{{Short description|Temples dedicated to deified ancestors in Chinese culture}} {{Use American English|date = January 2019}} {{Use mdy dates|date = January 2019}} {{distinguish|Confucian royal ancestral shrine}} [[File:KingLawKaShuk Altar.jpg|thumb|Altar with ancestral tablets in King Law Ka Shuk, Hong Kong.]] [[File:忠縣丁房雙闕02.jpg|thumb|300px|Eastern Han (25–220 AD) Chinese stone-carved que pillar gates of Dingfang, Zhong County, Chongqing that once belonged to a temple dedicated to the Warring States era general Ba Manzi]] [[File:Nhà thờ họ Bùi 3.jpg|thumb|Altar with couplets and diaphragm in a Vietnamese clan ancestral house (Nhà thờ họ)]] {{Chinese folk religion}} An '''ancestral shrine''', '''hall''' or '''temple''' ({{zh|c={{linktext|祠|堂}}|poj=Sû-tông|p=Cítáng}} or {{zh|c={{linktext|宗|祠}}|poj=Chong-sû|p=Zōng Cí}}, {{langx|vi|Nhà thờ họ}}; Chữ Hán: {{lang|vi-Hani|家祠户}}; {{Korean|hangul=사당|hanja=祠堂}}), also called '''lineage temple''', 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.<ref name=eccc>Edward L. Davis (Editor), Encyclopedia of Contemporary Chinese Culture, Routledge, 2004</ref> The ancestral tablets are typically arranged by seniority of the ancestors.<ref name=eccc/> 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<ref name=eccc/> but also for other family- and community-related functions such as weddings and funerals.<ref name=eccc/> Sometimes, they serve wider community functions such as meetings and local elections.
In traditional weddings, the ancestral temple serves a major symbolic function, completing the transfer of a woman to her husband's family.<ref name="lwx">{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://taiwanpedia.culture.tw/en/content?ID=2009 |title=Worshipping in the Ancestral Hall |author=Li Wenxian |year=2011 |encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Taiwan |publisher=Council for Cultural Affairs |access-date=12 September 2012 |location=Taipei |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140501144423/http://taiwanpedia.culture.tw/en/content?ID=2009 |archive-date=1 May 2014 }}</ref> During the wedding rites, the bride and groom worship at the groom's ancestral shrine, bowing as follows:<ref name="lwx"/> #first bow - Heaven and Earth #second bow - ancestors #third bow - parents #fourth bow - spouse
Three months after the marriage, the wife undertakes worship at the husband's ancestral shrine, in a rite known as ''miaojian'' (廟見).<ref name="lwx"/>
In mainland China, ancestral temples along with other temples have often been destroyed or forced to become "secularized" as village schools or granaries during the land reform of the 1950s and the Cultural Revolution. They have experienced a revival since the reform and opening up of the 1980s.<ref name=eccc/> 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 the shrines through donations.<ref name=eccc/>
==Etymology== {{Chinese | c = 祠堂 | p = Citang | hangul = 사당 | hanja = 祠堂 | romaji = Shidō | kana = しどう | Vietnamname = từ đường | rr = sadang }}{{zh|c={{linktext|祠|堂}}|p=Cítáng}} has its first character Ci Shrine in
{{zh|c={{linktext|宗|祠}}|p=Zōng Cí}} has its first character derived from Jongmyo, and its second character is Ci Shrine
{{Infobox Chinese | t = | s = | p = Zongci | vietnam chu han = tông từ | romaji = sōshi | hiragana = そうし | hanja = 종사 | rr = Jongsa | c = 宗祠 }}That phrasing can be seen as making the Jongmyo a more sacralized version, since Ci shrines are considered lower ranked than Miao shrines.
