CHINESE MARRIAGE CUSTOMS. 243 



marriage procession is headed by a man carrying a branch of a 

 banyan-tree, whose local name is identical in sound with another 

 word which means completed or perfected. It signifies the fact 

 that all that is necessary to legal matrimony has been done in 

 this case. This leader is followed by two men, each bearing a 

 lantern on a stalk of sugar-cane, the former being a part of the 

 bride's outfit, and the latter rising stage by stage to a climax 

 broad and flourishing, symbolizing the hope that the bride's life 

 may likewise widen out. The next in the file is a man carrying 

 over his shoulder a bamboo, the emblem of rapid increase, 

 having a red bundle of foot-gear on one end of it, and a red 

 coverlet on the other. After him come as many burden-bearers as 

 are necessary to carry all the red boxes containing the trousseau. 



On arriving at the door of the house, the bride sees her hus- 

 band for the first time, and recognizes him, among those who 

 await her, by his rich attire. By previous arrangement, she is 

 first greeted by some woman reckoned lucky and prosperous, in 

 the hope that she will be like the one who gives her earliest wel- 

 come in her new home. A mistress of ceremonies that has been 

 engaged to see that during three days all is done according to 

 established usage, throws upon the door-sill some burning straw, 

 half extinguishes it, and leads the new-comer across it, saying : 

 " Now, fair young bride, the smoke bestride ; 

 Tliis year have joy, next year a boy." 



This rite is supposed to disinfect the bride from any evil influence 

 to which she may have been subjected by demons or white tigers 

 along her route. She then immediately enters the room in which 

 her red bedstead has been set up, and in which her possessions are 

 all deposited. There she sits silent all the rest of the day, among 

 her red boxes, no one speaking to her, or noticing her in any way 

 except by bringing her food. A feast is spread in the evening for 

 male friends, who have been invited by card, and its preparation 

 occupies the whole household. After the supper, the guests are 

 permitted to see the bride, who is brought forward by the duenna 

 toward the door of the bedroom. In some cases only those who 

 can offer a felicitous stanza are allowed to approach the bedroom 

 door, and there is much rivalry in the composition of poetry to be 

 recited. The stanzas usually contain allusions to posterity, as in 

 the following translations from the vernacular : 

 " The bride is high-browed, fair and sweet ; 

 Like awls her small and sharp-toed feet. 

 Brought home this year with honors meet, 

 Next year an infant son she'll greet.'' 

 "Fresb twigs upon the pine, new sprouts on the bamboo; 



The groom brings home the bride to rule his house : his field 

 To her a thousand-fold its annual crop shall yield ; 

 And she will be a mother-in-law at thirty-two." 



