The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1883-08-04
Laws OF Adoption in China.

One of the gravest calamities to be
apprehended by Chinaman is to die
without leaving male posterity to care
Cor his ashes and decorate his grave,
thereby pacifying his wandering spirit
in purgatory. Therefore, to have the
good fortune to become the father of q
son is properly considered to be mat
ter worth boasting of. and something tc
be long remembered. 1t is generally
with manifestations of unbounded joy,
approximating to childish glee, that the
father of the newborn male infant
herelds its advent, often spending a
third of his entire fortune in celebrating
the joyful event. Such, however, is not
Q the case when female child is born, fol
reasons which are given hereafter.
This almost universal fear of leaving
in death no son TO execute the family
ceremonies and perform the post-mor,
TEN services is confined in greater part
TO the middle classes, being scarcely
ever realized by the weather. families.
owing to their plurality of wives.
Neither does it have serious weight il
the minds of those who are extremely
poor; but among those who occupy {
position midway between the two, as
above remarked. it occasions great con
oern.
China is the only country where bach
rlors are sometimes rendered Supremacy
happy by taking advantage of asystem
of lawful robbery of the happiness of 9th
aers. Individually the bachelor is not only
an object of aversion to the fair maidens
of the place of his nativity, but he is
considered a useless ornament to soci.
-ety in general, besides being an object
of especial fear among those of his owr
kindred; for, being wifeless himself
and, consequently, without issue, he
can. if he so choose, legally claim the
first-born male child of any one of his
younger brothers with impunity, the
bereaved parents having no redress.
The law governing this point dis
tinotly says: ''If an elder brother shall
have arrived at the age of fifty years
being barren, he may take the first male
child born to any of his younger broth.
crs and claim him as his own by right
OF inheritance, the male child so chosen
TO become his legal representative ant
heir TO his estates"
But under ne circumstances can the
younger brother, if likewise situated
claim from an elder brother the same
privilege, because the son of an elder
brother is legally considered to be one
o. degree higher than the son of q younger
i brother.
This somewhat peculiar and to the un.
: initiated. doubt not, interesting law o.
adoption has been so implicitly adhered
by the Chinese that is has created the
strongest feeling of affection ant
mutual interest between brothers of the
same family. Three brothers, all o
whom were young men, sincerely at
tached to each other, came to this coun
try some five years ago and started il
the laundry business in Chicago, a
which place formed their intimate
acquaintance. A year or two aftel
having been successful in amaSsine
quite little fortune-some $1,100-
among the three, the two younger
brothers begged the elder to repair tt
their far-distant home, carrying with hin
the whole sum of their combined say
ings and Immediately take to himself {
wife, hoping thereby to greatly lesser
Me dread chances of being robbed O
their 6rst-born son in the near future
through his remaining a bachelor He
was at first averse to this but finally
their united entreaties caused him tC
take rather an unwilling departure
since which time the two remaining
brothers have made another handsome
sum. and now the poor innocentyoungel
one of the two yet remaining is strenu
'ously endeavoring to persuade his sec.
ond elder brother to follow the SAINT
course,
1t will be obvious to the reader tina
to have been born the seventh son is,
If q subject of the Chinese empire, {
thing to be deplored, for it entails the
greatest trouble on the poor unfortun.
ate. Even then it is better to have
been born the seventh son than the first
daughter, for although both may be
treated with the same tender solicitudt
10y their parents, yet their prospects
during the greater part of life are any.
thing but cheerful, and particularly is
this the case in regard to the female
child. no matter where she may rank in
the order of offspring. In the first
place. her right to inherit any portion
of her parents property is strictly
denied by the law. except conditionally
and in the following manner:
Sin cases where the parents are with.
out male issue, either of their own OF
through adoption in the manner al.
ready described. and where the estate
as very large, the daughter may, if she
remain single and loyal to the members
of her parents house, or, being mar.
ried, if she prevail upon her husband
SO forswear forever his allegiance to his
Gown kindred and relatives of every de.
gree, and change his surname to that OF
she daughters father, so as to forever
become his son, this being publicly re.
corded and acknowledged, the estates
then may be partially controlled by the
daughter for the benefit of herself in
'the first instance, or by her husband,
Hhe newly created son, in the second
instance. who would generally assume
tho entire control, not only of her
property but also of herself"
The common laws of China prohibit
people of the same surname from in.
termaTying. Thus, for instance, in
tts. Lee family, numbering some Is, 900,
200 individual members the males are
not allowed to marry any female whe
bears the same family name. Miss Lee