Abstract:

In the process of urban-rural integration, rural wedding ceremonies have undergone significant changes in both form and content. Based on semi-structured interviews and observations of villagers in P Village, eastern Henan Province, this study explores the taste change in rural wedding ceremonies. It finds that traditional rural wedding ceremonies aimed at cultural expression integrating form and meaning. However, with increased social mobility, cultural integration, and shifts in consumption patterns, the involvement of wedding planning companies has offered rural youth the opportunity to enhance their aesthetics and achieve self and social identity through the construction of“urbanite”imaginations. In the modernization of rural wedding ceremonies, visual consumption and experience have become central concerns for both hosts and participants. By imitating fashionable urban weddings, rural youth have achieved a superficial satisfaction of their desire for elevated taste. Nevertheless, due to differences in access to cultural capital, the“urbanite”imagination of the rural youth remains incomplete, and the aesthetic taste divide between urban and rural youth, as exemplified by wedding ceremonies, remains difficult to bridge.

Key words: urban-rural integration, wedding ceremony, taste change, cultural expression