在现代，人们送礼通常认为礼物越贵重越好，以此体现自己的心意。
然而，中国古人并不这样认为。
他们讲究礼物与情感相称，认为礼物的价值应该反映人与人之间的关系和感情。
古人把送礼称为“挚”，意思是亲自带着礼物去表达诚意。
例如，先秦时期，不同身份的人送礼有严格规定。
士阶层见面时，用野鸡作为礼物，冬天是死的野鸡，夏天是风干的野鸡。
大夫之间则用大雁或羔羊。
礼物的种类和数量都有明确的礼制，既能表达情感，又不造成经济负担。
从古人送礼的做法可以看出，他们更注重情感与礼物的匹配，而不是礼物的价值高低。
送礼在古代不仅是人际交往的方式，更体现了“称情而立文”的礼仪精神。
这种追求礼物与感情相符的原则，与现代单纯追求贵重礼物的观念有着很大的不同。
Hover a word for its pinyin & meaning; click to pin it.
narration saved locally, offline — from https://download.mandarinbean.com/audio?source=aHR0cHM6Ly90cmFmZmljLmxpYnN5bi5jb20vc2VjdXJlL2xlYXJuY2hpbmVzZS81MTU4Lm1wMw&filename=How-did-the-ancient-Chinese-give-gifts.mp3&signature=1a0f873a6e7ca0374679479d76e912f14b774b2c66f962a2027415661fa89c5e
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 在 | zài | (of sb or sth) to be (located) at |
| 现代 | xiàn dài | modern times / modern age / modern era |
| 人们 | rén men | people |
| 送 | sòng | to give (as a present) |
| 礼 | lǐ | gift / rite / ceremony / propriety / etiquette / courtesy |
| 通常 | tōng cháng | usually; normally |
| 认为 | rèn wéi | to believe; to think; to consider; to feel |
| 礼物 | lǐ wù | gift; present |
| 越 | yuè | the more... the more |
| 贵重 | guì zhòng | precious |
| 好 | hǎo | good / appropriate; proper |
| 以 | yǐ | by means of / according to / in order to / because of / at |
| 此 | cǐ | this; these |
| 体现 | tǐ xiàn | to embody / to reflect / to incarnate |
| 自己 | zì jǐ | oneself; (attributive) one's own |
| 的 | de | possessive particle (of; 's) / modifying particle (used after an attribute to modify a noun or to form a nominal expression) |
| 心意 | xīn yì | intention / regard; kindly feelings |
| 然而 | rán ér | however; but; yet |
| 中国 | Zhōng guó | China |
| 古人 | gǔ rén | people of ancient times / the ancients / extinct human species such as Homo erectus or Homo neanderthalensis / (literary) deceased person |
| 并 | bìng | (not) at all |
| 不 | bù | no; not so |
| 这样 | zhè yàng | this way; like this; so |
| 他们 | tā men | they; them |
| 讲究 | jiǎng jiu | to pay particular attention to |
| 与 | yǔ | (formal) and; together with (linking parallel nouns, verbs, or phrases) |
| 情感 | qíng gǎn | feeling / emotion |
| 相称 | xiāng chèn | to match / to suit |
| 价值 | jià zhí | value; worth / (ethical, cultural etc) values |
| 应该 | yīng gāi | ought to; should; must |
| 反映 | fǎn yìng | to mirror / to reflect / mirror image / reflection |
| 人 | rén | person; people |
| 之间 | zhī jiān | (after a noun) between; among; amid |
| 关系 | guān xì | relation / relationship / guanxi |
| 和 | hé | and; together with |
| 感情 | gǎn qíng | emotion; sentiment / affection; feelings between two persons |
| 把 | bǎ | (used to put the object before the verb: 把[ba3] + {noun} + {verb}) |
| 称 | chēng | to name |
| 为 | wéi | to take sth as / to act as / to serve as / to behave as / to become / to be / to do |
| 挚 | zhì | sincere |
| 意思 | yì si | idea / opinion / meaning |
| 是 | shì | to be (followed by substantives only) |
| 亲自 | qīn zì | personally / in person / oneself |
| 带 | dài | to wear / to carry / to take along / to bear / to bring |
| 着 | zhe | aspect particle indicating action in progress or ongoing state |
| 去 | qù | to go, to go to |
| 表达 | biǎo dá | to express; to convey |
| 诚意 | chéng yì | sincerity; good faith |
| 例如 | lì rú | for example; for instance; such as |
| 先秦 | xiān Qín | pre-Qin, Chinese history up to the foundation of the Qin imperial dynasty in 221 BC |
| 时期 | shí qī | period / phase |
| 不同 | bù tóng | different / distinct / not the same / not alike |
