The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1893-10-29
A CHINESE WEDDING.
H0W THE CELBSTfhLS CHOOSE
THEIR BRIDES.
The woman's Unhappy Entrance Into
Married Life-Coaelusion Of the
Ceremonles-singular Customs.


course between men and women, and
where It is, in fact disgrace for girl
to be seen by any man save her father
and brothers. There are no chance meet
ings comm thro' the rye" no strolls in
the twilight, no partings fun OF sweet
sorrow" at the gate under moonbeams.
Absolutely separated by the insurmount-
able wall Of custom, the girl totters
around at her household tasks, almost
cripple on her poor little deformed feet,
while the boy stolidiy goes about his daily
tasks. either at school or In the held'
until It is decided by their parents tnat II
! IS time for them TO marry. When that
time arrives the parents of the young man
/ 20 to the "gO-between," a regular matrl-
monial agent, who for fixed stipend
! agrees TO find him q wife. she inquiries
/ about among her acduaintances unul she
/ finds a girl whose parents are WILING 10
| sell her 0or sale 1t Isl for the sum oIered
| by The family OF the young man d
/ marriage portion.
| When she has been found, and the pre-
| Uminary negotiations have proved satls-
| factory, presents are exchanged between
/ the two families, and also between the
two young people. This exchange OF
presents constitutes the bethrothal, and
IL is 50 binding that 1t can not legally be
broken under any circumstances. Even
should the young girl discover (as she too
often does) that her future husband Is a
cripple. or insane, or even that horrible
thing. a leper. she can not be released;
she must 20 to him and obey his parents
as his wife
Early on the morning Of the wedding
the girls mother goes out and gathers
flowers from twelve different plants
| These are boiled and the bride bathed IN
the water. She then puts on an ehure
| suit Of new clothes and, while dresslhs'
| stands in a round-b ottomed basket. This
/ IS supposed to bring good luck. der oIesS
! is red a red gauZe veil covers her from
/ head TO foot and round her forehead she
wears a red band from which feu
| freize falls over her face. When dressed,
! she bids goodbye to her mother and is
! taken into the outer room by the go
/ between. Two male members OF the
/ bridegroom's family are waiting for her
with a sedan chair TO carry her to her
new home.
AS She is carried off custom demands
| that she should cry and wall aloud, anu
poor child. she is ready enough to do so.
/ No member Of her own family accompa-
MES her, entirely alone, she IS leaving
her home forever, her former friends ana
companions she may never see again. ana
alone she is about to enter on ne" ne
/ among total strangers. She is going to
a slavery as absolute and irrevocable as
any that ever existed. And more oiten
| than not. be 1t remembered, she Is
| child of twelve years old or under.
Arrived at the bridegroom's home she Is
| greeted and led into the house by the
"mistress Of ceremonies a woman CHOSEN
for having a large number OF cmldreh'
| led by her into the house, she ana the
| bridegroom sit down at table set IN lhe
| main room, and are served with a cora
| ton by her and the go-between. AS thls
| Is the first time that the two young peo-
| nIe have been face to face. it may readily
| be supposed that they are naturally cur
ious about each others appearance Eth
| ouette however, commands that the bride
ehould SIT demurely with cast down eyes,
and as she still wears her red veil ana
fringe she can see little and eat less. Inc
BRIDEGROOM. however, eats something out
of all the little dishes that are handed 10
him.
When the meal Is over the bride Is cere-
moniously conducted into an inner apart
mont which has been deliberately decorat-
ed for her reception. Everything Is Gov
cred with red; the hangings are red, en-
broidered with different colors and In
this red room which is 10 be her home COR
her Drison) for the rest of her life the poor
girl sits alone for the whole of the long
dav. No one breaks I'm upon her soltude'
no one speaks to her; occasionally some
one looks in at the door 10 see If she is
sitting immOvable IN her red draperles
by the side Of her red table as etiquette
prescribes.
All around the room are ranged the red
boxes containing her trousseau' ana per
haps even a Chinese girl can derive pleas
ure under trying circumstances from the
consciousness that for the first time In
her life she has more new clothes than
she could ever before call her own.
At shutdown the males Of the family and
their friends have an elaborate banquet
and after they have finished and retired
TO the mems apartments, the women come
ont of the stufy little inner rooms, from
which they have been watching through
| chinks in the light walls the reyelry or
| the men, and they feast royalty on the
| remnants.
After all have finished, the go-between
and mistress Of ceremonies 80 into the
| brides room, drag her 10 her feet, and,
! throwing back her veil, support her on
! either side. while the men come and look
at her Each man holds lighted taper
! which he thrusts as far as possible into
| the otherwise dark room and by its faint
! light carefully examines the bride. Gus
! tom demands that she shall struggle TO
! free herself from those who hold her, and
| to hide her face from her observers but
as tbis is the only time in her life that
/ che can receive admiration from men, IL
NAV he surmised that her resistance is
not very sincere.
| This concludes the ceremony, If cere-
RON, II may be called. and from this
! time she is a member Of her husbands
! household. obliged TO render implicit
! obedience and service Of all kinds to his
| norents and grandparents, and also 70
| ioin with him in the customary sacrifices
| and presents made TO his dead-and-gone
| ancestors.
The day after the wedding the brides
| Youngest brother comes 10 inquire after
! her and to bring her present from her
mother Of a bottle Of ha.r-cil. This is,
| like the others. a custom so ancient that
! none know the origin OF It.
J No further communication takes place
/ between the bride and her family for three
months, when her mother sends a sedan
/ chair and an invitation TO visit her. If
! there has been neither a birth nor
death in her husbands or in her mothers
] house for 100 days she goes and makes a
short stay at her old home. This visit
! over. she cannot see her mother again
| until after her first child is born, and not
| then should the child chance TO be a
| girl. Even then, has there been a death
] IN either family the visit cannot be made
| by her mother to her and there have been
/ many instances where a mother and
| daughter living very near each other
| have not met for years.-New York Even
| ing Post.