Chinese weddings: Why do brides wear huge 24-karat golden pigs around their necks?
Have you ever noticed Chinese brides, resplendent in their traditional, shimmering, metallic-thread, embroidered gowns, and then also noticed they were wearing an outrageously oversized, gold pig necklace?
That shiny 24-karat gold pig necklace – typically depicting a chubby, grinning mother pig with a row of dangling piglets – is, in fact, steeped in Chinese tradition. It continues to be hugely popular with Chinese brides who like to pair it with traditional dresses at their nuptials.
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Many consider the pig necklace as equally important as the other must-have 24-karat gold bridal jewellery items, including the dragon and phoenix bangles, and a set which includes a necklace, earrings, bracelets and ring in matching floral designs.
Contemporary aesthetic concepts such as “minimalism” and “simplicity” do not apply here: brides are supposed to stack them up and pile them on. Some Chinese brides from affluent families have been seen weighed down with more than 1kg of gold jewellery.
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Steeped in culture, traditional Chinese wedding jewellery is rich in auspicious meaning and symbolism. Most of the gold bridal jewellery designs are bought by the senior members of the couple’s families before the wedding and gifted to the couple as an expression of their well wishes.
Unlike in some Western countries, in traditional agrarian Chinese society, pigs were not associated with laziness and gluttony. Rather, they were considered cute, kind, happy and lucky. They embodied wealth, abundance and prosperity; the more affluent a household, the more pigs it owned. Pigs were among the favourite motifs in Chinese folkloric arts such as paper-cut designs put up during festivities.
More importantly, they symbolised fertility: Just imagine the suckling pigs busily feeding themselves while basking in their mother’s tender love. Brides slightly on the plump side were highly desirable because they were considered highly fertile. And continuing the family lineage was the absolute top priority in the olden days. Some would say this desire to grow the family tree continues to this day.
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Numbers figure prominently in traditional Chinese culture. It is reflected in the design of the gold pig necklace. Typically, there are six or eight dangling piglets because these two numbers are considered auspicious in Chinese culture. Additionally, the piglets are always in even numbers; in pairs, they symbolise harmony and marital bliss.
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While the more conventional gold pig necklace design features one plump mother pig with multiple piglets, there are many designs that feature three large chubby sows, one suspended from the other, with one row of dangling little ones. Each sow represents one generation. In descending order, the top one represents the grandmother, the one in the middle is the new mother-in-law, the third one is the bride and the small pigs represent the future great-grandchildren. “Four generations living under one roof” is considered extremely desirable among the older generations in China. The more generations a family has, the more fortunate it is regarded. In some unusual designs, there are five to six large mother pigs, and the necklace almost reaches the waist of the bride.
Because gold pig necklaces are traditional wedding gifts symbolising propitious blessings for happiness, wealth and fertility, they are decorated with auspicious motifs and phrases, including dragons, phoenixes, hearts and the Chinese character for “double happiness”. These carry the blessings that the couple will enjoy a life filled with love and double happiness.
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Today, however, necklace designs have evolved, and many goldsmiths and jewellers have made them appear more contemporary. For instance, some large jewellery retail chains have launched designs with cartoon characters and modernise the look with some stylised foliage. Many style-conscious brides think the large gold pig necklace complements the traditional Chinese bridal dress, which is always heavily embroidered with all sorts of auspicious motifs.
Flashy bridal gold jewellery pieces are usually worn only once at nuptials. Traditionally they are kept in bank vaults and gifted to the next generation when they get married. Because of the almost “sculptural” design of the oversized gold pig necklaces, some are actually displayed in glass cases at home as a recognition of the blessing from the seniors.
The prices of 24-karat gold jewellery pieces are usually calculated based on their weight in gold, plus the labour cost. For instance, a gold pig necklace from Chow Sang Sang of 1.47 taels (around 55.5 grams) costs around HK$25,578 (US$3,291). For those couples who want the flash without spending too much cash, some wedding consultants and planners in Hong Kong provide a gold jewellery rental service.
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Contemporary aesthetic concepts of ‘minimalism’ and ‘simplicity’ are cast aside at traditional Chinese weddings, where brides are weighed down with up to 1kg of audacious, gleaming gold jewellery – including a chubby pig necklace