Page 64 - 《社会》2021年第2期

知变又知常：观念是如何转型的？

“having children before marriage” can be explained as a trade鄄off strategy against the
one鄄child policy to secure the continuity of family name. When the One Child policy
ended， some families in the village once again adhered to the norm of having children
after marriage. However， with the skyrocketed cost of marriage involving in luxury
weddings and new houses， “having children before marriage” came back in fashion
again in the village since 2010. Judging from the number of children born before
marriage in the village， it seems that the traditional concept of having children after
marriage has almost been abandoned. Nevertheless， if one examines the structure of
meaning behind the now much expanded engagement ceremony， one can see it
essentially redefines the “witness” and “acknowledgement” for marriage and
childbearing. The elaborated engagement ceremony helps coping with the moral crisis of
childbirth before marriage. In so doing， people adjust the concept structure to suit
different situations and reconstruct the norms so as to carry on the spirit of certain
tradition. This reflects the old saying of “changing in constant and constant in
changing.” Therefore， the discussion of concept change should not be simply based on
a particular segment， or a phenomenon， or a form. Instead， one needs to look at the
whole landscape， mechanism， and substance of concept change. It is necessary not
only to grasp the “mutation” mechanism of tradition but also to truly appreciate the
continuity behind the change， so as to reach a more fundamental understanding of the
social structure in connection between tradition and the present.
Keywords：having children before marriage， concept structure， ritual， transformation

一、 导言

2020 年 1 月 12 日下午 2 时 30 分，在一阵嬉闹之后，新郎终于把新
娘风泽从女方家的三层小楼中接到了楼下，后面跟着伴郎团和伴娘团。
眼看时间有点紧张，在主事人的招呼下，大家纷纷上车，只剩下一位伴
娘还在左顾右盼，朝门口喊：“诺诺，快一点！ ”这时，一个大约十岁的小
男孩拉着一个红色的行李箱走了出来，撅着小嘴，脸上还有些不高兴。
伴娘拉着他小跑几步上了一辆车。 在鞭炮声中，车队缓缓开出了村子。
晚上 7 点，赤水街道润江酒店，婚礼准时开始。 站在司仪旁边的正
是那个小男孩。 他拿起话筒， 朗声说道：“今天我给爸爸、 妈妈主持婚

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