Los Angeles herald., 1905-01-20
All NOW BURIED
WITH ALL POMP
CEREMONIES ATTRACT MANY
SlGHTSEERS
cHINAToWNS LEADER AT REST
Funeral One Of the Largest in the
History of Chinatown, and AL
most Its Entire Population
Is Present

With all the trappings of modern
civilization and the heather customs
and traditions of the middle ages, Ah
Now, one time political king of China
town, was buried yesterday after
noon.
In size and Importance the funeral
in the history of the Chinese quarter
has been surpassed only by that of
Wong Chez, who was murdered by a
fellow countryman IN 1898.
Thousands of persons, Angelenos and
Chinese, intermingled in one confused
mass, stood for two hours in the mud
of the plaza and watched the unique
ceremonies, which were held in front
of the headquarters of the Hop Sing
Tong. Hundreds of others followed
the funeral cortege to the Chinese
cemetery there to see the unusual Gus
toms which were observed.
A special detail of police and de-
tectives were on hand at the plaza,
and ropes were stretched about the bier
to protect it and the mourners from
being crushed by the crowd of curious
onlookers who sought to gain view of
the principals.
Business Suspended
Business about the plaza was prac-
tically at a standstill from 1 until
o'clock and street car service and traf-
fic were suspended for nearly an hour
along North Main street when the pro-
nd CT ;tc
way to the cemetery.
At first it was determined by Mow's
friends to send his body to China there
to be buried by the side of his ances-
tors, then a burial at San Francisco
was proposed, but to all of these plans
Mow's widow objected, and yesterday,
with disheveled hair and white mourn
ing garb, she publicly proclaimed her
grief with tears and walls before the
bier of her departed husband.
Mow's eight-year-old son, Ming oh,
and his seven-year-old daughter. Yeh
Fling, likewise white gowned and tur-
baned knelt beside their mother and
partook of her sorrow.
At the plaza a pagoda had been
erected. In this fimsy structure,
adorned with inscriptions proclaiming
Mow's virtues, his body rested in state.
Before the pagoda on small altar
stood a crayon photograph of the dead
man. In front of the altar was placed
table laden with Chinese delicacies,
consisting of rice, fish, ducks, roasted
sucklings, nuts, CONNECTIONS and can
died fruits.
Cousins Bear Remains
Eight pall-bearers, cousins of the
dead, and clad in white; eight chief
officers of the Hop Sing Tong, in cos
tune, and a squad of Chinese cadets
from the Western Military academy,
with the chief mourners, were the fig
ures in the ceremony.
Over all hung the heavy odor of
hundreds of burning incense candles
and punk sticks.
The exercises before the Hop Sing
Tong headquarters at an end, the
journey to the cemetery was begun.
All Mow's widow, children and their
attendants on foot followed in the
wake of the hearse. The funeral dirges
played by the American brass band
became a tumble of confused sounds
with that of two bodies of Chinese
with their beating of tom toms, clang
ing cymbals and other instruments to
keep off the devil Chinese in carriages
followed, making the procession over
a half mile long.
Arriving at the cemetery, the funeral
party repeated substantially the rites
performed earlier in the afternoon. Be
fore an altar, fianked on either side by
incinerating furnaces, which had al
ready consumed the personal belong
ings of All Now, the widow and her
children took their positions.
The banquet to the dead had already
been prepared and was next the altar.
Rice wine was poured out into doll-like
cups. These were taken by the friends
of the dead man and after putting the
cups to their lips as If to drink, the
contents We're thrown to the earth,
ceremony of drinking with the spirits
of the departed.
Journey to Grave
From the altar the short journey to
the grave was begun. The body of
Now, between whose teeth there had
been placed ten cent piece, that at
the resurrection his body might be-
come as gold, was borne by his eight
cousins.
Along the path to the grave facsim-
lies of Chinese paper money were
thrown broad cast with the two-fold
purpose of a purchase into heaven for
the dead man and that of warding off
the devil. who must go through each of
the numerous perforations of each
sheet of paper before he may reach the
body of Now.
AT the grave there were no cere-
monies of any kind. The widow and
her children knelt before the grave,
the Chinese cadets stood at attention
and while the curious held back by the
police looked on. the sexton and his