There used to be more ceremonial rites in ancient China but many have grown out of fashion. For example, the coming of age ceremony for the high born where males aged 20 are capped and given a courtesy name while girls’ hair is styled into a bun and given a hairpin at the age of 15 have unsurprisingly mostly ceased to be practised. Instead, the modern definition for adulthood being 18 years old is used and mostly there is no ceremony other than the standard birthday party or family dinner.
In terms of modern ceremonies, marriage still remains one of the most important ones and some of the associated rituals like the tea ceremony (the newly wed kneel down and hand a cup of tea to parents on both sides) and gate crushing (groom and best men having to complete a series of tests before the bridesmaids would let them see the bride) are still intact. But marriage in ancient times involved the Six Etiquette, a six step process involving: 1) a proposal of marriage by the male family; 2) asking for the bride’s name and birth details; 3) placing the would-be bride’s details at the family altar to confirm compatibility; 4) sending betrothal gifts from the male to the female family; 5) selection of a wedding date and 6) the wedding ceremony itself.
There were also a set of extensive rites for new borns but only the one-hundred day feast has really survived to modern times across regions. For example, the rite of ‘Pick the anniversary’ celebrated on the first birthday of the child where he/she is presented with a number of objects and is supposed to pick one that resembles their future is not practiced anymore in Hong Kong.
Funeral rites were also governed by etiquette going back before the founding of the first dynasty that unified all of ancient China. In particular, different social classes were entitled to different treatments for their funerals. I am currently reading a Chinese online novel set in the Warring State period and it recounts how Confucius is considered a noble class but has not gained a certain level to be buried according to the top tier of formality. Nowadays, this is no longer the case and funeral rites pretty much depend on the region you are living in and the preference of the family and deceased.
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