CHINESE FAMILIES.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 282, 25 May 1912, Page 1 (Supplement)

CHINESE FAMILIES.

STXTY-SEVKX MOUTHS TO FEED. The Chinese are proud of Large families, and a large family living together under one roof is looked upon as a proof of the good temper and correct course of life of its members, and as a sure path to prosperity. A large family which is able to live together without dividing up the property always receives much credit and is highly respected. It is one of the highest distinctions in China' to have Wu Fu Tang, or live generations under one roof, although such a distinction is 'attained by very few. According to a recent census, the family of Meng Yu Sliih, a widow of the village of Mangtae, in the territory of Weiheiwci, has the distinction of being the largest in the land. Her family consists of 00 members, and with one servant .there are sixty-seven mouths to be fed daily. Meng'Yu Shih is sixty-six years old. and has nine sons and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchild-ren, all living under her roof. She has not yet attained the ambition of being the head of Wu Fu Tung Tang, but the size of her family has already given her the honor and pleasure of being the largest in the entire kingdom, even if she has not five generations under one roof. There are many households with more than forty members, and almost all old and distinguished families of China have at least twenty members. Families of small size, three or four, are considered rather bad form, even if they are rich and occupying high positions. Size of family is as valuable in China as size of a strong box. ~