14G THE MARRIAGE MAKER 



Wei Ku did not object to the visits of the match-makers 

 nor to their overtures, and, while not himself seriously seeking 

 matrimony, had no special disinclination to handing over his 

 "Eight characters" whenever asked for them. Strange to* 

 relate, however, the red slips of paper were in every instance 

 politely returned to him because the astrologers to whom 

 they had been referred all affirmed that the "characters" 

 did not harmonize with those of the intended brides, and as 

 a union entered into when the astral and elemental condi- 

 tions are antagonistic, when the dragon and the phoenix do 

 not sing in concert, would be highly injudicious, the proposals 

 never went beyond the initial stage. 



After Wei Ku had spent some fifteen years in Hsiang 

 Chou, the Prefect one day jocularly asked him why he was 

 still a bachelor. "Well," replied Wei Ku, "it's not that I 

 have ever objected to wed. The trouble is, I could never 

 find a lady whose horoscope harmonized with mine." 



"That's very odd, to be sure!" observed the Prefect; 

 "you must have been born under chaotic conditions of the 

 heavens. Let me have your "eight characters," and I'll 

 see whether they don't accord with my daughter's. If they 

 do, and you agree, you shall have her with my full consent." 



And so it happened that another match-maker was sent 

 to Wei Ku in the proper formal way, and Wei Ku produced 

 his red slip for the twentieth time with many misgivings. 



Now, the Prefect's daughter, whose name was Ch'un 

 Lai, which means, "Came in the Springtime," was renowned 

 throughout the land for her peerless beauty and many accom- 

 plishments. She sang exquisitely, and performed with great 

 skill on the Ch'in, an ancient stringed-instrument resembling 

 the zither, very fashionable in those days, and considered 

 classical at the present time. She could play all the five 

 kinds of music to* suit the five kinds of etiquette ; that 

 is to say, music for joyful occasions, for sad occasions, for 

 occasions when hosts welcome guests, for occasions when 

 martial music is appropriate, and for occasions when con- 

 gratulations are offered. None the less famed was she for 

 her literary attainments. She could hold her own with the 

 most learned in expounding the Classics; her diction in 

 poetry was elegant and refined, and as for antithetical 

 couplets, no one could match a sentence with its correlative" 

 more promptly or with more aptness of expression than 

 Ch'un Lai. In short, she was as clever as she was beautiful. 

 There had been many aspirants for the hand of this 

 brilliant young lady; but, somehow, her "eight characters" 

 never compared favourably with those of any suitors, so* 



