Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-12-15

view.
There is another prevailing supposition
that all Chinese women are ignorant dolls.
But, as the Emperor of China never allies
himself directly or indirectly, with any
foreign prince; as the family that can furn-
| ish him with one of his wives may gain
| great power: as there is no limit to an
| emperor's wives, except the limit placed by
| his own apathy-it is more than probable
| that the grandees who may aspire to be-
stow their daughters upon the emperor
| give those daughters, from whose influence
| they hope much, every possible advan-
| tage of education. In fact, many Chinese
! women of the upper ranks are positively
| highly educated.
| And so it is with weddings. Although in
| important marriages the bride comes to the
bridegroom from the strictest seclusion in
| the poorer classes boys and girls grow up
| together, work together and fall in love
| with each other. Even among the richer
| classes, where poverty does not drive the
| girls from retirement, love matches are not
| totally uncommon.
As to Small Feet.
| In so large a country as China, though
| customs may be essentially the same
| throughout the empire, they vary greatly
| in detail, and for this reason foreign &C
| counts of Chinese customs differ conspicu-
| ousy. An example of this is the popular
| belief in America that Chinese women of
high rank invariably have little. crushed
feet. In the south the ladies of rank have
bandaged feet, while the peasants are large
footed; but in the north it is exactly the
reverse. There nearly all the field women
have feet half pinched, but the feet of Pek-
ing ladies' of the higher, purely Tartar
classes seem even of abnormal size, for the
fiat shoes are furnished with a patten
which acCentuates their fiatness.
Usually, however, a Chnaman buys his
wife without having seen her, paying the
| parents a stipulated wife price" On the
wedding day the bride is placed in a closed,
the end of the bridal procession. This pro-
Cession is as elaborate the means of the
contracting families win permit and as
| grotesque as Chinese fancy can invent. In
il are lanterns musical Instruments, fans,
umbrellas, insignia of rank and covered
| tables, which are hundred and one
Chinese daint'es. The bearers of all these
| ornaments and symbols are clad in bright
| red-or at least wear red jackets. One
| bearer rides ahead of the procession, bear
| ing a roasted pig to beguile the evil
| riages, because they bring happiness-or
| rather, are supposed to do so-but they
are so partial to pork to be unable to
resist that Wand. Hence, roast pig is
| always carried, that the procession may
! slip by urheeded while the demons are
| devouring the feast The musicians play.
| the crowd shouts in sing-song Chinese
| fashion, and the two bridesmaids proudly
! follow the sedan chair, which is locked and
| the key carried by trusted servant
| Inspection of the Bride.
| The bridegroom waits at his own gate,
clad in his dress of ceremony-a renarka-
| BILE collection of remarkable garments. The
key of the palanquin is handed to him. he
presses foru ard unlocks the bridal car and
| looks at its contents. II he is pleased with
the bride he leads her into the house and
the marriage is celebrated by simple
| ceremony, consisting merely of sundry
! genuflections before the tablets of the an
| cestors. If the bridegroom is disappointed
! the bride is sent back to her parents and
| there is no wedding, hut, in that case, he
must pay to them a sum of money identical
| with the wife money" In the vicinity of
| Canton a Chinaman is justified in divorcing
his wife IL she has larger feet than he has
been led to believe, but in Peking dis
| appointment in face or figure would be the
| most disastrous.
A marriage scene from celebrated Foo
| Chow love story Gices a charming picture
| of a fashionable Foh-lxien bride and bridal.
1.-The attire of the bride was worthy of
! the occasion. Strings of amber, cornelian
and pearls in alternate rows covered her
| breast. Her robe was like the first blush
| of morning, trimmed with fragments of
TIE moon. Her eyebrows were like the tea
| leaf, her lips like the scarlet azalea. Her
! numberlcss ornaments went tinkle, tinkla
| as she walked; her shoes were shaped like
| the phoenix, while perfume of musk
| and ambergris was freely diffused around.
| Wrapped in an immense red mantle and
| veil, with hat as large as mandarins
| umbrella, she was boxed in red and gild-
| ed hura-kian, festooned with flowers and
| ribbons which, being locked up by the
nurse, was borne on the shoulders of four
| men, and, mid salvoes of crackers, de-
| posted in the hall of ancestors. By the
| dim light of paper lanterns, the mandarin
stood there, with his son by his side, sur
| rounded by the magnates of the prefecture.
| There was n banging of drums, too-too-
| ing of fageolets, a waving of wooden
| dragons heads and official insignia.
| "The youngest gentleman carried the
| roast pork, and held 1t aloft on stick as
| the groom, with six obeisances took from
| the nurse the key and unlocked the prison
| of his bride. Hand in hand, she still in
hat and mantle, they moved along the line
| of family tablets, making three bows to
| each. Then fiinging themselves down be-
! fore the bridegroom's father. they solemn
| ly vowed, in the presence of the dead, to
| be faithful till the summons of death.
| after this, two icups of wine, Joined by
| scarlet thread, were handed by little
child, and the bridegroom unwilling the
| lady by a gracefulfjerk, the twain pledged
| each other, while music struck up again,
al there was another discharge OF crack
ers." u ~
| The Emperor's Wedding.
| 1t my good fortune to be in Picking
| during the year of the emperor's marriage,
and the recent death Of the young empress
recalls the gossip regarding the royal
| bride, which grew rank at that time. 1t
was limited that there was great lack OF
enthusiasm over the selection, that the
| young empress was suffering from indiffer-
| ent health, ana there were other dispar-
| aging reports. But as it is always difficult
| in Peking to obtain any definite statement
| in regard to royal matters, and as the
marriage did take place ON the day Sc
| lected by the asrrologers-everything pass
| ing off according to the program-these
rumors were given liberal discount.
The bridal procession-Very magnificent
| to Chinese eyes-was in the following order,
| and occupied almost an hour in passing
given point:
| Fifty outriders dressed in court robes;
| gold seal OF empress, borne in yellow silk
pavilion; patent of investiture, borne in
| yellow silk pavilion; the baton OF the en-
| peror, carried by grand secretary on
| horseback; an officer on horseback, holding
| a yellow satin wrapper, raised aloft in both
! hands; fifty or sixty horses belonging to
| the bride, dressed in yellow trappings; UNI