| 身份 | shēn fèn | identity; role; capacity; status (social, legal etc); position; rank |
| 有 | yǒu | to have; there is |
| 严格 | yán gé | strict; stringent; tight; rigorous |
| 规定 | guī dìng | regulations; rules; provisions; stipulations |
| 士 | shì | member of the senior ministerial class (old) / scholar (old) / bachelor / soldier / noncommissioned officer / specialist worker |
| 阶层 | jiē céng | social class |
| 见面 | jiàn miàn | to meet; to see each other |
| 时 | shí | when |
| 用 | yòng | to use; to make use of; to employ / (coverb) with; using |
| 野鸡 | yě jī | pheasant / unregistered and operating illegally (business) / (slang) prostitute |
| 作为 | zuò wéi | to act as / to view as / to look upon (sth as) / to take sth to be |
| 冬天 | dōng tiān | winter |
| 死 | sǐ | to die |
| 夏天 | xià tiān | summer |
| 风 | fēng | wind / news / style / custom / manner |
| 干 | gān | dry / empty; hollow / taken in to nominal kinship; adoptive; foster / futile; in vain / (dialect) rude; blunt |
| 大夫 | dà fū | senior official (in imperial China) |
| 则 | zé | (literary) (conjunction used to express contrast with a previous clause) but; then |
| 大雁 | dà yàn | wild goose |
| 或 | huò | or |
| 羔羊 | gāo yáng | sheep / lamb |
| 种类 | zhǒng lèi | kind / genus / type / category / variety / species / sort / class |
| 数量 | shù liàng | amount; quantity / (math.) scalar quantity |
| 都 | dōu | all; both; entirely |
| 明确 | míng què | clear-cut; definite; explicit |
| 礼制 | lǐ zhì | etiquette / system of rites |
| 既 | jì | both... (and...) |
| 能 | néng | can / to be able to / might possibly |
| 又 | yòu | also |
| 造成 | zào chéng | to bring about; to create; to cause |
| 经济 | jīng jì | economic |
| 负担 | fù dān | burden |
| 从 | cóng | from; through; via / (bound form) retainer; attendant / (bound form) assistant; auxiliary; subordinate / (bound form) related by common paternal grandfather or earlier ancestor |
| 做法 | zuò fǎ | way of handling sth / method for making / work method / recipe / practice |
| 可以 | kě yǐ | can / may / possible / able to |
| 看出 | kàn chū | to make out / to see |
| 更 | gèng | more / even more / further / still / still more |
| 注重 | zhù zhòng | to pay attention to / to emphasize |
| 匹配 | pǐ pèi | matching / compatible |
| 而 | ér | but (not) / yet (not) / (indicates contrast) |
| 不是 | bù shì | is not |
| 高 | gāo | high / tall / above average / loud |
| 低 | dī | low |
| 古代 | gǔ dài | ancient times |
| 不仅 | bù jǐn | not just; not limited to / (as a correlative conjunction) not only (..., but also ...) |
| 人际 | rén jì | interpersonal |
| 交往 | jiāo wǎng | (interpersonal) relationship / association / contact |
| 方式 | fāng shì | way; method; manner; mode; pattern (of behavior etc) |
| 了 | le | (completed action marker) / (modal particle indicating change of state, situation now) |
| 称情而立文 | chēng qíng ér lì wén | to formulate ritual forms in accordance with feelings and circumstances |
| 礼仪 | lǐ yí | etiquette / ceremony |
| 精神 | jīng shén | spirit / mind / consciousness / thought / mental / psychological |
| 这 | zhè | this; these |
| 种 | zhǒng | classifier for types, kinds, sorts |
| 追求 | zhuī qiú | to pursue (a goal etc) stubbornly / to seek after |
| 相符 | xiāng fú | to match / to tally |
| 原则 | yuán zé | principle / doctrine |
| 单纯 | dān chún | merely / purely |
| 观念 | guān niàn | notion / thought / concept / sense / views / ideology / general impressions |
| 很 | hěn | very; quite |
| 大 | dà | big; large; great / older (than another person) / eldest |