Survived a Traditional Chinese Wedding! (And way too much Baijiu) 😅
Hey everyone! As I mentioned in the comments a few days ago, I went MIA (Missing In Action) recently because I had to attend my friend's son's wedding.
For a guy who usually spends his days locked in a dark room typing Python scripts or plotting dark cyberpunk/Cthulhu horrors for my novel... this was basically a sensory overload. 😂
A traditional Chinese wedding is something else. It is loud. Like, ear-ringing loud. It’s all about the color red, massive feasts, endless toasting, and just a huge amount of chaotic, happy energy. You can see from the photos the giant inflatable arches and the traditional red decorations in the banquet hall.
It was a beautiful ceremony, and I’m really happy for the kid. But I have to admit, being surrounded by hundreds of people and being forced to drink Baijiu (a very strong traditional Chinese liquor) almost took me out. 😵💫 My brain was screaming for my quiet desk and my VS Code editor the entire time lol.
Anyway, I have survived and recovered from the hangover. I'm back at my keyboard now, continuing the Hell's Eye series. A huge thank you to everyone who kept supporting my work while I was away. You guys are the best!
Has anyone else here ever been to a traditional Chinese wedding? Let me know your thoughts!
(P.S. I also took a short video of the ceremony, maybe I'll share it in a few days when my ears stop ringing!)
大家好！就像我前几天在评论区跟几位朋友提到的那样，我最近“失联”了几天，因为去参加了一位朋友儿子的婚礼。
对于一个平时习惯把自己关在小黑屋里敲 Python 脚本，或者构思赛博朋克/克苏鲁恐怖小说剧情的死宅来说……这简直就是一次感官过载。😂
传统的中国婚礼绝对是不一样的体验。它非常吵，那种震耳欲聋的吵。满眼都是大红色，丰盛的宴席，没完没了的敬酒，以及一种巨大、混乱但又充满喜庆的能量。你们可以从照片里看到巨大的红色充气拱门和宴会厅里传统的红色布置。
仪式很美，我也真心为这小伙子高兴。但我必须承认，被几百号人包围着，还被迫喝了不少“白酒”（一种度数极高的中国传统烈酒），差点要了我的老命。😵💫 我当时满脑子都在疯狂想念我安静的书桌和我的 VS Code 编辑器哈哈。
总而言之，我活下来了，也从宿醉中恢复了过来。现在我已经重新坐回了键盘前，继续推进《地狱之眼》的连载。非常感谢大家在我不在的这几天里继续支持我的作品，你们是最棒的！
这里有其他人参加过传统的中国婚礼吗？欢迎在评论区告诉我你的想法！
(注：我还拍了一小段仪式的视频，等我耳朵不嗡嗡作响了，过几天发出来分享给大家！)
Oh wow! The wedding (or the restaurant setting) looks really grand and it is the first time for me to see the inflatable arc! How many glasses of baijiu did you drink 🤭? I have had my share of Chinese weddings but I drink just Chinese tea or orange juice or Coke haha. But for the more well to do families, they would serve wine too. Nowadays I prefer my quiet time. Preferably no more weddings to attend. Glad you survived the wedding and can now continue your typing on your keyboard. Happy typing and coding hehe.
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Haha, thanks my friend! That big red inflatable arch is an absolute classic for traditional/rural Chinese weddings—the louder and redder, the better! 🤣
As for the Baijiu... man, I honestly lost count after the third glass. My head is still buzzing a little bit lol. You are the smart one for sticking to tea and Coke!
I totally agree with you on the quiet time. The older I get, the more I just want to stay away from those noisy banquets. Sitting in a quiet room, typing on my keyboard, writing code, and plotting my next thriller novel is way more comfortable.
Thanks for dropping by! Back to the coding and writing grind! 💻☕️
She is also no "bro" your translation is terrible and painful, dont do this or safe this way if talking to remlamps
Weddings and funerals are neither my cup of tea, and the same actually goes for birthday parties. I don’t particularly enjoy being surrounded by drunk people, nor by a lot of noise… So that means that whenever I can get away with it, I make a brilliant exit by simply not turning up. I’m perfectly happy with that, mind you, but now that I think about it: I reckon there are very few people left amongst my family and friends these days who are getting married or passing away. There was a period when literally two generations died at the same time. That really clears things up.
