Bet7-othal. — This among the Chinese is considered as binding as marriage, if the rites and observances have been carefiUly looked after. The final act in betroth- ment is the exchange of cards (for description, see Doo- little, i, 67). The time intervening between betrothal and marriage varies from a month or two to eighteen or twenty years, depentling much on the age of the parties. " From one to three months before the marriage a fortu- nate day is selected for its celebration, (ienerally a member of the family of the bridegroom, or a trusty friend, takes the eight horary characters which denote the birth-time for each of the affianced parties, and for each of their parents, if living, to a fortune-teller, who selects lucky days and times for the marriage, for the cutting of the wedding garments, for the placing of the bridal bed in position, for the finishing of the curtains of the bridal bed, for the embroidering of the bridal pil- lows, and for the entering of the sedan, on the part of the bride, on the day of her marriage. These items are written out on a sheet of red paper, which is sent to the family of the girl by the hands of the go-between. If accepted, the periods specified become the fixed times for the performance of the particulars indicated, and both parties proceed to make the necessary arrange- ments for the approaching wedding. Presenting the wedding-cakes and material for the bridal dress to the family of the bride by the other party is next in order. The relative time usually adopted for the performance of this custom is about one month before the day fixed for the marriage. The number of these 'cakes of cere- mony,^ or wedding-cakes, varies from several score to several hundreds. They are round, and about an inch thick, weighing generally about one pound and ten or twelve ounces each, and measure nearly a foot in diam- eter. They are made out of wheat floiu-, and contain in
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the middle some sugar, lard, and small pieces of fat pork, mixed together in a kind of batter, and then cooked : they are, in fact, a sort of mince-pies. Tliere is also sent a sum of money, of greater or less amount, accord- ing to previous agreement ; a quantity of red cloth or silk, usually not less than five kinds, for the use of the bride ; live kinds of dried fruits, several kinds of small cakes, a cock and a hen, and a gander and a goose. The famUy of the girl, on receiving these ■\vedding-cakes, proceeds to distribute them among their relatives and intimate friends. The small cakes are also distributed in a similar manner. The money sent is generally spent in outfitting the bride.
"A few days before the day fixed for the wedding, the family (jf the bridegroom again makes a present of various articles of food and other things to the family of the bride, as a cock and a hen, a leg and foot of a pig and of a goat, eight small cakes of bread, eight torches, tliree pairs of large red candles, a quantitj' of vermicelli, and several bunches of fire-crackers. There are also sent a girdle, a head-dress, a silken covering for the head antl face, and several articles of ready-made clothing, which are usually borrowed or rented for the occasion. These are to be worn by the bride on her entering the bridal sedan to be carried to the home of her husband on the morning of her marriage. The food, or a part of it, including the cock, is to be eaten by her on that morning. The tire-crackers are for explosion on the road, and the torches are for burning during the time occupied en i-oute to her new home. On each of the eight bread-cakes is made a large red character in an ancient form of writing, of an auspicious meaning, as 'longevity,' ' happiness,' 'official emolument,' and 'joy;' or certain four of them have four characters, meaning ' the phcenlxes are singing in concert,' or ' the ducks are seeking their mates.' Four of these bread-loaves are accepted ; the remaining four and the hen, according to strict custom, are returned to the party which proffers them. The bread-cakes and the vermicelli are omens significant of good, owing to a play on the local sound of the characters which denote them, or in consequence of the shape of the article. The vermicelli is signifi- cant of ' longevity,' because of its length ; and the four bread-cakes reserved by the family of the bride are kept for a singular use on the morning of the girl's entering her bridal chair. Plaeinrj the bridal bedstead in the jjo- sition where it is to stand is an important ceremony. When the day selected arrives, which is generally only a few days before the ^vedding, the bedstead is arranged in some convenient place in the bride's chamber, and then for a considerable time it must not be moved, for fear of ill luck. This placing of the bedstead in posi- tion is attended with various superstitious acts."
Wors/iip of Ancestors by the Bridal Partij. — "Usual- ly the day before the wedding, the bride has her hair done up in the style of married women of her class in society, and tries on the clothes she is to wear in the sedan, and for a time after she arrives at her future home on the morrow. This is an occasion of great interest to her family. Her parents invite their I'emale relatives and friends to a feast at their house. The professed ob- ject of trying on the clothing is to see how the articles provided will fit, and to ascertain that everything is ready, so that there may be no delay or confusion on the arrival of the hour when she is to take her seat in her sedan. While thus dressed (the thick veil designed to conceal her features on arrival at her husband's resi- dence not now being worn), she proceeds to light in- cense before the ancestral tablets belonging to her fa- ther's famUy, and to worship them for the last time be- fore her marriage. She also kneels down before her parents, her grandparents (if living), her uncles and aunts (if present), and worships them in much the same manner as she and her husband will on the morrow worship his parents and grandparents, and the ancestral tablets belonging to his family. On the occasion of the girl's trying on these clothes and worshipping the tablet