Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1885-07-03

in America. They INCLUDE affection,
self-sacritice, devotion and forethought,
as well as that of address and good
language. The recognition and appre-
citation of all of them is a religious as
well as a social and personal duty. A
Chinese wife and mother fultills the
functions of her Office both from the
fear and 1--WE of Buddha and from the
love she bears her husband, children
and family.
Naturally, she has but very few OPP
portunities for recreation and social
pleasure. Compared with that of a
Vassar graduate her life is monotonous
and dull; yet knowing naught of the
outside world in which American and
European girls have their being, she
has little or no desire to 90 outside of
the limited but active sphere wherein
she o Runaways, firtations,
marital disappointmcnts and clope-
ments are practically unknown words
in the Celestial Empire. Nevertheless,
there is little of the subjugation of the
daughter so common in Europe. The
marriage de CONVEYANCE is thus far I'M
born. While the parents may recon-
mended a sutton on account of wealth,
intellect, social or political postum,
the girl has and exercises an absolute
veto power. While having implicit
confidence in their good judgment and
affection and yielding to these in all
other matters, vet in marital affairs she
Invariably has an imperative will of her
own: The proposal of an aspirant former
hand. his looks. manners, social posi-
ton. wealth and pedigree are carefully
submitted to her and by her passed up
on before the would-be swain receives
recognition by the parents. In fact, so
peculiar and thorough is the education
OF a woman in this respect, that the
knowledge of pedigrecs and social po-
sitions of a mans true value in the
community is frequently greater than
that of her father.
With marriage, as in the Common
Law of England, there is a complete
merger of the wife in husband. This
merger. however, is more extensive.
The wife of a man who wins a title
takes the same title. In Chinese Ell
quette and custom, therefore, there are
a Mrs. Alderman, Mrs. Congressman,
a Mrs. Senator and a Mrs. President.
In meetings of her own sex she takes
the same precedence that her husband
does among men.
With the birth of a son her response
bilities are greatly increased. 1t is her
duty to make him good and prepare
him for all emergencies of life. Law
offers an additional incentive. If
through her work and endeavorthe O
develops literary genius and carries oft
the great honors of the land in the I'm
pcrlal universities, she becomes enti-
tied to the degree of ..Ye-Pin-Foo-
YIN" OF lady OF the first rank. In this
way a careful and assiduous mother
may obtain for herself through a son a
rank next to the Empress of China.
A Ye-Pin-Foo-Yin is entitled to pre-
s%entation to and audience with the
Crown. She can and is allowed to visit
the Empress at her will; also to give
and receive council, and in law takes
precedence of the son by whom the
honor was gained. BY this odd method
there is created in China "A high social
caste exclusively among women, whose
analogy | have never heard of in other
civilizations. If, on the one side the
possible elevation is great, so on the
other almost as great is the possible
degradation. To the Chinese philoso-
pher. in whom seems to run a strong
current of Darwin and Herbert
Spencer, the parents of a criminal
share to a large extent in his criminal
ity. Among the causes celebres of
China upon this point are cases where
in parents have been fined, imprisoned.
bastinadoed and even beheaded for
the crimes of their sons. This law,
strange as it may seem to Occidentals,
is in the long run benefcent to soci.
ETY. and the State. 1t serves to in
crease family feeling and affection,
to strengthen parental and fllial ties,
and to keep alive the so-called ancestor
worship of the East.
Marriage being so solemn a contract
and religion entering into it so largely,
a widows life in China is not a happy
one. A second marriage is not pro-
hibited by law, but is tabooed by So
ciety. In this regard Mongolian re-
sembles American society in being less
liberal to the woman than to the man.
A widoWer takes a second and third
hclpmate. and though Mrs. Grundy
may shrug her shoulders. he loses no
prestige. But the widow who consoles
herself with the same pleasure loses
caste irredeemably. This social pc
culiarity seems to have been born in
India, our next door neighbor, and to
have had its origin in the feelings which
even to-day in Hindostan express
themselves in the suffice and the living
burial. On the other hand, as if to
compensate for the injustice to the sex,
if widowed mother declares her in
tention to raise and educate her chill
dren, it then becomes the common duty
of the deceased husbands relatives to
support both her and her offspring
until the son is able to care for himself
and his mother. Failing to do this the
relatives are branded blythe community
in which the widow lives as being desti-
tute of gratitude to their ancestors,
which is a grave accusation in
China. Such individuals invariably
lose their social standing. A
widow who successfully raises her
children under such circumstances is
given a higher social standing than if
otherwise. When a widow or widower
INDUCES in q second marriage, law
and custom step in in quite a comical
manner. The joyous signs and sym