Bryan daily eagle and pilot. [volume] (Bryan, Tex.) 1909-1918, 1914-05-01
MARRIAGE IN CHINA.
NY Mob, Chinese Student, Tells Of
Ancient Custom,

Ancient Custom.
The discussion of custom of mar
riage is interesting to every person. Q
blooming age and it naturally becomes
more interesting IL such custom is pc
culiar and entirely strange. Yet b!
the agency Of this custom the foul
hundred million people Of the Flow
cry Kingdom" have thus. been gener
ated and multiplied through q long Sc
ries of several thousand years. though
1t is, not only In. China in which this
peculiar custom has been long in prev
alence.
A few years previous to the marry
ing age Of q boy in China, the duty
Of the parents is to select girl Of q
proper family to be the wife of their
son. They usually ask for a set OF
eight words" (year, month, date and
time Of BIRTH Of girl and hand II
over, together with the set Of eight
words" Of their son. to fortune teller,
from whom they may get little vague
Information about the fate of this sup.
posed young couple. Spending. a, cou-
pie of dollars in. this way is likewise
customary, because whether the girl
in question will be chosen or not is
entirely left to the consideration of
the boys parents. II the parents Of
both families agree to enter into a
relationship, the question Of marriage
is now referred to the boy and girl
for their consent. Strange to say, he
or she viii never answer in the mega
tive, except in rare cases. The rea.
son why nobody knows. Next is to
settle the date of bethrothment o
When wedding day is approaching.
both families are getting busy in the
preparation of the things necessary in
the CEREMONY Of marriage. The girl to
be married sometimes spends several
years. work in needles to, have every
thing. for daily use embroidered, while
the boy tries his best to kill the time
as much as possible only for that
good day" The, nuptial ceremony is
solemn and tedious and sometimes
takes a. few days for its complete per-
Torrance. On the, wedding day the
bride. is, carried by eight coolies to
her future husbands home in Sedan
chair, entirely covered with embroider.
ed, red satin, Ahead Of this Sedan
chair there, usually is long process
sion. which consists of signals Of Of
ficial titles. musicians, decorated flags,
umbrellas and everything
that is considered good for show. Up
on the arrival of the bride Immediate
ly follows the most essential part Of
the ceremony, that is. the Worship
ping Of heaven and EARTH" of their
parents, and the kneeling down of the
bride and bridegroom to each other
as the formal acknowledgment of a
permanent union. After this solemn
ceremony, neither the husband nor the
wife has the right, in the eyes of the
law, to separate from each other I'M
less upon very strong reasons.
No counting ever existed in China
fifteen or twenty years ago; men and
women were coupled up in the way
above mentioned, although they didn't
meet or see each other before mar
rage. They realized that, after the
yoke was once thrown upon their
necks. they got to go side by side,,
however disagreeable between them 1t
might happen to be. But such dis
cord is often greatly lessened through
mutual Cancellation and the couple re-
alize that each of them should per.
form his or her duty, namely, the hus-
band earns the money to support the
home and the wife arranges the home
as comfortable and happy as 1t could
be. So the word divorce" never
comes into the head Of a Chinese