The Washington bee., 1892-07-30
MARRIAGES In CHINA.
THE PRESENCE OF THE GROOM
UNNECESSARY

Untons are Arranged at an Early Age
Husband and Wife must be ofEqual
Social and Fin ncIal Standing
Reasons for Divorce.
Love and romance play little part in
the marriages Of China, according to the
OstasiatiScher Lloyd The Chinaman
who enters the harbor of matrimony
looks upon the matter as the fulfiIlment
Of duty hich he owes to his ancestors.
"1he custom of the Chinese" contin-
ues the journal, to marry off their sons
aud daug ghters at an early age does not
seem advisable to the Europeans. 1t is
also the rule in China that unions 0 ly
take place between families of equal So
cial and financial standing. Disregard
of this rule would cause subsequent
trouble invariably. The custom of early
marriages is founded, moreover, on
principles incomprehensible to the
Western mind. The boy and girl joined
in wedlock do not form a new family,
but rather the youngest branch of tile
family tree, upon which they are hence
forth dependent. The duty of parents
toward their SONS does not end with
their marriage; they are obliged to care
for them after that time also. There is
great disadvantage in this system.
The son, being under the eyes Of the par
ents as long as they are alive, really
never becomes independent All men,
bers of family live, when possible, un-
I nfE h. loo l., Of
the parents the sons continue, as a rule,
to live together in the family home.
When the filler dies the oldest brother
assumes b. rs the head of the fam
lily. and vh.I. other dies the wife
of the oldest 5:u.. '"br r. place.
But, aguin, the ~ ,teI.i = :'ivan-
tages. As the girls are r.! very
young, they are unacauau. nile,
with the duties of houseWI.'. i
entering the households of their ia,lre.
in-law they learn The needful lessons in
family economy.
ut is nothing rare" adds the paper,
"ior boys twelve to fourteen years old to
marry The physical, moral and intel
lectual development of the contracting
parties has nothing whatever to do with
the matter. Other considerations en-
trely regulate the affair. An old Chi
nese aphorism says that the great busi-
ness of life is ended when the sons and
daughters are married. The Chinese
parents do not care to run the danger of
pOstpOning the marriage of their child
ren, especially of their sons, until after
their own death.
"A Chinese engagement dates its be-
ginning from the exchange of red cards
between the parents of the contracting
parties. The cards in many districts are
immense documents almost the size of a
horse blanket. They are important for
the reason that they are used as evil
dence in case of disagreements in the fu-
ture. We seldom hear in China of
broken engagements. Yet if a quarrel
can not be settled peacefully recourse is
had to the law, and the judge usually
imposes fine upon the party who has
broken the contract.
-"The chief incident in Chinese mar
riage is the arrival of the bride in her
bridal clothes before the house of her
chosen one. That is a de factO fulfill
ment of the contract The wedding day
is determined by the parents of the
groom. The imperial calendar names
the lucky days, and on such days the So
called red celebrations take place, both
in the cities and country. The same
bridal clothes may be used several times.
In districts where it is customary to cele-
6rate the " eddings in the forenoon the
weddings of the co,wives take place in
the afternoon or in the evening. The
Chinese thus hope to make them less i'm
portant. That the chief part of Chi
nese marriage is the arrival of the bride
at the house of the groom is illustrated
again by the fact that the sons are Of
ten married without being present at
their own weddings. 1t is not believed
to be fortunate to change the wedding
day when once decided"