==Taiwan== Notable ancestral temples in Taiwan include: * Koxinga Ancestral Shrine ({{zhi|c=鄭成功祖廟}}), in West Central District, Tainan * Liu Clan Shrine ({{zhi|c=劉家宗祠}}), in Liouying District, Tainan * Yang Family Ancestral Hall ({{zhi|c=楊氏宗祠}}), in Jiadong Township, Pingtung County * Wukou Village Liou Family Ancestral Hall ({{zhi|c=五溝水劉氏宗祠}}), in Wanluan Township, Pingtung County * Zhong-Sheng-Gong Memorial ({{zhi|c=宗聖公祠}}), in Pingtung City, Pingtung County * Shetou Doushan Temple ({{zhi|c=社頭斗山祠}}), in Shetou Township, Changhua County * Chen Dexing Ancestral Hall ({{zhi|c=陳德星堂}}), in Datong District, Taipei
==Hong Kong== Notable ancestral temples in Hong Kong include: * Tang Ancestral Hall and Yu Kiu Ancestral Hall, along the Ping Shan Heritage Trail * King Law Ka Shuk * Tang Chung Ling Ancestral Hall
==Southeast Asia== Notable ancestral temples in Chinese communities of Southeast Asia include: * Long Shan Tang Temple ({{zh|c=龍山堂}}), in Yangon, Myanmar * Khoo Kongsi, in Penang, Malaysia * Eng Chuan Tong Tan Kongsi, in Penang, Malaysia * Tan Si Chong Su, in Singapore
==Vietnam== {{main|Nhà thờ họ}} thumb|Altar in the nhà thờ họ of the Trần family in Cát Sơn Ancestral temples are called {{lang|vi|nhà thờ họ}}, {{lang|vi|nhà thờ tộc}} or {{lang|vi|từ đường}} in Vietnam. An ancestral death anniversary will be held yearly at {{lang|vi|nhà thờ họ}} and this anniversary is usually used as an occasion to renew the relationship between clan members.
== In other religions and cultures == 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 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.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Kimmerle|first=Heinz|date=2006-04-11|title=The world of spirits and the respect for nature: towards a new appreciation of animism|url=https://td-sa.net/index.php/td/article/view/277|journal=The Journal for Transdisciplinary Research in Southern Africa|language=en-US|volume=2|issue=2|pages=15|doi=10.4102/td.v2i2.277|issn=2415-2005|doi-access=free}}</ref>
==Gallery== <gallery> File:Wuyi Yuyuan 20120219-18.jpg|Yu shrine in Zhejiang File:The Memorial Temple for the Family of Ye in Nanping 2013-04.JPG|Ye shrine in Anhui File:吉安 渼陂.jpg|Liang shrine in Jiangxi File:Chen Clan Academy 3.jpg|Chen shrine in Guangdong File:马降龙 02 - 黄氏宗祠.jpg|Huang shrine in Guangdong File:臺灣賴氏大宗祠.jpg|Lai shrine in Taiwan File:Shu-Shan Ancestral Shrine, Main Shrine, Ancestral Tablets, Tianzhong Township, Changhua County (Taiwan).jpg|Xiao shrine in Tianzhong Township of Changhua County, Taiwan File:Public ancestral shrine in Chinatown Complex of Singapore.jpg|Public ancestral shrine in Chinatown Complex Food Centre, Singapore File:Domestic ancestral shrine production.jpg|Home altar handicraft production in Chinatown, Bangkok </gallery>
==See also== {{Portal|Religion|Architecture}} {{Div col}} * Chinese folk religion * Chinese ancestor worship * Ancestor tablets * Chinese lineage associations * Ancestral home (Chinese) * Chinese kin * Guanxi * Kongsi * Bodaiji * Jesa {{Div col end}}
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{Commons category|Ancestral halls}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20130513215839/http://zumiao.jguo.cn/ China Ancestral Temples Network] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20150112153039/http://www.districtcouncils.gov.hk/tp/publications_links/TaiPo%20Book%20%28Eng%20Ver%29%2008%20Chap%2005.pdf Ancestral halls in Tai Po, Hong Kong]
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Category:Ancestral shrines Category:Filial piety Category:Ci shrines