Duan cai wei, the serving seat
The place at the foot of the square table, by the door, kept for a member of the household or a junior: it takes the dishes in, pours, and keeps an eye on everyone.
Pronunciation duān cài wèi｜Rites of life｜One entry in the Chaoshan glossary
What it means
The serving seat is at the foot of the table, by the door. Whoever carries the dishes comes in from outside, hands the first plate here, and the person sitting there puts it on the table; topping up wine, passing cigarettes and calling people over are mostly done from this seat too.
That no guest sits here is the standing understanding of the table. Put an elder in it and every dish has to be passed round the table, and nobody is at ease for the whole meal; if someone does sit there by mistake the host says nothing to their face and explains it afterwards.
When you see it
The seat only exists where the banquet is laid at home: the table is square and the door is on one side, which is what makes a head and a foot. In town, with round tables, the places blur and the serving seat fades; a waiter brings the dishes instead.
At a wedding the seat usually goes to a brother or a nephew of the groom; at a funeral it goes to a man of the family itself, and no guest is ever placed there.
Words easily confused
The serving seat is a place, not a person, and the villages give the one who sits in it no separate name. Nor is it the accompanying guest: those are seated on the two sides to press food, pour wine and keep the talk going, and are not necessarily by the door.
Read next: Banquet custom: seating, the order of dishes and how many.
See also: Shi zhuo and banquets: five occasions kept apart, Rites of life: the five thresholds side by side.
Same group: the square table, the banquet.
Home › Glossary › Rites of life › The serving seat
Text on this site is CC BY-SA 4.0; copyright in images is reserved and commercial use requires a separate licence.
Last revised: 4 November 2026