Salt, fat, acid…tea? These things certainly aren't common items on a wedding registry.
But for newlyweds Lin Chi-ling, a Taiwanese supermodel and actress, and her new husband Akira, a Japanese singer and actor, the pantry essentials were exactly what they wanted.
To celebrate Lin's family heritage, the couple decided to wed in the coastal Taiwanese town of Tainan on Sunday, thrilling the local authorities.
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A post shared by 林志玲chiling (@chiling.lin) on Nov 17, 2019 at 1:35am PST
The Tainan city authorities prepared a cartload of goods for Lin to honor local tradition. It included firewood, rice, oil, salt, soy sauce, vinegar and tea.
At this point, readers familiar with Chinese phrases may understand why Tainan city officials chose these specific items.
There is an ancient Chinese saying that goes, "For every family, firewood, rice, oil, salt, sauce, vinegar and tea are the absolute necessities." These days, people know these things as "the seven necessities to begin a day."
The phrase first appeared in a literary journal from the Song dynasty some 745 years ago.
These days, Chinese people use this phrase to express an appreciation of an ordinary, mundane lifestyle.
Lin, 44, is a huge star in both mainland China and the self-ruled island of Taiwan, which share a set of customs.
Akira, 37, is a member of the popular Japanese band Exile. He was relatively unknown in mainland China before Lin announced their marriage in June.
The couple met during the production of a Japanese stage adaptation of the film Red Cliff, a period drama film set in ancient China starring the actress.
Huang Wei-cher, the mayor of Tainan, said the city proudly considers Lin as "the daughter of Tainan." The gifts, all sourced from premium local producers, are meant as a blessing for the couple to always have enough in life and enjoy the best.
The mayor also hopes Lin's wedding will boost the publicity of these premium products and the image of the city.
He can consider his wish granted. Lin's wedding has brought the city a 77% increase in foot traffic over the weekend, according to Taiwanese media Newtalk.
But in observing one tradition, the couple forewent another age-old Chinese wedding custom. They asked guests to bring them gifts instead of red envelopes of cash.
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