Hun Li

Hun Li could be translated as 'Marriage Ceremony' or 'Marriage Rites' and is one of the main ceremonies (i.e. wedding) that keep the social and familial harmony that Confucius advocates for intact. Confucius believed that marriage serves as the foundation for a stable, strong family which support the broader, well-ordered society.

Purpose

Marriage in the context of Confucianism is not primarily done for love we see more in the modern world. Instead, marriages were arranged by families/parents and were done to promote societal harmony and to strengthen and secure familial lineage and continuation.

Children often didin't have a say or at the very least couldn't outright protest against this considering filial piety or Xiao in pinyin required children to obey their parent's decisions.

Not primarily?

The Book of Rites includes marriage and describes it as "the union of two surnames, in friendship and in love". The book acknowledged the existence of affection (qing) but put heavy emphasis on one's moral duty and propriety. Love was idealized and romanticized by many but was considered taboo if it violated social norms.

Personal feelings

Again, arranged marriages were done by families and sons/daughters were often forced into marriages, even if they didin't want to or had their eye on someone else. Someone who resisted an arranged match was seen as disobedient and shameful to the family. Confucianism by itself doesn't forbid the development of love but it often came last in priority, atleast historically.

Six Rites

Confucian weddings followed 6 strict steps that all would follow. Proposal or Nacai came first. The groom's family would use a matchmaker as an intermediary and have the matchmaker approach with gifts to the bride's family. If they bride's family accepted, they would move onto the Wenming (Name Inquiry).

The bride's family would share her name and birth date so they could compare astrological matching (bazi). If this was favorable, they would move onto the Naji or Divination where a fortune-teller would check the compatiblity. If the signs pointed to decline, the match (often) would be cancelled.

Then the groom's family sent more formal gifts to actually seal the engagement, called Nàzhēng.

Next was Qingqi or Setting the Date, where a wedding date would be chosen based on the lunar calendar. Lastly was Qinying or Fetching the Bride where the groom would travel to the bride's home on the wedding day, perform bows and escort her to his own house.

Ceremony

The two newly-weds would pay their respects to ancestors and the bride would serve tea to the groom's family, symbolizing her entrance into the family. They, the bride and groom would then both perform the Three Bows, one for Heaven and Earth (Bai Tian Di), one for ancestors and parents (Bai Gao Tang) and one to eachother (Fu Qi Dui Bai).