School principal Wu Shen (middle) leads his students to enter the Beijing Confucius Temple and Imperial College where the coming-of-age ritual is to be held. [Photo by Jiang Dong /China Daily]

Confucian coming of age ceremony in Xi'an

Coming-of-age ceremonies in various cultures

Traditional and modern Han ethnic costumes on show

Academic results are crucial, she adds, "but traditions are also part of the fortune in his life".

There was a moment during the ceremony when children read their parents' handwritten letters, but Zhou did not reveal her inked expectations for her son.

"This ceremony is beyond the form itself," says Wu Shen, principal of the high school. "We launch the event to tell the students: you should learn being an adult means you have to face more responsibilities and challenges. Don't let your parents worry. Don't waste your golden age. Grasp the chance (the coming exams), which may change your lives' path."

The first recent coming-of-age ritual here was held in 2009, as a response to news reports of many high school students committing suicide. The goal was to call for more responsibility among young people, according to Ji Jiejing, the organizer of this ritual, who is also in charge of promoting ancient Chinese studies in the Beijing Confucius Temple and Imperial College.

Coming-of-age rituals of the Han ethnic group date back to the Western Zhou Dynasty (c. 11th century-771BC), and the age of 15 was traditionally the time symbolizing adulthood until the modern standard was adopted.

"In ancient times, coming-of-age rituals were mostly hosted within individual families and usually went through a much more complicated process than this one. Young participants had to abstain from eating meat before the ceremony, and needed to take a bath and change clothes for preparation. But we have to abandon those parts and mix in some modern elements," Ji says.