The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1900-08-18
NO PRIEST OFFICIATES.

They would not be so bold.
After the ceremony, the feasting be-
gins. The parents of the bride entertain
one day, those of the bridegroom two or
three-men and women being Toasted in
separate apartments. If there is not room
for all in the house, the bridegroom and
his friends betake themselves to res
taurant or hotel. On the morning of the
third day, the bride is carried home to
her parents in her bridal chair. She re-
turns to her husband that same evening,
but after month she may visit her par
erts as often as desire and convenience
dictate. On the third day the brides par
ents entertain the bridegroom at a grand
banquet
Engagements once contracted are sell
dom broken. A broken engagement is apt
to be interpreted as a reflection on the
character of the girl, and the latter is
hence very 10th to have ii broken. Mar
riage is a permanent institution in China
Even the promise of marriage is held so
sacred that mary girl whose fiance has
died before the marriage day has vowed
never to marry. Her wish is usually re-
spected, especially If the family of her
betrothed is rich In that case she says,
II will become a widow" and goes TO
the family of her deceased bridegroom
and lives with them as a daughter. If
they are not wealthy, they may not care
to he burdeped with her support; but she
says then, Il will serve you," and then
idevotes her life to them in memory of the
man who might have been her husband.
widow who has children very seldom,
IF ever remarries, but continues to live
in the family of her late husband, rear
ing his children to perpetuate the family
nan G. If she is childless, she consults the
wishes of ner mother-in-law, and may
feel at liberty to go and marry again.
The day when a Chinese woman brings
into the world her first-born son is the
browning day of her life. Because son
lis legally and morally bound to support
his parents in old age, whereas a daugh-
ter becomes on her marriage day. a mem
Der of another family, male children are
mere desired by the Chinese than are fe-
rlale children. In Canton, the parents
announce a sons birth by sending to theiI
Trends bottle of ginger wine. The Gus
tom has it's origin in the fact that ginger
is much used by a woman in her lying-ir
period. In Acknowledgement of the an
lnouncement the friends send the chile
costly presents expressive OF their wishes
70, longevity and happiness.
Death is met IN China with great wal
of Protest. The dead mans house is filled
with the sound of noisy weeping almost
before the body is cold. 1t is a piteou:
sight to see his children throwing them
selves PROSTATE on the ground beating
L
viii neither sit on chairs nor lie OF
touches They discard their silken robes
and don white garments made of tn
lccarsest hemp. They fast and pray ant
keep watch over the dead body. Until tn
burial takes place priests recite prayer
at regular intervals and the children o
the deceased weep over the corpse a
stated times. 1t is not customary 70
friends to send flowers, but beautiful sat
in instead which the virtue
of the dead man are set forth. On a Ger
tain day these scrolls are hung up. hun
;eds of them perhaps, and incense burn
} ed
u CHINESE FUNERALS.
) The funeral frequently does not occu
1 until two or three weeks after death, bu
2 the body lies all this time in state in ii
| handsome coffin. Rich Chinese are Yer
5 particular about the good quality of tn
9 wood for their collins, often having theI
riade years before there is any probabilit
9 of their being needed. 1t Is well know
that some distinguished high officials al
in the habit of carrying their coffin
: around with them in their travels.
The funeral cortege is usually very in
l psirg. Friends are present in their mo!
: Official dress, and note of mourning ado
!. ed TO their splendor by the dark uppt
y lcCat donned for the occasion. Relative
ARE clad in the coarsest white. and ever.
body else wears a band of white abol
i the body. The coffin is borne on Il
8 shoulders of men, the rank of the d.
ceased being indicated somewhat by the
number. He must have been low in Il
SC cial scale whose pail is borne by on
two bearers. Eight is the usual numbe
: and thirty-two the number when the d
y ceased has been high in official circles.
= the funeral train Taoist and Buddhi
. priests always occupy a prominent plac
Although the Chinese as a nation a
followers of Confucius, they have a fet
/, ling that the whole truth can be know
i to none, and believe 1t the part of wisdo
Z to insure the future on all sides. Prizes
:, of these two sects are accordingly alwa
!. lcalled In to say prayers for the dead, ey
though the deceased may have had
faith In their teachings. Rich famili
also have in their funeral procession pc
pie carrying sedan chairs, horses and FL
Z niture made of paper. These things a
v, burned after the burial, the idea bel
/ that the dead man shall not want for a
n of his customary comforts in afloth
n world. There are certain coolies in I
is procession also. carrying memorial ia
lets which chronicle the offices a..d ScnC
- of the dead man, one for every efce. a
- er the funeral these are brouGht back
the dead mans house and pla n
hall of his ancestral home. Mo- --,ag m
sic made by the doleful beat - druI
= and the shrill plant of pipes ard flutes
also a part of the procession, which
often so long as to take an hoU- pa
a given point.
WHERE TO BURY?
). The choice of burying ground Is &C
- sidered a matter of great Importance
III Chira. A class of people who have gre
Influence there are the "Geomancer'
Of whose function 1t is to decide whether
ic place is lucky for burying ground or
building a house. Rich people spend
,s great deal OF time and money in got
about selecting burial places for IN
ie dead. Sometimes they spend years
ltleir search. When a lucky place Is for
the Geomancer may say, IF you bi
ycur father here you will be rich yo
20 self before you die" 1t is commonly