Codex of FaithsAn illustrated atlas of belief

Sacred objects

Ancestor tablet

The ancestor tablet of Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese tradition: the wooden tablet with an ancestor’s name, the offerings made before it and its place in Confucian family ritual.

Also called Spirit tablet · Shenzhu

In brief

  1. I.An ancestor tablet is a wooden tablet bearing the name of a dead family member.
  2. II.It is kept on a family altar or in a clan hall, where incense, food and prayers are offered.
  3. III.It expresses filial piety, the respect owed to parents and ancestors, central to Confucian ethics.
  4. IV.The custom is shared across China, Korea, Vietnam and Japan.

Chapter I

What it means

The tablet is a place for the dead in the life of the family. Written on it are the ancestor’s name and titles. Before it, descendants burn incense, offer food and drink and bow, reporting family news and asking for blessing.

At its heart is xiao Filial piety: respect and care for parents and ancestors. Glossary, filial piety, the Confucian virtue of respect for parents. Honouring ancestors continues that duty after death and binds the generations together.

Chapter II

Where it comes from

Ancestor worship is among the oldest elements of Chinese religion, going back to the oracle bones of the Shang dynasty (about 1600–1046 BCE). Confucian ritual texts set out how the rites should be performed, and the tablet became the standard focus of family worship. Large clan halls held the tablets of many generations.

Chapter III

Where you see it today

Ancestor tablets stand on home altars in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Korea, Vietnam and across the diaspora. At Qingming families clean graves and make offerings; Korean families hold jesa rites at home before a tablet or a photograph.

Questions people ask

Do people believe the ancestor lives in the tablet?

Beliefs vary. In traditional practice the tablet is a seat for the ancestor’s spirit during rites; for many it is a way of remembering and honouring the dead.

When are offerings made?

On the anniversaries of deaths, at New Year, at the Qingming festival in spring and on other family occasions.

Sources and further reading

  1. Xinzhong Yao, An Introduction to Confucianism (Cambridge University Press, 2000)
  2. Livia Kohn, Daoism and Chinese Culture (Three Pines Press, 2001)
  3. Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Religious symbolism and iconography”

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