San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1890-10-21
DIVORCE IN CHINA.
Grounds for Granting It-Consequen-
ces to the Wife.

Grounds for Granting It-Consequen-
ces to the Wife.
The writer of the series of essays in
the North China Herald on 1.-THE
Natural History of the Chinese Girl"
to which reference has already been
made, has some interesting observa-
tions on divorce in China and its
consequences to the wife. Chinese
law, he says, recognizes seven
grounds for the divorce of a
fe-childlessness, want ON con-
duct, neglect OF husbands, parents,
Ioeuacity, thievishness, jealousy, ma
lignant disease. The requisite for a
Chinese wife are by no means sure 10
be exacting. A man in the writer's
employ, who was thinking of giving
up his single life, on being questioned
as to what sort ola wife he preferred,
compendiously replied: cit is
enough if she is neither bald nor
idIotic." In a country where the
avowed end OF marriage is to raise Hp
a posterity to burn incense at the an
cestral graves, 1t is not strange that
childlessness should rank first among
the grounds for divorce.
It would be an error, however, to
infer that these are ordinary occa-
sions of divorce, simply because they
are designated In the imperial code of
laws. 1t is always difficult to arrive
at just conclusions in regard to facts
of high degree of complexity, espe-
cially in regard to the Chinese. But
the truth appears to be that divorce
in China is by no means as common
as might be expected by one reason
ing from the law. Probably the most
common cause is adultery, for the
reason that this is the crime most
fatal to the existence of the family.
But in every case of divorce
there is q factor to be taken
into account which the law does
not consider. This is the family
of the woman, and 1t Is factor of
great Importance. 1t is very certain
that the family of the woman will re.
sist any divorce which they consider
to be unjust or disgraceful, not mere
ly on account of the lose of dignity,
but for another reason even more
powerful. In China woman cannot
return to her parents house after an
unhappy marriage, as it is often done
in western lands, because there is no
provision tor her support. The land
Is set apart for the maintenance of the
parents, and after that has been pro-
vided for the remainder is divided
among the brothers. No lot or por-
ton falls to sister.
1t Is this which makes it imperative
that every woman should be married,
that she may have some visible
means of support. After her parents
are dead, her brothers, or more GER
tainly her brothers. wives, would
drive her from the premises as an
alien who had no business to depend
upon their family when she belongs
to another. Under this state of
things it is not very likely that
husband would be allowed to divorce
his wife, except for a valid cause, I'M
less there should be some opportuni-
ty for her to "take step"-that is, to
remarry elsewhere. Next to adul-
terry, the most common cause of Chi
nese divorce is thought to be
what western laws alphabetically
term incompatibility, by which is
meant, in this case, such constant
domestic brawls as to make life, even
for 8 Chinese, not worth living. When
things have reached this pitch they
must be very bad, indeed. Every one
of the aforementioned causes for
divorce evinently affords room for the
loosest construction of the facts, and
If the law were left to its own execu-
ton. with no restraint from the wife's
family, the grossest injustice might
be committed. AS 1t is, whatever
settlement is arrived at in any par
t1cular case must be the result of a
compromise, in which the friends of
the weaker party take care to see
that their rights are considered.