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Glossary

Proper names from Chaoshan custom, one entry to a word: first what it is, then through to its pronunciation, its usage and its photographs.

Arranged in six lines — belief and processions, rites of life, food, houses and settlement, crafts and performance, dialect and emigration. Pinyin here is the Mandarin reading; the dialect has its own transcription, see transcribing the Chaoshan dialect, and the same word may be written differently from county to county, see the dialect and Mandarin.

Belief and processions信仰与游神

The words a village uses for its gods, for carrying them out of the hall and round the parish, and for the days on which that happens. Lao ye is the general term for a local guardian deity; ying lao ye is the carrying; bai lao ye is the worship.

Bai lao ye, the worship bài lǎo yé
Everyday offering: incense at home on the first and fifteenth, offerings at the hall on the gods' birthdays, three me… →
Biao qi, the long banners biāo qí
Long silk banners leading a procession, embroidered with auspicious phrases and the village or surname, in Chaozhou e… →
Deng shou, the head of the lantern fair dēng shǒu
The first place of a lantern fair, and the household or quarter that holds it: a rotating duty that comes round once… →
Di zhu ye, the god of the ground dì zhǔ yé
The god of the plot one house stands on, in older usage the zhong liu spirit; his seat is the lower tier of the hall… →
Fang yan kou, the flame-mouth rite fàng yàn kǒu
The passage in which the vajra master, chanting and changing hand gestures, scatters peach buns and rice to the four… →
Gong po mu, the bed goddess gōng pó mǔ
The bed goddess who watches over a child from birth to the fifteenth nominal year; her burner stands in the bedroom,… →
Gu peng, the orphan platform gū péng
The painted stage built for the feeding of the dead: Ksitigarbha enthroned on it, a paper king of the orphaned before… →
Gu wang, the king of the orphaned gū wáng
The paper ghost king set before the orphan platform, blue-faced and fanged and taller than a man, burned with the oth… →
Lao ye gong, the village hall lǎo yé gōng
The hall where the gods are kept and from which the procession sets out and returns; usually the principal temple of… →
Lao ye sheng, the god's birthday lǎo yé shēng
A deity's birthday; the birthday of the principal god of a hall becomes the village's own day, with offerings, opera… →
Lao ye, the gods of a place lǎo yé
The general Chaoshan word for a local guardian deity: titled gods and local gods alike. The hall is a lao ye gong, ca… →
Mazu, the sea goddess mā zǔ
Protector of those at sea, born on the twenty-third of the third month; her halls, called Tianhou gong, stand at almo… →
Qiang gu, scrambling for the offerings qiǎng gū
The offerings thrown down from the platform when the service ends, caught below in net bags on bamboo poles, coats or… →
Sai da zhu, competing with great pigs sài dà zhū
A first-month contest in which whole pigs, flowered and stamped, are mounted on frames in the yard before the ancestr… →
San shan guo wang, the Three Mountain Kings sān shān guó wáng
An old local cult of Jinshan, Mingshan and Dushan, its mother temple below Yufeng mountain at Hepo in Jiexi; neither… →
Shi gu, feeding the dead shī gū
In the seventh month each village builds a platform, sets out offerings and burns paper clothes for the unattached de… →
The eight festivals of the year shí nián bā jié
Spring Festival, Lantern Festival, Qingming, Double Fifth, Zhongyuan, Mid-Autumn, winter solstice and New Year's Eve;… →
Tuo shen, dragging the god tuō shén
At Yanzao in Chenghai on the twenty-first and twenty-second of the first month, the image is hauled down off its pala… →
Ying lao ye, the procession yíng lǎo yé
Carrying the god images out of the hall and once round the parish: palanquin, honour guard, gongs and banners, a rout… →
Yu lan sheng hui, the Yulan assembly yú lán shèng huì
A service around the fifteenth of the seventh month to deliver the unattached dead: a platform built, clergy called i… →

Rites of lifeRites of life

Birth, coming of age, marriage, birthdays, funerals. The largest group, and the one with the most terms that outsiders take for synonyms and locals keep apart.

