communism in the 1950s, "thrift and thrift, family planning" in the 1970s and 1980s, etc., and after the 1980s, it was simple and practical, the information of the marriage parties in the certificate gradually became clear, and the role of the legal documents of the marriage registration certificate became more and more obvious. In 2004, the national marriage certificate was uniformly styled. After the promulgation and implementation of the Civil Code in 2020, the content of the inner page of the national marriage certificate has been modified somewhat.
Marriage certificate in Taishan, Jiangmen, 1968
Design changes: Reflect socio-economic conditions at different times
The marriage certificate is a kind of historical and cultural embodiment, and the appearance of the certificate, exquisite patterns and good wishes reflect the socio-economic conditions in different periods.
For example, in the 1950s, the border of the marriage certificate consisted of a "dragon and phoenix play bead" pattern, and the interior had a specific festive pattern such as a blooming plum blossom and a mandarin duck playing in the water, and there were also certificates with wheat ears, peace doves, red flags and five-pointed stars as borders, and "mutual love and mutual assistance" as the shading.
Marriage certificate in Guangdong in 1984
In the 1960s, in addition to the five-star red flag, five-pointed star, flag, etc., the border of the certificate was also decorated with flowers, ears of wheat, peaches, pomegranates and other patterns, as well as red double happiness characters to express the happiness of marriage.
From the late 1960s to the 1970s, the front and back covers of marriage certificates were generally red, the inner pages were printed with "Quotations of Chairman Mao", Mao Zedong's head and other characteristics of the times, and the surrounding border decorations were various, some border friezes were printed in the center of the industrial gear and wheat ears around the five-pointed star, and some were steelmaking plants and agricultural mechanized farming maps, showing that agriculture and industry showed a new development climate after the founding of New China.
In the 1980s, marriage certificates tended to be concise, and the cover of the marriage certificate was printed from top to bottom with the words "Marriage Certificate" and the big red "囍", and the bottom of the cover was printed with "Guangdong Provincial Civil Affairs Bureau", which means that this certificate is uniformly supervised by the Provincial Civil Affairs Bureau.
In the 1990s, Guangdong Province produced a marriage certificate in accordance with the style uniformly stipulated by the Ministry of Civil Affairs, with a total of eight pages on the cover and inner page.
The story behind it
She donated nearly a thousand marriage certificates
"I myself have witnessed marriage certificates for three generations." Chen Wanling said. In 1940, the marriage certificate of Chen Wanling's parents was a yellowed piece of paper, divided into positive and negative sides, in addition to the names of the groom and bride, but also attached to the family trees of the two families. By 1981, when Chen Wanling got married, the front of the certificate was a big red "囍", and the inner page wrote the names, ages, places of origin and other information of the husband and wife. By 2009, Chen Wanling's son got married, and her marriage certificate was basically the same as it is now.
From 1984 to 2011, Chen Wanling was responsible for marriage management at the Guangdong Provincial Department of Civil Affairs, and after retiring in 2011, she began to serve as the president of the Guangdong Marriage and Family Construction Association. For a long time, based on the convenience of long-term work in charge of marriage registration, Chen Wanling has also collected a large number of marriage certificates in the province and all over the country, and extended the perspective of collecting marriage certificates overseas, collecting nearly a thousand original or photocopies of Chinese and foreign marriage certificates.
In order to make the best protection and reasonable use of these precious marriage culture resources, in April 2020, she resolutely decided to donate all these collections to the Guangdong Provincial Archives, including her parents' marriage certificates. At the same time, she also led the team to select the representative certificates and compile them into the "Grand View of Chinese and Foreign Marriage Certificates" for public publication.
"Donated to the state, although their own treasures are gone, but they can make these collections better protected." I led the staff of the association to edit them into books, and I can also provide some reference and contribution to friends in related industries, which is not a great joy in life. She said.