Zuo si ju, making the four lines
Four lines of blessing spoken on the spot, about whatever is in front of the speaker; there is no fixed text.
Pronunciation zuò sì jù｜Rites of life｜One entry in the Chaoshan glossary
What it means
Four lines to a set, in rhyme, about whatever is there to be seen. At the chu huayuan table an elder makes them on the spot, working down from the chicken’s head to the comb, the beak and the tail; at a wedding the qing niang mu sings them, from the bride’s stepping out of the house and into the chair all the way to the bridal room.
Lines of this kind are not read from a book, and the same person will not say them the same way twice; a recorded version is one of many, not the standard text.
When you see it
At the noon table of chu huayuan, on the road fetching the bride, and during the noise of the wedding night. Always spoken there and then, never written up afterwards.
Words easily confused
Zuo si ju is the spoken text; the qing niang mu is the one who sings it — one the content, the other the role. Nor is it a congratulatory address or a couplet: those two are written down.
Read next: Chu huayuan: the blessings and the order of the day.
See also: Chaoshan marriage: from the first approach to the return visit, Rites of life: the five thresholds side by side.
Same group: the woman who sings the verses, biting the chicken’s head.
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Last revised: 4 November 2026