THE MARRIAGE MAKER 145 



to set the Gods at naught and to commission the match- 

 makers to find him a rich and beautiful wife were scattered 

 to the winds; in truth, nothing was now farther from his 

 mind than marriage. 



After listlessly spending several days doing nothing, he 

 came to> the wise conclusion that he had better give up his 

 aimless life and seek some Government employment. He 

 heard of a suitable vacancy in a Mandarin's Yamen at a 

 place called Hsiang Chou, in another part of the country; 

 and this post he decided to apply for. With the help of 

 influential friends he obtained it, so accordingly packed up 

 his belongings and set out to take up the appointment. 



At Hsiang Chou, Wei Ku plodded on diligently, and in 

 time gained the confidence of his superiors and the esteem 

 of his neighbours. Preferment came in due season, and 

 gradually he secured a fairly responsible position with a good 

 salary, — a fact which did not fail to engross the attention of 

 a multitude of fond mothers who had the welfare of marriage- 

 able daughters at heart. So it came about that Wei Ku 

 who once had thought of employing match-makers in his 

 own behalf, now found himself sought after by a host of 

 these insinuating people delegated by the said fond mothers 

 to institute negotiations with the object of converting him 

 into a son-in-law. 



The first step, as is always customary in such cases, 

 was a request, couched in the most courteous and formal 

 language, to Wei Ku for his Shih Ch'en Pa Tzu, or "Eight 

 horary characters," which, in pairs, indicate the year, the 

 month, the day, and the hour of his birth. This information, 

 indispensable at the outset and invariably written on a piece 

 of red paper, when obtained, is promptly submitted to an 

 astrologer for the purpose of ascertaining whether the in- 

 dividual concerned is born under a lucky or an unlucky star. 

 If it be found that the star is an unlucky one, the matter 

 falls through at once; but should the astrologer have no 

 fault to find with the star, a careful detailed comparison of 

 the horoscopes of both parties is then made to determine 

 whether the degree of pernicious influences, and the effect 

 of unfavourable forces exerted by the Five Elements, namely, 

 Metal, Wood, Water, Fire and Earth, on the one side, are 

 adequately counterbalanced or compensated for by the benign 

 influences and salutary forces of the same Elements on the 

 other side. If they are, the combination is said to be 

 harmonious, and negotiations are proceeded with. But if 

 evil predominates, then negotiations are broken off as grace- 

 fully and as speedilv as possible. 

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