0 1

When my father got married, he inherited three adobe houses from his grandfather. In the early 1980s, he demolished them and converted them into three brick houses. The main house in the middle became an ancestral temple.

The ancestral temple is not as grand and elegant as the "Wuhou Temple", nor does it have that historical origin. But it is still the temple of the family. It's more like a flag, proclaiming the blood of the family, giving ancestors a place to worship and homesickness a place to find.

There is a long table hanging on the main wall, filled with the spirits of ancestors. In the middle of the wall is nave, which will be changed every few years. In your royal highness, there is a long incense burner. There is a square table in front of the bar, and one is placed vertically with it. Used to place sacrificial food. This is an important place for ordinary family sacrifices.

In this way, it is a "multi-functional hall" integrating sacrifice and residence. I grew up trembling, leaving a lot of childhood and lingering nightmares.

In my hometown, the fifteenth day of every month is called "fasting day". There must be a vegetarian meal on the table of the Eight Immortals in the middle of the ancestral hall. In memory of our ancestors. Three bowls of rice piled up into a dome and served. The bell struck twice and the sacrifice was over. But every year on New Year's Eve, the sacrificial wheel of each family rotates on the stage, and then the guns burst and the smoke filled. They knelt down to worship and prayed for the blessing of their ancestors. A "prosperous" scene of a big family with strong fireworks and many children.

After the sacrifice, our family lived in this ancestral temple, which was to be used as a "restaurant". After the song, in the ashes, our family opened the most important meal of the year-New Year's Eve in Wonderland. Meals, hair and clothes are all burnt pieces of paper money. Later, brothers and sisters were born strong, probably related to the nourishment of this "fairy soup". In my hometown, burnt paper ashes are called "immortal soup".

When I was older, I hated this trite behavior. I am indignant that no one has come forward to express sympathy or sacrifice in another place. Teenagers have rebellious emotions in our bones. Night after night, like a poor person living in a "shanty town", I watched other people's garden houses eagerly, but I couldn't help eating sour grapes. I covet others to propose a toast in a clean room, and I have an inappropriate feeling: "The wine and meat in Zhumen stink, and people freeze to death on the road."

Grandma's coffin was placed in the ancestral hall, which was prepared early before her death. Fortunately, at a young age, the coffin did not leave a shadow in the young mind, nor was it frightened. In the eyes at that time, it was just an ordinary "transaction box". But many years later, after listening to the adults, I still can't help but gasp and have a lingering fear.

Now that I have moved out of my old house for many years, my father knows very well: "Letters from thousands of miles away are only separated by a wall. Why not let him be three feet?" The Great Wall of Wan Li is still here today, but I don't see the first Qin Emperor, so I no longer stick to it. It has been promised that the homestead will be dedicated to the construction of a new ancestral temple. The knot of many years has been completely opened.

02

For more than 30 years, the old house has witnessed the changes of the world and the rise and fall of the family. The swallows in front of the Quliang Hall flew into the homes of ordinary people. In the years of wind and frost, the eaves have already drooped, and the brick walls are mottled and broken, which does not cover the wind and rain. Like a dying old man, he is in danger of collapse at any time.

? The ancestors' gods have always been in fear, and future generations also feel that they have no "face". Rebuilding the ancestral temple has also been put on the agenda. The old house will not be an old house, but a veritable ancestral temple.

Approaching the old house to be demolished not only reminds me of my past life, but also makes me think about the meaning of "ancestral temple".

For a family, the ancestral temple is a temple to settle the souls of ancestors and a box of moonlight to spread pulse conditions. This is a secret room to pour out your wishes and pray for protection.

At first, I thought it was just a rural custom, even a trick. Full of feudal ignorance. It never occurred to me that its knowledge is far more than these simple emotions and superficial concepts. Its knowledge runs through the whole Chinese civilization. Interpreted the social governance concept of "using Huang Lao internally and showing Confucianism externally". The ancestral temple, which has been circulated for thousands of years, is not only a building that burns incense and kowtows, but also connects the whole society from the inside out.

