16-492: Ancestral Temple may refer to: Ancestral shrines , Chinese temples or halls dedicated to deified ancestors Ancestral Temple (TV series) , a 2009 Chinese TV series Ancestral Temple ( Lương74 ), Luong74 Ancestral Temple Tourist attractions [ edit ] Imperial Ancestral Temple , a temple in the Imperial City, Beijing, China Foshan Ancestral Temple ,
32-409: A baked tile which has the core text of the tablet 門口土地財神 , flanked by two additional couplets reading 户纳千祥， 门迎百福 ; 戶納千祥， 門迎百福 ) meaning something close to "May my household welcome a great deal of auspiciousness, may my doors welcome hundreds of blessings". In Taoism , spirit tablets are often used for ancestors. Sometimes spirit tablets are found before or below statues of deities, which represent
48-438: A specific deity or ancestor. When used, incense sticks or joss sticks are usually burned before the tablet in some kind of brazier or incense holder . Sometimes fruit, tea, pastries, or other offertory items are placed near the tablet to offer food to that particular spirit or divinity. In Chinese folk religion a household will have one or more tablets for specific deities and family ancestors: In their most simple form
64-416: A specific relative or for one's entire family tree). Shrines are generally found in and around households (for household gods and ancestors), in temples for specific deities, or in ancestral shrines for the clan's founders and specific ancestors. In each place, there are specific locations for individual spirit tablets for ancestors or one or another particular deity. A spirit tablet acts as an effigy of
80-552: A temple in Foshan, Guangdong, China Thế Miếu , a temple in the Imperial City, Huế, Thừa Thiên-Huế, Vietnam Triệu Tổ miếu , another temple in the Imperial City, Huế, Thừa Thiên-Huế, Vietnam Luong74 , another in Đức Hòa district, Long An, Vietnam See also [ edit ] Ancestor veneration in China Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with
96-481: Is a temple dedicated to deified ancestors and progenitors of surname lineages or families in the Chinese tradition . Ancestral temples are closely linked to Confucian philosophy and culture and the emphasis that it places on filial piety . A common central feature of the ancestral temples are the ancestral tablets that embody the ancestral spirits. The ancestral tablets are typically arranged by seniority of
112-408: Is an important and common element in native African religions and is still common and practiced by followers of folk religions but also Christian and Muslim Africans. Spirit tablet A spirit tablet , memorial tablet , or ancestral tablet is a placard that people used to designate the seat of a deity or past ancestor as well as to enclose it. The name of the deity or the past ancestor
128-510: Is called nhà thờ họ , nhà thờ tộc or từ đường in Vietnam. An ancestral death anniversary will be held yearly at nhà thờ họ and this anniversary is usually used as an occasion to renew the relationship between clan members. Ancestral shrines or similar concepts are also common in other religions and cultures. Especially other East and Southeast Asian but also traditional African religions have ancestral shrines and or tombs. Ancestor worship
144-446: Is usually inscribed onto the tablet. With origins in traditional Chinese culture , the spirit tablet is a common sight in many East Asian countries, where forms of ancestor veneration are practiced. Spirit tablets are traditional ritual objects commonly seen in temples, shrines, and household altars throughout Mainland China and Taiwan. A spirit tablet is often used for deities or ancestors (either generally or specifically: e.g. for
160-443: The ancestors. Altars and other ritual objects such as incense burners are also common fixtures. Ancestors and gods can also be represented by statues. The temples are used for collective rituals and festivals in honor of the ancestors but also for other family- and community-related functions such as weddings and funerals. Sometimes, they serve wider community functions such as meetings and local elections. In traditional weddings,
176-522: The ancestral temple serves a major symbolic function, completing the transfer of a woman to her husband's family . During the wedding rites, the bride and groom worship at the groom's ancestral shrine, bowing as follows: Three months after the marriage, the wife undertakes worship at the husband's ancestral shrine, in a rite known as miaojian (廟見). In mainland China, ancestral temples along with other temples have often been destroyed or forced to become "secularized" as village schools or granaries during
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#1732772663118192-458: The enclosed spirit of the deity. In Buddhism , spirit tablets, known as “lotus seats” ( 蓮位 ) for the dead and “prosperity seats” ( 祿位 ) for the living, are used in the same manner for ancestors, wandering spirits, demons, hungry ghosts , and the living (for the perpetual or temporary blessing of the donor). Temporary tablets in the form of paper are common around the time of Qingming and Ullambana dharma festivals, which are incinerated en masse at
208-492: The land reform of the 1950s and the Cultural Revolution . They have experienced a revival since the economic liberalization of the 1980s. The revival of the ancestral temples has been particularly strong in southern China where lineage organization had stronger roots in the local culture and local communities are more likely to have clan members living overseas who are keen to support the revival and rebuilding of
224-824: The shrines through donations. Chinese : 祠 堂 ; pinyin : Cítáng has its first character Ci Shrine in Chinese : 宗 祠 ; pinyin : Zōng Cí has its first character derived from Jongmyo , and its second character is Ci Shrine That phrasing can be seen as making the Jongmyo a more sacralized version, since Ci shrines are considered lower ranked than Miao shrines . Notable ancestral temples in Taiwan include: Notable ancestral temples in Hong Kong include: Notable ancestral temples in Chinese communities of Southeast Asia include: Ancestral temple
240-470: The spirit tablets can simply be a piece of red paper with the words written vertically (in mainland China and in Hong Kong ). More complex forms exist; these could be full, small shrines made of tile, wood, metal or other material; statues and attendants with text; small posters with incense places; and so on. A common form of the tablet for Tudigong (as seen in Guangdong , China ), for example, consists of
256-810: The title Ancestral Temple . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ancestral_Temple&oldid=1247036467 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Ancestral shrine An ancestral shrine , hall or temple ( Chinese : 祠 堂 ; pinyin : Cítáng ; Pe̍h-ōe-jī : Sû-tông or Chinese : 宗 祠 ; pinyin : Zōng Cí ; Pe̍h-ōe-jī : Chong-sû , Vietnamese : Nhà thờ họ ; Chữ Hán : 家祠户; Korean : 사당 ; Hanja : 祠堂 ), also called lineage temple ,
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