An chuang, setting the bed ān chuáng
On a lucky day before the wedding the new bed is carried in and levelled, a woman of good fortune spreads it and scat… →
Ba xian zhuo, the square table bā xiān zhuō
The square table of a Chaoshan banquet, two to a side and eight to a table, the side facing the door the head and sea… →
Bai shou, the birthday bows bài shòu
The celebrant bows to the ancestors, then sits in the hall to receive the kneeling of children and the greetings of g… →
Bao di tou, reporting to the earth god bào dì tóu
The son takes wine or a censer to the local earth god, kneels and reports who has died, when the body is coffined and… →
Bao tian ding, the news of a son bào tiān dīng
The errand on the day of a birth: for a son a red card with the date and hour, pomegranate flowers, fairy grass and s… →
Cai qing, dressing the chair green cǎi qīng
Tying banyan and young bamboo to the corners of the bridal chair and sprinkling it with clear or pomegranate water be… →
Cai xian zhuo, the birthday table cǎi xiān zhuō
The name for a Chaoshan birthday feast: a cook brought in for the best dishes, the celebrant and spouse in the host's… →
Cheng fu, assuming mourning dress chéng fú
The putting on of hemp after the coffin is sealed, graded by the five degrees of mourning and set by closeness of blo… →
Chong mi tou, the first pounding of rice chōng mǐ tóu
On the third day after a Chaoshan wedding the bride treads the mortar for a token few handfuls of rice and carries it… →
Chu huayuan, leaving the garden chū huā yuán
The coming of age held at fifteen by the old count, with a bath in flower water, red clogs, a bow to the bed goddess… →
Da sha, breaking the sand dǎ shā
In Chaoshan merit-making, sand is spread before the altar and drawn as hell with walls, gates and a bridge, then brok… →
Dan jing, carrying the scriptures dān jīng
A stretch of Chaoshan merit-making in which sons and nephews shoulder a pole of two baskets, scriptures in one and pa… →
Dou du, the bib dù dōu
The cloth tied against a child's chest and belly, brought by the mother's mother at the month-old feast and worn new… →
Duan cai wei, the serving seat duān cài wèi
The place at the foot of the square table by the door, kept for a household member or a junior, who takes in the dish… →
Fan cuo, the return to the bride's house fǎn cuò
The bride's visit home at twelve days or four months after the wedding, the first and second timed to the smoke risin… →
Fang she, the reading of the pardon fàng shè
In the middle of merit-making a pardon written on yellow paper is read aloud, remitting the faults of the dead, then… →
Fen qian mi, dividing the money and rice fēn qián mǐ
Before a bride leaves she divides rice from the family jar and copper coins into red-paper portions for her younger s… →
Fu shou wu guo, the five fruits fú shòu wǔ guǒ
Five fruits set on two plates in the birthday hall — fingered citron, banana, pomegranate, longan and large mandarin… →
Guo qiao, crossing the bridge guò qiáo
The central passage of merit-making: a paper bridge of the seven continents built before the coffin, the mourners lea… →
Hao ming ren, the woman of good fortune hǎo mìng rén
The woman of complete blessing engaged for a Chaoshan wedding — married once, sons and daughters both, parents living… →
He fang yuan, the bridal sweet dumplings hé fáng yuán
Two glutinous rice dumplings in sugar water eaten in the bridal room, groom first and bride after, then bowls exchang… →
Hong mu ji, the red clogs hóng mù jī
The red-lacquered wooden clogs with a red cloth strap worn on the day of chu huayuan, in the old account brought by t… →
Hua yuan yu, the flower bath huā yuán yù
On the morning of chu huayuan the child is bathed in water steeped with twelve kinds of flowers and leaves, gathered… →
Huan chang du, the changing of the intestines huàn cháng dǔ
A bowl of pork offal soup — intestine, tripe, liver, kidney and heart — drunk by the child at chu huayuan after the o… →
Jiao gan, stirring the swill jiǎo gān
On the third day after the wedding the bride stirs the kitchen swill vat with a wooden ladle, bottom to top, taking o… →
Jiao wei deng, the lamp at the feet jiǎo wěi dēng
The bean-oil lamp lit at the feet the moment the breath stops, with a bowl of rice beside it called the dark meal; it… →
Jie mei zhuo, the sisters' table jiě mèi zhuō
The night before the wedding the bride's family lays one table for unmarried friends and her own sisters, the bride a… →
Kai jing, opening the well kāi jǐng
On the third morning after a Chaoshan wedding the bride uncovers the well sealed with red paper, bows to the well god… →
Kai xing, the first taste of meat kāi xīng
The rite that lets a child eat meat, with three meats and rice cakes offered to the bed goddess on the lid of the wat… →
Kan jia zhuang, viewing the dowry kàn jià zhuāng
