Wu wan tou, the five bowls
The noon table of chu huayuan, also called the garden table: five bowls, each with its own meaning, and the chicken’s head left for the child in the seat of honour to bite.
Pronunciation wǔ wǎn tóu｜Rites of life｜One entry in the Chaoshan glossary
What it means
The noon meal of chu huayuan is called wu wan tou, the five bowls, around Rongcheng in Jieyang, and also the garden table. Eight to a table; the number of dishes differs by place — Rongcheng records five, others make it eight or twelve, with these five as the base.
Each bowl carries a meaning. One is pork offal — intestine, tripe, liver, kidney and heart boiled together, which is the changing of the intestines. One is bean curd stewed with spring onion, the curd standing for an official by sound and the onion for cleverness. One is vermicelli with egg, for long life and for getting on with people. One is crucian or mud carp, also called dragon-arrow fish, which carries many eggs and stands for many descendants. One is the four-point gold, the chicken’s head, wings, meat and tail arranged in a single bowl.
When you see it
At noon on the day of chu huayuan. The child takes the seat across the table, the chicken’s head turned towards him; he bites it as a token, lifts his chopsticks, and the rest begin. Beyond the five bowls, celery, green garlic and mustard greens are usually on the table too, the meaning carried in the names: diligence, a head for reckoning, and a strong frame.
Words easily confused
Wu wan tou and hua yuan zhuo are two names for one table, not two meals. The four-point gold here is chicken arranged in a bowl, not the four-point-gold house plan of the settlement pages. Nor is this the banquet table of a wedding or a birthday, where the courses run through cold dishes, stir-fries, main dishes and sweet soup; here there are five bowls and the head goes to one child.
Read next: Chu huayuan: coming of age at fifteen by the old count.
See also: Rites of life: the five thresholds side by side, biting the chicken’s head.
Same group: chu huayuan, biting the chicken’s head, the changing of the intestines.
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Last revised: 3 November 2026