The picture is small, so I will explain. Those are in fact buttless pants, and they are what most babies up to about two years wear. Convenient, and reinforces my notion of the Chinese as what Brennan called, "not fecal phobic" people.
Finally the baby got cleared away, and so did the furniture in front of the couches. The bride and groom came out of their room and after the window they were facing was ceremoniously closed, they faced the empty couch, looking goofy and nervous.
The young couple faced the couch, and two-by-two the older relatives would come and sit on the couch. Bride and groom would bow and address both people by their titles and bow again, and then the relatives would leave a red paper envelope of money on a tray for them and the next relatives would take a turn. We went through Grandmother and Grandfathers, Aunts and Uncles, and parents in this way. It was very symbolic of accepting the other person's family completely, and the mingling of relatives going on in the background indicated that people took this uniting of families business pretty seriously. On a whole this part of the ceremony was really nice, very low key and informal, since very few people were actually paying attention to it, and sometimes people forgot their envelopes of money and dashed off to hunt for them in big purses while the ceremony continued without them.
We were finally ushered back to the hotel by the engineer, and given an hour to rest before the reception. I wrote about my day and the guys dozed, and I heard more fireworks going off out in front of the hotel.
A room just off the lobby in the hotel was set for a banquet. The room was crowded with tables, easily twenty or so great round tables, each table set for at least ten diners. The room was just beginning to fill up when we trailed downstairs. Tables were wet with tiny cups, plates and bowls, chopsticks and spoons and more peanuts and candy. People shelled their nuts and threw the shells on the floor. Great big gold boxes on our table housed delicate red and white ceramic bottles of potent wine, and there were liter bottles of Sprite and Coke, which seemed incongruous.
The room filled up with crowds of people and their noise and their smoke. Even people who didn't normally smoke would smoke on a wedding, Bryan told us, translating for Granddad, it was lucky. Only one pictures kind of gives the impression of how the room was, and then only a bit. This was taken as the bride and room entered, and it was the only time for the rest of the afternoon that there was anything approaching a quiet or hush.
The bride and groom marched up the center aisle and then stood awkwardly on a platform at the front of the room, being stared at. A man with a microphone (who seemed to be a professional, though so far removed from a minister or justice of the peace that he reminded me more of an auctioneer) led them in another part of the wedding ceremony. He had them bow to each other, and then drink a toast to each other. Making this toast more difficult was the fact that it was done by hooking arms around each other, and giving each a drink from the other's glass. The bride kept covering her mouth and making embarrassed giggly faces. After repeating some things into the microphone with varying degrees of giddiness, they were (I suppose) married. After that they went around and drank a toast at every single table in the place, patiently making the rounds as the food started to come out. I can only imagine that they were exhausted and/or drunk by the end of their rounds.
The food... Food arrived, plateful by plateful for the next hour and a half at least. Everything came out and was served family style on the big Lazy Susan in the middle of the table. The uncles and cousins were impressed by how us awkward white folks could handle chopsticks at all.
Some sort of noodle thing with cilantro and green onion and soy sauce, and some sort of preserved plums that were ultra sweet and sticky.
An entire (recognizable) duck arrived, plated in such a way that his little bill could face his devourers. The bill was deformed from the heat of the oven, and he looked like he was leering slightly.
Corn, shrimp, an entire fish, salt flavored salad, bacon and celery, some sort of meaty meatballs, noodles, a whole chicken, preserved pressed ham that was more pink than flavor, liver and green pepper, green onions and porkbelly, stew, buns, food food food food food.
The uncles kept toasting us, which was dangerous since as soon as a glass was empty they made sure that it was filled again, with the potent brew. They made us feel very welcome, that is for certain.
As an entertainment towards the end of the meal a woman came up front, hotel staff I think, and sang karaoke for us. She sang a piece that involved many alien noises and vocal twitches in a high soprano, so it was impressive and irritating at the same time. The door from whence all of our food had come was soon clogged with what looked like kitchen helpers, all listening to the singing. They were smirking a great deal, and some of them looked to be really enjoying it, but others looked more amused than anything else.
There was an all call for people to do karaoke, but no one else came to the front to sing, un/fortunately. People began to trail out, leaving the carnage of devoured food and smoked cigarettes and demolished wine. The lobby furniture, a few sofas and chairs was covered in the unconscious bodies of the heaviest drinkers of the afternoon. It was just like Thanksgiving!
I will continue with a post about inside painting, the American Presidents and the train to Tianjin!
No comments:
Post a Comment