Baidu searched Zhu's "Family Gifts": "Today, it is the first name of the newspaper to respect the ancestors, so it is also the foundation of the business. Therefore, it is specially added at the end of the article to make visitors know that it is the first and the most important. Each article has its ups and downs and its evidence can be tested."

I don't know much about it, but it has proved the importance of the ancestral temple system. This book is a model left by the master of etiquette and the basic theoretical basis of China Ancestral Temple.

When I went to Wuxi, Shanxi, I saw a formal ancestral temple listed as a cultural relic. My first impression of solemnity and massiness. All show the prosperity of this family. On the wall of the ancestral hall, there are inscriptions on family instructions, family rules and family laws, which contain the philosophy of "loyalty, filial piety, benevolence and righteousness" These not only affect the same family. In the long-term continuation from generation to generation, it gradually accumulated into traditional ethics, which lasted for a long time. As cultural relics, these ancestral temples bear a lot of information about humanities, history, science, art, architecture, folk customs and folk customs. It is a spiritual belief and cultural heritage.

?

? 03

In recent years, cousins who work in the city often receive invitations from their hometown to donate money and materials, build ancestral temples and repair genealogy. When I went back to my hometown, I also saw a "so-and-so genealogy revision office" standing in the town.

Whether the formation of ethos is worth advocating is not shown for the time being. The so-called "gentleman must camp room, ancestral temple first." Ancestral hall is the "foundation" of clan ancestors. This root-seeking craze has risen quietly, which shows the profoundness of ancestral temple culture.

Ancestral temples and surnames are a strange maze. Tracing back to the ancestral temple and searching for surnames seems to have been talked about by elders since I can remember. Curiosity drives you. You often ask what will happen next. Finally, I didn't ask the answer.

There are three main reasons for the construction of clan ancestral halls:

The first is to repay the kindness. In rural areas, people will attribute the prosperity of their families to the shadow of their ancestors. A family admitted to a university, made a big official, made a fortune, etc. , will be praised as "ancestors accumulated virtue" and "ancestors smoked on the grave."

The second is not to forget the roots, and to worship the ancestors to express their grief for their ancestors. In most parts of China, especially in Tomb-Sweeping Day on the solstice, filial sons and grandchildren will come back to burn incense and paper for their ancestors. Let people in other places know where the root is.

Third, with joint efforts and market economy, a large number of rural people flood into cities every year, and even the phenomenon of "empty villages" appears. When worshipping ancestors, people from all directions gather together to express their mourning for their ancestors, and at the same time, they are linked by the same blood. Enhance feelings, ignore contact and strengthen cohesion.

When I think of the movie 1942, the people in it are all "blind deer". In such a hungry escape, it is difficult for the living to protect themselves, and they don't forget to bring their ancestors' tablets.

Throughout history, a palace is usually burned down, which indicates that a new dynasty is about to be rebuilt. The ancestral temple collapsed, and it still belongs to the family after it was built. As long as there is one person in this family, chopping a board and writing a surname, this person will be converted and travel all over the world, east and west, north and south, and will no longer be a homeless ghost.

The ancestral temple culture is endless and has such a strong vitality. I think, in addition to its own unique cultural connotation. At the same time, it may cater to people's "root-seeking" complex or "homesick for drinking water" complex.

With the acceleration of urbanization, ancestral temple has gradually become a landscape in adults' memory. When I was old and returned to my hometown, I couldn't help crying when I saw my ancestral temple standing still and waiting silently in the hut. Where there is an ancestral temple, it is convenient to be a fellow villager, and there are also relatives in the same strain.

"Once a building is endowed with a certain concept, a certain culture and a certain blood significance, it is equivalent to having its own life. No matter how the years pass, it will be endless, fresh and sustainable. " . The ancestral hall is not a cold brick, but a home and a memory.