The Dawson journal., 1886-04-01
MARRYING 200 WIVES.
The Interesting and Peculiar Ways
Of Chinese CourtsIip.

L any old-tashlOned Chinese love
letters in my trunk? Have I
gilt-edged Chinese billet-doux
with monogram like crows
track? There was never a love
letter written in Chinese. No
Chinese maiden ever penned a
billet-dorx or sent valentine"
Rather sadly was this said by a
romantic young Chinaman, Mr..
Hong Wing, who lives in Mott
street and is noted among the
Chinese for the skill with which
he plays on the mandolin.
"In China" continued he ga
man never sees his wife. until he
has been welded to her for life,
and sometime he does not see
her then, for she may refuse to
remove her veil until three days
have elapsed after the wedding.
1t he doesn't like her he cannot
get divorce, but he may marry
another wife, and then another,
and another, until he has gone
through the blindfold lottery Oft
en- enough to hit upon one that
suits him. In China every one
may have as many wives as he
pleases, and l nave known men
Of somewhat moderate means to
have six and eight wives. Some
of the Chinese Cresuses have
hundreds of them. There was an
old Chinese bachelor who took it
into his head to get married one
winter, and he married 200 wives
before he got through. The last
wife isthe favorite, but the first
wife is the boss"
eff a man never sees his wife
before their wedding, how does
he make love to her?" NJ
"He doesn't make love to herr
His mother arranges the match
and his future mother-in law
makes love to him. 1t is a sour
courtship.. Children are formally
engaged to other children that
they have never seen at the ten
der age Of 9 and 10, and after an
engagement of 10 or 12 years they
get married"
"Dces a young Chindman ever
marry his cousin?"
"No; a marriage of cousins was
never heard of in the whole Chi
nese Empire. A man may no
more marry his cousin in China
than in England. He may marry
his deceased wife's sister. You
talk about your old families here,
and your oldest families are only
three generations old. In Boston
there are few families four or
five generations old. In China
families are seventy-fve and
eighty generations old and every
member has complete record OF
his ancestors for all these genera
tions. Now the remotest kinship
prevents marriage in China, and
if two families have the faintest
imaginable kinship seventy-fve
generations back their children
cannot marry. Not only is this
true, but people of the same name,
between whom the longest gene
alogy cannot show a trace of
kinship, cannot marry"
"What are the most common
families in your country?"
"The Chens, the Wongs, and
the Lees. The Chens are the
Smiths of China, the Wongs are
the Joneses and the Lees are the
Browns. A Mr.. Chen would mar
ry Miss Wong, but he wouldn't
mary a Miss Chen. Perhaps
that is the reason the old folks
make the matches. 1t prevents
the Chens from falling in love
with one another"
care the Chinese ladies cultiva-
ted?"
ooh, yes. They can read and
write and draw and paint and en-
broider. They never go cut on
the street with their husbands.
If q Chinese man and woman
were to walk arm-in-arm on the
street in their country as American
men and women do here they
would be mobbed. The women
stay indoors. II they go to visit
their mothers they take convey
ances. Sometimes they may be