The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1917-01-05
Bands On These Occasions Play
"fiot Time and Similar
Fast Tunes
Letter Written to Vernon Center
Lady Describes Scenes in
Shanghai ;
Personal Gossip and the Social
Doings Collected BY the
Reporter
Especial to the Free Press.J

lhelHoulSt EpIScOpal SUNDAY school
is organized as a missionary school
and part of the last session of the
school in each month is taken up in
learning about the work of missions
IN home and foreign lands and the
SUNDAY school collection for that day
and all the birthday offerings for the
year are given to missions. Mrs.
Homer Miller of North Vernon, gave
the last missionary program, which
consisted in reading parts OF letter
she had recently received from her
sister, Miss Clara Whitmore, who is
a surgeon in the Margaret William
son hospital in Shanghai, China,
which tells of some of the Chinese
customs and beliefs. The following are
some of the interesting extracts from
| the letter:
Il must tell you about the Chinese
wedding which took place at our hos
pital. 1t was set for IL a. III. 1t took
place at 4:30 in the afternoon. 1t is
always from two to five hours later
than the appointed time. Before they
marched in they had fire crackers.
They do this at ali their weddings,
maids arm and behind the groom and
his groomsman. He was in stylish
foreign clothes and carried large
silk hat. She wore Chinese clothes,
the skirt being made Of beautifully en-
broidered red satin. The Jacket, re-
lsembling our MILDLY style, was of pale
pink. They stood while the minister
preached the sermon, not asking any
questions of them and finally they
were married. They bow to the audi
lence and everybody bows to them No
handshaking Or noise to this part at
all. But it was the feast that came lat
er that would make one sick at first
thought. The meats were very nice,
but we had no napkins, plates or side
dishes, nor knives or forks and l
could not use my chopsticks very well.
Then. when it came to the bowls of
soupy things everybody dipped right
in. The chopsticks from everybody
mouth went into the same dish. Be
| ing mostly foreigners at our table, it
was covered with red tablecloth,
the other tables having no covering.
| We were also allowed to leave all nut
shells, orange Feelings and bones on
the table, but all such things from
the other tables were thrown on the
floor. 1t was surely funny and dirty.
Another wedding which is perhaps
| the most Chinesy affair | have wit
messed since I came was one when an
lold man past ninety married a girl
who had died at the age of seventeen.
He had lost his wife. with whom he
tu htrt q
not allowed to bury her because he
had mot legally married her, that is
she was widow and man cannot
marry widow unless> he has first
married virgin, Often they will
marry hunchback or a blind or deaf
and dumb girl and at once desert
them. This man had not married a
virgin first, was not legally married
so now he would have no wife in the
! next world, no one to wait upon him
There and no. ancestors, which is a
heavy curse to fall upon any man. He
asked and asked and could not find
anyone to marry, him now. He was
ALMOST frantic from worry over it I'M
It'll someone suggested to him that he
marry his boyhood friend who had
! ed the dead girls parents for her and
made arrangements with them to
make a paper Cd 20 50 through the
ceremony with him. They did this
and she was the gayest paper doll
you ever saw. About as tall as girl
| of twelve, made of bright colors and
decked with beautiful flowers. The
fred marriage chair with it's bright
| colored lanterns and the attendants
tmaking music, were ali sent for the
Paper bride The music was hideous
beyond all description, made on tin
lpans, flutes and old hand organs.
The ancient wedding bonnet was used
weighing many pounds. 1t took four
men to hold it over the bride during
| the ceremony, so you can Judge Of its
weight. Her bed covered with her
Bedding and household things came
TOO and when all duly arrived, the old
man marched out and was married to
J his paper bride. 1t was as solemn as
real wedding. He had a most elab-
crate feast for all the relatives and
guests and it cost him great sum of
money for of course her people took
advantage of the old mans distress
and charged him high for his spirit
bride. But he was very happy and
/, thanked everyone over and over again
for coming to his feast. Now he can
| die in peace, untormented by the
wicked spirits.
| "The funerals here are very noisy
occasions also. AS procession pass
ed yesterday, noticed three bands,
they were playing, Hot Time in the
Old Town Tonight Yankee Doodle
and Marching Through Georgia.
THEY like our catchy music-it keeps
the evil spirits away. Their collins
are very heavy, for they put in lime
and often leave them above ground
many years before burial. Down at
Ningpoo, city farther south, became
so unsanitary because of unburied
people that the officials ordered a
wholesale burial, or they would burn
the bodies. In two weeks time. they
buried 10000 collins and in the next
and last two weeks given them 0,000
more. There were some three hum
dred years old unburied among them.
Their dead houses cover blocks and