The dowry laid out in the hall before the feast so that the women of the family and clan can look over each piece and… →
Ku jia, weeping at the wedding kū jià
When the bridal chair reaches the door the bride weeps aloud and her mother, sisters-in-law and sisters weep with her… →
Liu li, the six rites liù lǐ
The six steps of the old marriage rite — proposal, asking the name, reading the horoscopes, the betrothal gift, fixin… →
Mai shui, buying water mǎi shuǐ
The son burns incense at the stream, drops coins into the water and carries it back to drip into the mouth of the dea… →
Man yue, the full month mǎn yuè
The child's first month, when the grandmother's family brings clothes, shoes, a cat hat, a cradle and eggs in even or… →
Mu yu, the bath on the altar mù yù
On the merit-making altar the summoned soul is bathed: one basin of clear water and one set of paper clothes, made to… →
Qi la, the twelve days indoors qì là
The period from the third to the twelfth day after a birth, when the mother keeps indoors with the room shut and red… →
Qing niang mu, the woman who sings the verses qīng niáng mǔ
A woman hired for the wedding who chants auspicious four-line verses from the bride's leaving the house to the bridal… →
San zhao, the third day sān zhāo
The washing of a newborn on the third day in water boiled with mugwort, pomelo leaf and old ginger, followed by a sma… →
Shang shou, the first of the fifty-year feasts shàng shòu
The fiftieth year, where Chaoshan birthday rites begin; after it a great celebration is held at each decade, though s… →
Shang tou, the dressing of the hair shàng tóu
Before the wedding, at an hour chosen for it, the bride's plait is wound into a bun with a ju-i pin and the groom is… →
Shi ding, the betrothal meal shí dìng
The engagement after the horoscopes are matched: gold earrings or a ring with cakes, sweets, sugar and noodles taken… →
Shi er ri, the twelfth day shí èr rì
The twelfth day after birth, when the wife's family sends food to build the mother up, soup is sent round the neighbo… →
Shi zhuo, the banquet shí zhuō
A Chaoshan banquet graded by occasion — wedding, birthday, funeral, god's birthday — with square tables of two to a s… →
Song zhi li, the paper gift sòng zhǐ lǐ
Money sent by relatives and friends towards a Chaoshan funeral in odd amounts, in a plain envelope with the sender's… →
Ti jiao men, kicking the chair door tī jiào mén
The groom kicks the lower edge of the bridal chair door three times when it stops at his house, then presses the ruyi… →
Ti tou, the month-old shave tì tóu
The haircut at the month-old feast: a spring onion held with the razor makes the pass and is planted back in the gard… →
Wan mian, threading the face wǎn miàn
Fine down twisted off the face with two strands of silk, done before a wedding under the name opening the brow, again… →
Wu wan tou, the five bowls wǔ wǎn tóu
The noon table of chu huayuan, five bowls of pork offal, bean curd with spring onion, vermicelli with egg, a many-egg… →
Xiang chu, the village cook xiāng chú
The cook engaged for a village feast in Chaoshan, taking work by the occasion and arriving with helpers, pots and sto… →
Yao ji tou, biting the chicken's head yǎo jī tóu
At the chu huayuan table the whole chicken faces the child in the seat of honour; he takes a token bite of the head,… →
Zai kan xin niang, seeing the bride again zài kàn xīn niáng
At the first Lantern Festival after the wedding the bride wears her wedding clothes again and receives the neighbourh… →
Zhao hun, summoning the soul zhào hún
Third of the ten sections of merit-making: the soul is called from the tablet to the altar, the mourners kneeling wit… →
Zuo dui sui, the first birthday zuò duì suì
The first-year rite, with offerings to the gods, sacrifices to the ancestors and a feast, the grandmother bringing cl… →
Zuo gong de, merit-making zuò gōng dé
The stretch of sutra chanting by monks or priests in a Chaoshan funeral, from one night to several days according to… →
Zuo qi, the seven-week rites zuò qī
A sacrifice every seventh day after the burial, from the first week to the seventh, forty-nine days in all, or nine s… →
Zuo sheng ri, the small birthday zuò shēng rì
A birthday not falling on a ten, kept at home with one bowl of sweet noodles or sweet rice balls and an egg on top; t… →
Zuo shou, the big birthday zuò shòu
A birthday kept for an elder from fifty on, whenever the year falls on a ten; the juniors bow in turn and a banquet f… →
Zuo si ju, making the four lines zuò sì jù
Four rhyming lines of blessing made up on the spot about whatever is in front of the speaker, said by an elder at the… →
Zuo zhuo, the cooking end zuò zhuō
Putting on a Chaoshan banquet from the kitchen side: a cook engaged, tables and dishes fixed first, ingredients bough… →