The last wedding was that of a friend. After 30 years together, they decided to get married because her father was on his deathbed. They even went into the church. Not only I, but also the priest was surprised and made a comment about it (another one of those things: being made a fool of at your own wedding by your witnesses, family and friends).
Incidentally, my friend had had enough of it after just a month of marriage. The reason for getting married wasn’t love, but financial: she’s never worked, and he’s too daft to sort out his own affairs. He also suffers (and, because of him, the whole family does too) from mental health issues and has aggressive outbursts.
I hope this marriage isn’t just a marriage of convenience, although no longer being in love and realising who your partner really is is worse. Better a marriage of convenience, then.
Aren’t you brave enough to refuse alcohol? A hangover – a really dreadful headache – sounds awful to me.
Welcome back.
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Haha, man, your comment is like a whole short story! A 30-year relationship ended up as a marriage just for money and angry issues... that sounds like a plot for my next suspense novel! 🤣
You are totally right about the noisy part. I try to escape those parties too, but in China, if it's your good friend's son, you just CANNOT run away. It's about "Mianzi" (face/respect). If you don't go, they will talk about you for the rest of your life!
And about the alcohol... oh boy, you don't understand the Chinese wedding culture. The uncles will come to your table, hold your hand, and say, "If you don't drink this glass, you don't look down on me!" How can I refuse that? 😭 My head still feels like someone is hitting it with a hammer.
No more weddings for me this year, please. Just let me stay in my dark room and write my stories. Btw, get ready, my new hardcore thriller series drops tomorrow. I think you gonna like the dark reality in it! Cheers bro! 🍻
Do not write this. It doesn't sound good, at least not to me, not to womem. Perhaps, men and Americans like it.
Sure. You can always refuse to drink – just say you’re ill and suffering from a migraine, or that it’ll give you a brain haemorrhage. If it works for me, it’ll probably work for you too – quite apart from the fact that respect has absolutely nothing to do with drinking alcohol; you’re already turning up on those days, so that says something in itself.
I don’t even go anymore, but when I do, I certainly stand out enough because everyone’s seen me in a short space of time, and afterwards I can slip away unnoticed. It’s all about the impression you leave behind, not how long you were there.
Anyway, if there’s another wedding tomorrow or next week, you can truthfully say you’re still suffering from the hangover from the last one. Incidentally, being unable to hold one’s drink is also something that’s more common amongst Asians than amongst Westerners, although I do believe it’s quite possible to develop a degree of tolerance to it here as well.
When it comes down to it, most people get married because it offers an advantage: a tax benefit, for example, or because it makes it easier to buy a house or get a loan. Men live longer when they’re married, whereas women live much shorter lives – an interesting fact in itself. It’s also better to start your own business with a partner, especially if you’re worried you might not make it. You can keep the business and the home as separate assets. If you go bankrupt, you’ll at least still have a roof over your head – provided your partner doesn’t walk out on you.
Personally, I think that if you don’t know your partner after 30 years – and my girlfriend certainly did know him, because that aggression had always been there, including smashing windows with his fist out of frustration – then you’re practically asking to be unhappy when you marry someone like that. Getting divorced here is far more difficult than getting married, and you’re in for a lifetime of misery if you do; it’s almost impossible to ever start over, especially as a woman. Interestingly, she subsequently developed a heart condition and is now suffering from it; and no, this isn’t due to the COVID-19 jab, as she never had one. And so we are our own worst enemies. Those who are unhappy cannot make others happy either. I find it sad, but there’s nothing to be done about it. Even visiting is very uncomfortable given the atmosphere that hangs in the air.
Enjoy the freedom and your own room, sitting at your own desk with your own computer, without all that nagging.
Yesterday, three school pupils popped round to see me and asked if they could interview me; they had two questions and it only took 10 seconds. By the time they’d said that, those 10 seconds were, of course, already up. One question was: ‘Do you feel rich?’.
My answer is: yes. Having no debts and being free is wealth. We had a nice chat and who knows, maybe the children will get something out of it too. According to him, the chat with me had been the best bit after all – everyone went home happy.