Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1873-04-10
A Chinese Marriage.

The marriage ceremony in China diff
fers IN many respects from that of our
own and other counteries. Love before
marriage was never the fashion with the
Chinese. A Chinaman, if he moves in
polite circles, has never seen the lady to
whom he is betrothed, and has not the
remotest idea of what she is like, wheth-
er she will at all resemble the creature
his fond fancy has painted, or whether
the first sight of her unvailed face on
the day of marriage will cast a shadow
over the prospect of his future life. He
does not understand love; it is no part
of the marriage contract. He was preb-
ably betrothed by his parents before his
infant eyes opened upon the charms of
his country. Hisintended wife has been
reared for him in the strict seclusion of
her paternal home.
The parents of manageable children
usually engage professional person, or
go between, to negotiate an alliance for
their son or daughter. Suitable pres
ents are exchanged, and an astrologer
is called in to fix lucky day for the
ceremony. This individual processes to
investigate the horoscope of the con-
tracing parties, and to ascertain wheth-
er the combined ages of bride and bride
groom and the exact time of birth,
will create any bad influence if the two
are united on a given day. Should a
lady who has been betrothed In the Gus
tomary manner by her parents die be-
fore marriage, the bereaved youth is at
liberty to make another engagement
| but, should he die before marriage, the
young lady must go into weeds for the
term of her natural life and, should
she during her widowhood be held in
esteem by her neighbors for perfect chas-
tity, the Imperial Government will erect
a stone arch over her grave. There are
many who, when in this situation, prefer
to commit suicide rather than face the
ills of a spinster's or widow life.
1t is usual, during the marriage week,
to engage a procession OF coolies, to
parade the streets with the articles of
household furniture, the silks, and Jew
els, of the new couple. On the day of
marriage the bride is in flutter, as she
is being dressed aud painted by her fc-
male relatives and attendants. The
head-dress, hung with glistening sprays
of pearls, is poised on the head, the last
touch is given to the uniform folds of
her red-silk robe, the gorgeous gilded
chair waits at the door she is gently
raised in her brothers arms, and held
over fire of charcoal to dispel any Turk
ing deviltry that may be about her. She
is then carried to her chair, followed by
a chorus of weeping females, four of
whom are the bridesmaids, who are old
married women, dressed in black and
red scarfs. Then, amid the deafening
din of fre-crackers, the shrill tones of
native fuits, and boom of gongs, she is
borne off to the home of the bridegroom,
at the door of which she is met by an
old woman, the mother of male children
It is then that one of the most tedious
OF. earthly ceremonies begins, wherein
the spirits of ancestors have to be wor-
SHIPPED, the parents have to be worship
ped, the marriage contract read. They
then drink the sacred wine-cup, when
two wine-cups are united with red-silk
thread, and the contents drank by the
young couple before the assembled
guests. The bride and bridegroom are
usually seated during this part of the
ceremony.
When the ceremony is over, the bride
takes off her outer robe, and prepares
herself to submit TO the varied, ano
what we wonld consider extremely rude
remarks of the gentlemen present, who
talk freely of the form of her hands
feet, head, nose, mouth, eyes, etc. 4
feast follows, and the happy pair dom
go off ina chair-and-four on their honey
moon. The lady retires to, and keeps
the strict seclusion of, her new home
while the bridegroom joins in the feast
which is kept up 70 late hour. LON
don Graphic.