The Ohio Democrat. (Logan, O. [Ohio]) 1886-1906, 1892-08-27
A MANChu WEDDING.
Christian and Barbarian Rites Curlously
CoJnmingIed.

CoJnmingled.
All things 20 all men is evidently the
rule Of Christian missionaries in Man
churia. They are making use in that
savage country of the characteristic
ways and manners of the people, and
are engrafting the rites of heathendom
upon the ceremonies of the church.
Such is the case in weddings, which,
though solemnized by Christian
minister, are conducted according to
the ancient customs of the heather.
Such function has recently been de-
scribed by a London DAILY Graphic
correspondent.
The invitations to the festivities"
he says, ''were brought to us on large
scarlet cards. Our arrival was preceded
by that of our servant bearing gift OF
money, for each guest was supposed to
contribute sum, nominally a wedding
present, really towards the expenses of
the feast From an early hour the
musicians had been hard at work,
drumming and trumpeting The two
professional cooks had had their share
from morning till night for three days
previously-al the time up to the elbows
in dough, grease and garlic. For some
weeks before the ceremony my old
newspapers had been mysteriously dis
appearing The mystery of their where
abouts was now solved. My boy, or
| head servant,was friend of the family;
and the apartment to be occupied by
the happy couple was papered with
newspaper clippings
GVHhn l,~i1a Shrpu1N1 f,.or, hand IN
foot in long faded crimson robe, with
piece of thick scarlet silk over her
head and face, was seated on q mat of
red fclt-red being the lucky color---on
the kang,' or brick bed. The bride
groom a youth of 10, sumptuously at
tired in plum-colored brocade, black
official hat with red tassel, and high
military boots, seemed but little i'm
pressed by the importance of the affair.
His thoughts, indeed, were centered
! rather on the coming feast and juvenile
sports with his companions Both bride
and bridegroom being Christians, the
religious ceremony was performed by
missionary The couple were seated
side by side on a bench covered with
scarlet felt The bride was accompanied
| by two elderly matrons, who literally
pushed her through the performance,
scarcely leaving her side, and generally
clutching the nearest part of her gar.
ment
The ceremony over, the bridegroom
speedily divested himself of the fnery
hired for the occasion and rejoined his
playmates, while the bride was con.
Quoted to the sacred precincts of the
womans apartments She was then
divested of her crimson outer robe, and
appeared in all her bridal finery oi
green trousers and scarlet jacket with
embroidered sleeves She did not pre-.
sent very attractive spectacle. Her
hair, now to be arranged for the first
time in matronly style, fell in wild elf
locks over her shoulders Her eyes
were red and swollen with crying, and
her face entirely free from any vestige
of the paint with which the Manchurian
women smear their faces. friendly
argument now arose among the lady
visitors as to who was to have the
! honor of washing the brides face. This
being settled, the newly-made mother
in-law brought water in a shining brass
basin, and a portly matron proceeded to
operate upon the unfortunate bride. A
small paper, containing grayish pow
der, was next produced, and the powder
rubbed on the brides forehead close to
the roots of her hair. The operating
female then began to pluck out great
tufts of hair, SO as to produce the high
square forehead considered beautiful in
Manchuria. The bride bore the opera
| tion without wincing. The next pro-
ceeding was to dress the brides hair. 1t
was drawn over a wire frame, so as to
| produce the effect of large Alsatian
| bow. Variously ornamented silver pins,
| quivering insects made of llingfishers'
| feathers, and artificial floweR were
stuck into her hair, and the ceremony
was complete. The poor bride was now
| left entirely to herself, no one taking
any further notice of her unless to make
more or less unlSind comments on her
personal appearance No wonder she
looked miserable when handed over to
the tender mercies of her new mother
in-law. 1t is not etiquette for bride
to eat on her wedding day, nor should
she display vigorous appetite until she
has been married for at least week.
after this the guests arrived fast, and
the inner apartments became thronged
with crowd of noisy chattering danes
in holiday attire. Scalding hot bowls
of green tea, the weakest of the weak,
were handed round; long-stemmed pipes
were passed from hand to hand, or,
more correctly, from mouth to mouth
Children of all sizes tumbled about,
cried, quarrelled, romped, and We're
noisy. The more important of the male
guests were seated round tables in the
outer room, smoking and drinking tea,
waiting for dinner The younger ones
strolled about outside, or lolled on the
'l1ang,' trying not to look hungry, and
making bad jokes at the bridegroom
expense. Mingled odors from the cook
house then came fast and furious; tables
were laid, and chopsticks, bowls, and
wine cups placed Warned by past ex-
perience of Chinese feasts, | bade fare
well, wishing the bridal pair long life,
health, and happiness, Music at first
distant, then gradually drawing nearer
and nearer till our ears are deafened by
the blowing of horns, drumming OF
tom-toms, and clashing of cymbals.
People who profess to know say that
the Chinese scale in music approximates
closely to the old Caledonian scale, what
ever that may be. Perhaps that is the
reason why Chinese band always
has strong flavor of bagpipes about
it. In this instance the band proceeded