Food and tea饮食

Rice cakes, dumplings, sweets and the tea set. Most of these are tied to a date: a cake belongs to a festival the way a word belongs to a sentence.

Bai yue niang, worshipping the moon bài yuè niáng
On mid-autumn night a table is set in the yard or on the roof with mooncakes, taro, pomelo and pomegranate, the women… →
Da leng, the night counter dǎ lěng
The Cantonese name for the row of dishes set out at a Teochew street stall — braised goose, fish rice, raw pickles, d… →
Dong jie wan, winter solstice dumplings dōng jié wán
Glutinous rice balls boiled in sweet water for the winter solstice, which Chaoshan calls dong jie; eating them counts… →
Fa guo, the leavened cake fā guǒ
Rice paste with a starter steamed in cups until the top splits into petals, the split being the proof of rising and t… →
Fenghuang dancong, the single-bush oolong fèng huáng dān cóng
The oolong of Fenghuang mountain in Chaozhou, picked and made bush by bush so that one tree gives one aroma, usually… →
Gong fu cha, the three-cup tea gōng fu chá
A set procedure of small pot, small cups and staged brewing, three cups to a pot, strong tea taken one infusion at a… →
Guo tiao, rice noodles guǒ tiáo
Rice paste steamed into a sheet and cut into narrow ribbons, eaten in soup, fried or tossed dry; beef balls are the c… →
Guo zhi, rice pieces in master stock guǒ zhī
Rice paste cut into triangles and simmered in braising liquor until flavoured, served with braised intestine, meat, e… →
Guo, the rice cake guǒ
Rice ground to a paste, filled, moulded and steamed, serving as offering, festival food and everyday snack; the skin… →
Hao lao, the oyster omelette háo lào
Oysters in a sweet-potato batter fried in lard and finished with egg, crisp at the edge and soft within, eaten with f… →
Hong tao guo, the peach cake hóng táo guǒ
A rice cake coloured red and pressed in a peach mould with a longevity character on its face, filled with glutinous r… →
Lao bing, the Chaoshan mooncake láo bǐng
The mid-autumn pastry made with lard rolled in layers, a spiral on top and a red dot in the middle, filled sweet with… →
Lu e, braised goose lǔ é
A whole lion-head goose braised through in a house stock, hung to dry and carved by part — meat, liver, feet, wings —… →
Mi, the rice porridge mí
The Chaoshan word for porridge: rice and water cooked until the grains open while the liquid stays clear, eaten at mo… →
Niu rou wan, beef balls niú ròu wán
Beef pounded to a paste, salted and stirred until it binds, then squeezed into balls set in warm water; springy and c… →
Po zi guo, the pu-tree cake pò zǐ guǒ
Rice paste mixed with the juice of new pu leaves, poured into cups and steamed to a clear green with the top split op… →
Pu ning dou gan, Puning dried tofu pǔ níng dòu gān
Tofu set with bittern and pressed into thick loose blocks around Puning, fried hot so the skin blisters while the ins… →
Seven-vegetable stew qī yàng gēng
On the seventh of the first month seven seasonal greens are boiled in one pot; the list differs by household and the… →
Sha guo zhou, casserole porridge shā guō zhōu
Raw rice simmered in a clay pot with seafood killed to order, boiled hard then turned low until the grains open while… →
Shao wa yao, the mid-autumn tile kiln shāo wǎ yáo
On mid-autumn night broken tiles are stacked into a hollow tower with fire holes, filled with firewood and burnt red… →
Sheng yan, raw pickled seafood shēng yān
Crab, shrimp and shellfish steeped uncooked in soy, garlic, chilli and coriander, the time depending on the goods; lo… →
Shu ke guo, the mouse-ear cake shǔ ké guǒ
A glutinous rice cake made with the juice of the mouse-ear herb, dark green to black once steamed and mostly sweet-fi… →
Tian guo, the sweet cake tián guǒ
Glutinous rice paste with sugar steamed long and hard until dark and firm enough to slice; it keeps without refrigera… →
Wu mi guo, the rice-free kueh wú mǐ guǒ
A kueh whose skin is sweet potato starch rather than rice: batter spread thin, filled with chives, dried radish or pe… →
Yu fan, fish rice yú fàn
Whole fish boiled in brine and cooled, served with Puning bean paste; the name says rice and there is none, since fis… →
Za xian, the salted saucers zá xián
The collective name for pickles and salteds eaten with porridge, judged by one test only: whether they can be eaten e… →

