Ancestor Worship Customs
01 · Historical Records
Hakka people migrating south all took Ninghua as their gathering place; it is therefore known at home and abroad as the "ancestral land of the Hakka" and regarded as the "cradle of the Hakka" and the "Hakka pilgrimage center." As the folk saying goes, "In the north there is the Great Locust Tree; in the south there is Shibi Village." Shibi Hakka ancestor worship began in the Hongwu era of the Ming Dynasty. The sacrificial rites of Shibi are closely tied to the migration routes of the Hakka. Hakka ancestors came south from the Central Plains; this place was both a landing point for the southward migration and, later, a distribution center from which they dispersed to Fujian, Guangdong, and Jiangxi. Migration caused many branches of the same lineage and surname to part ways here; each branch established its own ancestral hall and erected steles at parting, agreeing to return here in spring and autumn to pay homage at the shrine of their common first-migrating ancestor. The legitimacy of the rites derives from this: though the branch ancestral halls are scattered elsewhere, the Qingming sacrifice of the first month and the autumn sacrifice of the eighth month still draw the incense back to Shibi, with genealogies and ancestral halls serving as mutual evidence — if one falls into disrepair, the other has room to continue.
02 · Core Techniques & Process
The Shibi Hakka ancestor-worship custom is a traditional sacrificial ritual activity maintained among the Hakka people of Ninghua County, Fujian Province. Several great southward migrations of northern people in Chinese history formed the Hakka, a distinct branch of the Chinese nation. The ancestral halls and family temples built at the Hakka lineage settlements of Shibi that survive today number more than two hundred, spread across all 16 townships of the county; they are the central venues for ancestor worship. The spring sacrifice falls on Qingming Festival and is also called the Qingming sacrifice; the autumn sacrifice falls on the first day of the eighth lunar month and is also called the autumn Qingming. The public sacrifice (also called the official sacrifice) is held on a grand scale. The lineage sacrifice (also called the private or family sacrifice) is held jointly by descendants of the same surname, either as a hall sacrifice at the ancestral temple or as a grave sacrifice at the ancestral burial ground, honoring ancestors and venerating the clan progenitors, and remembering the departed with due reverence.
Spring and autumn rites half a year apart
One rite at Qingming, the other at the first day of the eighth month, each timed to a lull in farm work.
The gong, music and officers of the public rite
Gongs lead the way, officers take their posts and three offerings follow in order, ranking all who come.
The rite held inside the ancestral hall
A surname's own rite is small but exacting, from the placement of incense to the recitation of the prayer.
The rite at the ancestral graves
Some rites go straight to the graves, offering paper and wine at the mound with no hall at all.
The return compact of scattered branches
Branches that migrated far away gather twice a year, verifying descent and carrying news between regions.
03 · Regional Records & Related Items
Hakka ancestor worship follows the ancient rites and is divided into two sacrifices, spring and autumn. The rites in the Shibi area proceed along two tracks: public sacrifice and lineage sacrifice. The public sacrifice is organized by the head of the clan association, with drums and music, ritual officers, and the sequence of three offerings all in place; those attending are mostly representatives of the various near and distant branches, so the ritual standard is high while the crowd is mixed. The lineage sacrifice is run jointly within a single surname, either as a hall sacrifice at the ancestral temple or as a grave sacrifice at the ancestral burial ground — fewer people, all familiar, with the houses of the lineage taking turns to present offerings in order of seniority. One ceremony is held on each of Qingming and the first day of the eighth lunar month, six months apart — precisely the slack seasons at both ends of spring plowing and autumn harvest.
Other submitting regions for the same item: Ancestor Worship Customs · Ancestor Worship Customs · Ancestor Worship Customs · Ancestor Worship Customs · Ancestor Worship Customs · Ancestor Worship Customs · Ancestor Worship Customs · Ancestor Worship Customs · Ancestor Worship Customs.
04 · Cultural Value & Contemporary Safeguarding
The Shibi Hakka ancestor-worship custom is an important constituent of Hakka culture; it is of great significance for inheriting Chinese civilization and forging national spirit, and it also has value for academic research. The value of this custom lies largely in the conversion between geography and bloodline: people of the same surname scattered across Fujian, Guangdong, and Jiangxi rely on the two sacrifices of spring and autumn to confirm that they are still one branch. Ancestral halls and family temples, as the central venues of ancestor worship, are at the same time the public face of the village; clan deliberation, the storage of communal property, and the glory won by scholars who have gone out to seek office all hang on this layer of blood relation. The sacrificial rite is thus at once a bonding agent of productive cooperation and a vessel of cultural memory; which family has produced a scholar and which family has migrated away both leave their traces within it.
05 · Associated Representative Bearers
Representative bearers recorded under this item, organized by national nomination batch:
- Liu Yixia 05-3036
- Zhuge Yi 05-3037
- Chen Dunhe 05-3038
- Fan Zhongyi
- Qu Bilaji
06 · Authoritative Sources & Bibliography
Sources
China Intangible Cultural Heritage Network (ihchina.cn)
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