Daily globe., 1883-07-01
IN CHM.
Strange Marriage Customs of the CelestiGIs.
From Harper's Weekly.l

From Harper's Weekly.l
Among the pure Chinese, and espe-
scially among the higher classes, mar
,riage is long and serious affair. From
the almost Turkish strictness with which
females are secluded, it is comparatively
rare that a couple see each other previous
to their betrothal, and still more so that
there should be any acquaintance be-
tween them. This has given rise to the
necessary employment of character
equivalent to the bdzUaldn, or marriage
broker, of ancient Brittany, to Mr. Foy's
Partisan Matrimonial Agency Office, or
the daily marriage advertisements of
our own papers. If your wish is for
marriage in the abstract, the broker
will find you fitting partner first, and
negotiate the transfer after. If you are
less purely philosophical, and 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 ambas
sador. There is, however, one prelimi-
nary point to be ascertained. Has your
intended the same surname as yourself?
If so, it is fatal difficulty, as the laws
of China would not permit the marriage.
If, however, she is Chun and you are
Lie, OF she is Kwan or Yu, and you re-
joice in any other patronymic monosyl-
liable, the next step is for the broker to
obtain from each tablet containing the
name, age, date and hour of birth, etc.
These are then taken to a diviDer and
compared to see if the union promises
happiness; if the answer is favorable
(and 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 sta
ton and wealth of the two families are
similar, the proposal is made in due
form. The wedding presents are then
sent, and, if accepted, the young couple
are considered as legally betrothed. A
lucky day must then be fixed for the
wedding, and here our friend the di-
yiner is again called upon. Previous to
the great day the bridegroom gets
new hat and takes 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
supporting it in that shape with mar
row plate of gold or jade over the fore
head, and whole system of bodkins
behind it. On the wedding morning
presents and congratulations are sent to
the bridegroom, and among the rest a
pair of geese; not sent, as we might
imagine, by some wicked wag OF ire
claimable bachelor, as a personal re-
fection on the intellectual state of his
friend, but as an emblem of domestic
unity and affection.
In the evening abe bridegroom comes
with a whole army of his friends, a pro-
cession Of lanterns, a long red cloth or
silk tapestry embroidered with a figure
of the dragon borne on pole between
two men, and a large red sedan covered
with carving and gliding, and perfectly
close. In this the bride is packed up
out of sight, and the whole
procession, preceded 10y band Of music
and the dragon, and closing with the
brides band-boxes, starts for home On
arrival, she is lifted over the threshold,
on which a pan of charcoal is burning,
probably in order to prevent her bring
ing any evil influence with her. She
then performs the kow-tow to her hus-
bands father and mother, worships the
ancestral tablets of her new family, and
offers prepared betel-nut to the assem-
bled guests. She now retires to her
chamber, where she is unveiled by her
husband; she then returns, again per-
forms obeisance to the assembled guests,
and partakes Of food in company with
her husband; at this meal two cups of
wine, one sweetened, the other with Bit
ter herbs infused in it, are drunk to-
gether by the newly married pair, to
symbolic that henceforth they must
share together life's sweets and bitters.
The next morning the gods Of the
household are worshiped, and the six
following days are devoted to formal
receptions.