Kai jing, opening the well
The well is covered with red paper on the wedding day; on the third morning the bride takes the cover off, greets the well gods and carries the first bucket back to the kitchen.
Pronunciation kāi jǐng｜Rites of life｜One entry in the Chaoshan glossary
What it means
On the wedding day the groom’s family covers the mouth of the well, pasting red paper over it or weighting it with a bamboo sieve — covering the well, so that the newcomers do not clash with the water. On the third morning the cover comes off, and that is kai jing.
The mother-in-law or a woman of good fortune leads it. The bride carries a new bucket and a new rope to the well, bows first to the well gods — the well grandfather and well grandmother, as Chaoshan calls them — drops in a few coppers or a pinch of sugar, then draws the first bucket, carries it to the kitchen, boils it and makes a pot of tea for her parents-in-law.
When you see it
At dawn on the third day after the wedding, finished the same day as the first pounding of rice and the stirring of the swill, which together count as taking over the kitchen. A household with no well does it at the water jar by the door instead.
Words easily confused
Opening the well is lifting the cover and drawing water, not digging a well; it pairs with the covering, one closing and one opening, three days apart. That same day the first pounding of rice happens at the mortar and the stirring of the swill at the stove; all three together count as taking over.
Read next: Chaoshan marriage: from the first approach to the return visit.
See also: Rites of life: the five thresholds side by side.
Same group: setting the bed, the return to the bride’s house, the first pounding of rice, stirring the swill.
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Last revised: 4 November 2026