ABSTRACT
Betrothal in China is a matter with which the parties most deeply concerned have generally little to do. The ceremony which they are soon to perform is considered an essential part of the customs observed on the day of the marriage of heathen Chinese in this part of the empire, and doubtless all over China. The family of the bridegroom provides two of the cards, one having a gilt dragon on it and the other a gilt phoenix. All of the articles of food and of family use placed on the table during the performance of this ceremony are, according to the Chinese standpoint, omens of harmony and of prosperity. The object of the performance of the nonsensical ceremony, as a whole, is to secure prosperity to the couple after their marriage, especially with regard to the bearing of children in their family in successive generations.
