礼 · Lǐ · Ritual
Marriage documents appeared in early Chinese rites. The later Three Documents and Six Rites recorded each step from betrothal to the wedding procession.
Letters for Valko · Qixi 2026 · August 19–25, 2026
A Qixi Covenant with Valko
七夕同心之约
Sign a hūnshū with Valko, then receive a Qixi keepsake for your avatar.It began with one very special submission
A Hūnshū, Written for Qixi
Among the submissions to the “Write Aoyin by Hand” event, we received one particularly special hūnshū.
That single page—solemn, tender, and deeply romantic—gave us a small idea. With Qixi just around the corner, why not prepare a digital hūnshū for everyone, too: a place to set down the words you wish to say and the promises you wish to make, and keep them carefully within a page of your own?
And so, this Qixi hūnshū project came to be.
Alongside receiving your own hūnshū, we also wanted to take this opportunity to look back at the forms these marriage documents have taken across different periods of Chinese history—and to see how a written record once rooted in ritual and covenant gradually became a vessel for blessings, affection, and romance.
Joined by ritual, bound by the written word.
约 · Yuē · Covenant
In the Tang dynasty, marriage books entered the legal system; by the Song, written agreements had become part of everyday marriage customs.
愿 · Yuàn · Blessing
Red paper, gold ink, calligraphy, and auspicious patterns turned the document into a keepsake made to be both read and seen.