34 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL. I42 



water in pools and streams, which later is offered to the gods and 

 greatly offends them. As a consequence every woman, but no man, 

 suffers torments of hell in the bloody basin. She is ordered by the 

 god to drink this blood, but being unable to do so, she is beaten un- 

 mercifully with a club. The only remedy for her predicament is to 

 invite a Buddhist or a Taoist priest to chant ceremonially the Classic 

 of the Bloody Basin and pray for her release (Graham, 1928b, 

 pp. 18-22). 



In the old China engagements were not made by the young man 

 and the young woman concerned ; they were family affairs, arranged 

 by the parents of the two families through go-betweens. Sometimes 

 the engagements were made when the two children were very young. 

 In this society, all women got married, but in some of the poorest 

 families only the oldest son got married, with the consequence that 

 one or more of the sons had no wife. The unmarried sons, however, 

 were expected to help support the families of their parents. 



When the parents decided that it was time for their son to become 

 engaged, they invited a go-between. Before the latter approached a 

 family having a marriageable daughter, the boy's parents resorted to 

 divination to ascertain whether the arrangement was likely to be aus- 

 picious. If the answer was favorable, the go-between was sent to the 

 family of the maiden, taking with him presents for her parents. If 

 the girl's parents were favorable, they gave the girl's horoscope to 

 the go-between, who took it to the parents of the boy. Again the 

 boy's parents resorted to divination, and if the results were again 

 favorable they consulted an expert on horoscopes. If the horoscopes 

 indicated that the marriage would be fortunate, the engagement was 

 consummated. More presents and sometimes money were given to 

 the girl's parents. 



Engagements were very binding and were almost never broken. If 

 it should happen that the family of the young woman broke the en- 

 gagement, it was almost impossible for her to get married to anyone 

 else, for the prospective husband would fear the hatred, jealousy, and 

 vengeance of the young man to whom she had been engaged. The 

 writer knew of a girl who broke an engagement because the young 

 man had participated in gambling and other immoral practices. For 

 years no one proposed marriage to her, although she was educated, 

 talented, and good looking. She finally became pregnant without mar- 

 riage to a wealthy young man, whom she compelled to marry her by 

 threatening to kill herself on his doorstep. 



Until recently the consent of the two young people to the marriage 



