Yao ji tou, biting the chicken’s head
On the chu huayuan table the whole chicken faces the child; he bites the head first, and only then does anyone else pick up chopsticks.
Pronunciation yǎo jī tóu｜Rites of life｜One entry in the Chaoshan glossary
What it means
The meal is laid at noon with a whole chicken on the table, the head turned towards the child in the seat of honour. He takes a token bite of the head, lifts his chopsticks, and only then do the others eat.
As he bites, an elder chants four lines: bite the head and be fine and clever; bite the comb and live a hundred years; bite the beak and great wealth comes; bite the tail and finish what you begin — head, comb, beak and tail each given a line, the last landing on seeing a thing through. Some families arrange the head, wings, meat and tail into one bowl called the four-point gold, and the head still goes to him.
When you see it
At the noon table of chu huayuan, once, for one child.
Words easily confused
Biting the chicken’s head is the threshold act of chu huayuan. Chicken is served at weddings too, and there the table is about a good beginning and a good end; nobody bites the head there.
Read next: Chu huayuan: the date, the offerings and the order of the rite.
See also: Rites of life: the five thresholds side by side.
Same group: the five bowls, chu huayuan, the changing of the intestines.
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Last revised: 3 November 2026