Houses and settlement民居与聚落

The parts of a house, the shape of a village, the fortified compounds. Terms here are used in ordinary speech and rarely explained.

Cheng, the paved yard chéng
The levelled paved ground before or behind a house, used communally for drying grain, setting out banquet tables, put… →
Ci tang, the ancestral hall cí táng
Where one lineage sacrifices to its ancestors, deliberates and holds weddings and funerals; tablets stand in order of… →
Cong cuo, the side rows cóng cuò
The ranges parallel to the main hall, a step lower and shallower, used for living and storage; each row added behind… →
Cuo bian, the neighbours cuò biān
The households living close by, and in the fuller form cuo bian tao buei every family along one lane; neighbours are… →
Cuo, the house cuò
The Chaoshan word for a house and for the household in it; building is raising a cuo, a new house is a sin cuo, going… →
Qian ci, porcelain mosaic qiàn cí
Cutting coloured porcelain into shards and setting them on ridges and gables over a lime-plaster core; the colour is… →
Si dian jin, four-point gold sì diǎn jīn
A Chaoshan house plan with halls and rooms on four sides round a central sky well, gate hall in front and main hall b… →
Si ma tuo che, four horses drawing a carriage sì mǎ tuō chē
An ancestral hall on the central axis with parallel ranges of houses to either side and further ranges behind; a way… →
Xia shan hu, tiger coming down the hill xià shān hǔ
The commonest Chaoshan house: door on the front opening straight into the hall, a rear room behind it, rooms flanking… →

Crafts and performance工艺与表演

Embroidery, woodcarving, cut-and-stick porcelain, puppetry, opera. The craft names are the ones that appear on the official heritage list, and they are not always the names people use.

