Hazing havoc: violent Chinese wedding ‘ceremony’ sees bride attacked and piled upon by group of burly men sparking outrage among millions online
- Group of men force bride in Shandong province to the ground, climb on top of her to form a human pyramid before spraying foam in her face
- Social media commenters express anger at degrading and dangerous incident, blaming ‘vulgar’ rural traditions
Mainland social media is up in arms over a violent wedding hazing in China in which a bride was pinned to the ground and piled upon by a group of men before having foam sprayed all over her face.
The degrading scenes were played out at nuptials on January 19 in Linyi, in the eastern Chinese province of Shandong.
Video footage of the event shows a group of burly men pinning a bride in a red traditional wedding gown to the ground and spraying white foam all over her hair.
The wedding took place in a rural compound at which a red carpet was laid out in a courtyard. Guests gathered in the yard to watch.
A group of men forced the bride to the ground, then several of them climbed on top of her to form a human pyramid. One guest tried to stop them, but the men just laughed off the attempt at restraint.
The group of men then sprayed the bride’s head with white foam and physically stopped her from trying to escape the ordeal.
Several men then forcibly held the bride and groom’s heads and made them pay their respects to each other to complete the hazing.
The video was edited and released by the media BTimes and has caused a stir on Weibo.
On January 20, Weibo posts related to the topic were read more than 140 million times. In addition, the initial video had 13,000 comments under it.
One online observer said: “Most vulgar weddings occur in the countryside, and there is no way to ban them. The only way is to encourage more and more boys and girls to leave the mountains and countryside and move into the big cities.”
Others asked: “How can a husband put up with this? These people are real cultural dross. When will it ever stop?”
Local media reported that the incident had been brought to the attention of the authorities in the area.
Government officials also said they had communicated with the village about the incident and hoped to “promote a change of customs and reject bad weddings.”
In some parts of China, wedding hazings are a long-standing custom.
In recent years, wedding hazing with sexual innuendo and even sexual harassment in some areas have repeatedly drawn the attention of social media, especially when men are seen hugging and even kissing the bride.
In 2020, also in Shandong province, a groom was dragged out of a car on his way to pick up the bride and smeared with soy sauce, vinegar and raw chicken eggs. The groom then fell into a roadside ditch. Some guests were subsequently taken away by police.
