The brides come to the Palace in red satin bridal chairs, accompanied by their husband’s mother and his married sisters, if he has any; if not, by his nearest women relations. On their arrival in the Precincts they first go to the Throne-room and make their bows and prostrations before the Empress Dowager, to thank her for the gifts she has sent. Sometimes Her Majesty would speak to them at some length, seeming to give them advice. After making their obeisances to her, they then make their salutations to the young Empress. They spend the day at the Palace, take luncheon with the young Empress and Princesses, and leave about three o’clock. These brides were generally very young girls, though sometimes I was surprised to see that they had well passed the first bloom of youth, for I had thought that all Oriental women were married very young. The young Empress was always charming to the brides, and seemed to watch over their pleasure, and try to make them enjoy this rather trying day, when they were the observed of all observers. Among these brides, the winter I was in Peking, was the wife of the Emperor’s youngest brother, a charming young girl with sweet manners, far more attractive in every way than Yung Lu’s daughter, the wife of Prince C’hun.
The Chinese look upon a daughter, at her birth, as a misfortune, one of the ills that must be endured, and while loving her individually, a daughter is not welcomed into the family nor allowed the privileges of a son. It is, however, quite different with the Manchus. A daughter not being able to sacrifice to the ancestors, even Manchus prefer a son; but a daughter is a welcome member of the family, and she has a distinct and independent position of her own. One of the Chinese ministers to Washington once told me that the only unmarried woman in the world whose position is analogous to that of the “American Girl,” in her own family, is the Manchu girl.
As long as the Manchu girl remains unmarried, she is a veritable power in the household. She ranks as high as her brother, and always takes precedence of her brother’s wife, even if that wife be double her age and