The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1882-08-03
A Wedding in Chinese High Life.

Among the pure Chinese, aud espe
rIally among the higher classes, q wed
ding Is long aud serious affair From
the almost Turkish strictness will
which females are secluded, it is com
paratively rare that couple see eacl
other previous to betrothal and still
more so that there should ba any &C
quaintance between them. This ha,
given rise to the necessary employ
ment of character equivalent Il
the b0s0alan or marriage broker
of ancient Brittany, to Mr.
Foy's Partisan Matrimonial Agency Of
flee. or the daily marriage advertise
ments of our own papers, If your wisf
is for marriage in the abstract, the
broker will find you a fitting partne,
first, and negotiate the transfer after. 1
you are less purely philosophical, an6
wish to consult your own tastes as well
as the interests and increase of the
nation, you are only to name the party
and the broker becomes your accredited
ambassador. There is, however, one
preliminary point to be ascertained
Has your intended the same sur.
name as yourselfP If SO, it is ia al
difficulty, as the laws of China would
not permit the marriage. If, however,
she is Chun and you are lie, or she is
kwan or Yu, and you rejoice in any
other patronymic monosyllable, the
next step is for the broker to obtain
from each tablet containing the name,
age, date a"d hour of birth, etc. These
are then taken to q diviner and COM
pared, to see if the union promises
happiness; if the answer is favorable
land crossing the palm with silver is
found to be as effectual with fortune
tellers in China as it is elsewhere), and
the gates are equal, that is if the station
and wealth of the two families are sim
liar, the proposal is made in due form.
The wedding presents are then sent,
and if accepted the young couple is
considered as legally betrothed.
A lucky day must next be fixed for
the wedding, and here our friend the
diviner is again called upon. Previous
to the great day the bridegroom gets a
new hat and takes a new name, while
the lady, whose hair has hitherto hung
down to her heels in a single heavy
plait, at the same time becomes initiated
into the style of hair-dressing prevalent
among Chinese married ladies, which
consists in twisting the hair into the
form of an exaggerated teapot and sup
porting it in that shape with a narrow
plate of gold or jade over the
forehead, and whole system of
bodkins behind !. On the wedding
morning presents and congratulations
are sent to the bridegroom, and among
the rest pair of geese; not sent as we
might imagine by some wicked wag or
lrreclaimable bachelor, as a personal
reflection on the intellectual state of his
friend, but as an emblem of domestic
unity and affection. The ladies', too,
IN China as well as elsewhere, indulge
in a little fashionable crying on the
occasion, and so the relatives of the
bride spend the morning with her,
weeping over her impending de.
parture, or, move probably, their own
spinsterhood. Thew do not, how.
ever, forget to bring some contributions
for her trouseeau. In the evening comes
the bridegroom with whole army of
his friends, procession of lanterns, a
long rei cloth or silk tapestry embroi.
dered with figure of the dragon borne on
Il pole between two men, and large
red sedan covered with carving and
gliding, and perfectly close. In this
the bride is packed up securely out of
sight. and the whole procession, pre-
ceded by band of music and the
dragon, and closing with the brides
bandboxes, starts for home. On arrival
-he is lifted ove- the threshold, Oh
which a pan Of charcoal is burning,
probably TO prevent her bringing any
e7il influence in with her. She
then performs the kotou to her hus-
bands father and mother worships the
ancestral tablets of her new family, and
ntfers prepared betel nut to the assem-
bled guests.
Up to this time she has been yelled,
but she now retires to her chamber,
where she is unveiled by her husband;
he then returns, again performs obeis.
ance to the assembled guests. and par
takes of food in company with her hus-
band; at this meal two cups of wine,
one sweetened, the o'her with bi ter
herns infused in it, are drank together
by the newly married pair, to symbolic
that hence forth they must share
together fe's sweets and bitters.
The bride then retires escorted
by the matrons present, some one
Of whom recites charm over her, and
arranges the marriage couch. The next
morning the gods of the household and
The hearth are worshiped, and the six
following days are devoted to formal
at home of different mem
oers of the two families or equally
formal visits paid to the family of the
bride During the whole of this period
she still travels in her red-and- gold
sedan, and is still escorted by her bend