Chao ju, Chao opera cháo jù
A regional drama sung in the Chaoshan speech, with roles divided into male, female, painted-face and clown and a chor… →
Chao xiu, Chaozhou embroidery cháo xiù
A branch of Guangdong embroidery that pads the ground so the pattern stands out, to as much as fifteen centimetres; o… →
Chao zhou hua deng, the flower lantern cháo zhōu huā dēng
A lantern built as one scene from a play, figures and scenery made up in paper and bamboo; at its height a hundred pa… →
Chao zhou jian zhi, papercutting cháo zhōu jiǎn zhǐ
Papercutting widespread in the Ming and at its height under Guangxu, cut largely by monastics and used to dress offer… →
Chao zhou yin yue, Chaozhou music cháo zhōu yīn yuè
The instrumental music of Chaoshan, chamber music in a hall and gong-and-drum in a square, written in its own notatio… →
Chou sha, drawn work chōu shā
Warp or weft threads drawn out of the cloth and the gaps stitched into an open pattern; made for tablecloths, handker… →
Da wu ni su, Dawu clay figures dà wú ní sù
Clay figures from Dawu village in Fuyang, Chao'an, traced back to 1237; subjects taken from Chao opera and modelled i… →
Ding jin xiu, gold-thread embroidery dìng jīn xiù
A system of stitches in Chao embroidery that tacks gold and silver thread down to build the shape, legible at the dis… →
Ge ce, the songbook gē cè
Long narrative texts chanted in the Chaoshan speech, seven syllables to the line and four lines to the verse, unaccom… →
Jin qi mu diao, gilt woodcarving jīn qī mù diāo
Chaozhou woodcarving lacquered and gilded after the cutting, gold over the whole surface; used on hall beams, palanqu… →
Tie zhi mu ou, the iron-rod puppet tiě zhī mù ǒu
A Chaoshan puppet worked by three iron rods, one for head and body and two for the hands, descended from shadow play… →
Yingge, the mallet dance yīng gē
A Chaoshan folk dance with a wooden stick in each hand struck to gongs and drums, faces painted as the heroes of Lian… →

Dialect and emigration方言与侨乡

Words for the language itself and for the people who left and the letters and money they sent back.

Chao shan hua, the Chaoshan speech cháo shàn huà
The speech of Chaoshan, also called Chaozhou speech: eight tones with tone change in connected speech, and a distinct… →
Fan ke, the sojourner fān kè
The old name for a Chaoshan man who went south to make a living and travelled between the two places, bringing home f… →
Guo fan, going across the sea guò fān
Crossing by sea to Siam, Malaya, Singapore or Vietnam to make a living, usually on a red-bowed ship from Zhanglin and… →
Hong tou chuan, the red-bowed ship hóng tóu chuán
The seagoing junk of the Qing with its bow painted red by regulation, three-masted and deep-hulled, running south fro… →
Jia ji ren, one of us jiā jǐ rén
The Chaoshan phrase for our own people, covering fellow townsmen, fellow clansmen and anyone who understands the same… →
Nao re, the word the other way round nào rè
Renao, bustling, with the characters reversed in Teochew order: the word for a procession, house-warming or wedding w… →
Pi ju, the remittance firm pī jú
A merchant house that collected remittance letters abroad and delivered them here through linked offices, its carrier… →
Qiao pi, the remittance letter qiáo pī
A letter home and the money sent with it sealed in one envelope and carried by hand, with a reply returning along the… →
Zhang lin gang, Zhanglin port zhāng lín gǎng
The chief port of eastern Guangdong before Shantou opened, on a branch mouth of the Han river in northeast Chenghai,… →
Zi niang, a woman zī niáng
The Chaoshan word for a woman, a young one being zi niang kia; it comes down from older Chinese, is common in speech… →

By occasion按场合找

The same words, grouped by when you would need them: keeping a festival, going to a procession, holding a wedding, sitting down to eat. The groups overlap with the six lines above; they are a way in, not a classification.

Common questions常见问

Why the same word is written two ways, why the pinyin does not match what you hear, and which of two similar terms applies to which occasion — answered under this heading on the Chinese page and carried over here as the entries are translated.

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Last revised: 3 November 2026