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Homes for those no longer of this world
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CHINESE people have long been known for their religious zeal in worshiping their ancestors. Since ancient times people with the same surname have tended to live in the same place. This is particularly true in rural areas and it’s common to find towns and villages named after the family name of the majority of local residents.
As early as the Han Dynasty (202 BC-AD 220), Chinese people began building temples to worship their ancestors. But it was not until the Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1276) that a strict system was introduced regarding the establishment of citang, or ancestral temple, around the country.
At first, only emperors, high-ranking government officials and other selected personages had the right to build ancestral temples. However, during the late Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) this changed and everyone was allowed to do so.
Soon most villages across the country had their own ancestral temples.
In the following centuries, ancestral temples evolved into a place not only for worshiping ancestors and for clan leaders to make important decisions, but also for social gatherings, business talks, elementary education, as well as weddings and funerals.
In addition, many temples were used as a kind of moral court to mete out punishment to members who had violated clan rules.
In most places, even women and children of the same clan were usually barred from entering their own ancestral temple, let alone outsiders. Violators faced severe penalties.
Meanwhile, people had developed special architectural designs for such temples to meet their needs.
First, the builders would carefully pick a venue for their ancestral temple according to its feng shui or geomancy, which they believed would have a far-reaching influence on the fortune of the clan and its future generations.
Thus an ancestral temple usually sat in front of a mountain or hill and faced water in an open space. Also, there should be no elements in its environment that feng shui masters believed conflicted with one another.
The size and layout of ancestral temples varied, but they all had a front gate, an open space in front of the gate, a theater stage, encircling walls, courtyards, patios and halls used for worshiping and gatherings. There was always a screen wall facing the front gate, which was put there to prevent qi, or energy, from escaping the temple.
Most buildings in such temples featured high ceilings, flush gable roofs and a combination of post-and-lintel wood construction and column-and-tie wood construction. And these compound complexes were always built in a symmetrical style with the main hall in the center of the temple.
There were also various types of wood, stone, brick and lime carvings of auspicious flowers, plants, animals, divine creatures and historical figures.
They usually gave people an impression of grandiosity and solemnness, as well as a homey feeling.
Many ancient ancestral temples are dotted around China today.
One of the most impressive is the Imperial Ancestral Temple, or Taimiao, in Beijing. Built in 1420 and covering a total area of more than 139,600 square meters, the temple was modeled after the Forbidden City. It’s now open to the public and frequently used as a venue for big events.
Some other ancestral temples have been turned into memorial temples for ancient sages. For instance, in Nanyang City, Henan Province, there is Medical Sage Ancestral Temple, which is in honor of Zhang Zhongjing (AD 150-219), one of the country’s most revered physicians.
旗杆石座
(qigan shizuo)
Flagpole Stone Support
During the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties, people began to build flagpole stone supports in front of their ancestral temples when members of a clan had won a scholarly honor. This was especially true if a clan member passed the high-level imperial civil examinations.
It was deemed as a way to glorify the family name and encourage other clan members to strive for higher accomplishment.
Thus more flagpole stone supports in front of an ancestral temple made members of a clan feel proud of their family name.
The flagpole stone support was made of two stone slabs about 1m high. They were planted side by side half-way into the ground. And on the part above the ground, each stone slab bore two vertically aligned holes, which were used to fasten a tall wooden flagpole.
Today, many inconspicuous flagpole stone supports can still be found standing in front of ancient ancestral temples around the country.
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