Ancestral Tablets

The origin of Ancestral Tablet / Pedestal ​

There was a farmer named Ding Lan in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Due to his father’s early death, he was raised by his mother. He often talked badly to his mother because of his bad temper. One day, Ding Lan went to work in the field as usual, and was very surprised to see the lambs on the road kneeling and sucking the goat’s milk; then the old shepherd taught him the principle of “kneeling lambs”. He felt ashamed for his bad behaviors on his mother.

On that day, Ding Lan’s mother was late in the field to deliver the meals to him. Ding Lan saw her mother and was ready to greet her and confess to his mother. However, his mother fell into a river because she was afraid to be scolded again. Ding Lan quickly searched through the river for his mother, but found only a piece of wood. After grief and sorrow, he took the wood home and enshrined his mother’s name in the main hall of the house. Since then, everyone has imitated his manners, worshiping wooden signs as “Ancestral Tablet” and spreading the traditional virtues of filial piety and gratitude.

According to China’s traditional customs, after the death of a person, his or her family must make a tablet for them, as a place of retreat after the soul of the deceased leaves the body. The size and shape of the tablet vary. Generally, it is made of wooden boards and has a rectangular shape. It has a base so that it can stand on the table.

In ancient times, the old Song style (strokes were thick and thin) and vertical top-down writing were used. In modern times, block letters and other fonts are used to show solemnity. Throughout the ages, ancestral tablets have been widely used by people to commemorate deceased loved ones and deities (referring to the gods of heaven and earth), Buddhism, and ancestors.

With the change of history and the progress of the society, the residents of the city use fewer and fewer commemorative memorial tablets. Generally, photos and portraits of the deceased are placed or hung as objects of commemoration. In recent years, some domestic funeral service units have continued to reform and innovate in order to carry forward the excellent traditional funeral culture. They have designed and developed small tablets of materials such as marble, jade, and plastic, which are matched with urns for people’s worship. This is not only in line with traditional folk customs, but also safe and labor-saving, and is generally accepted by the most people.

According to traditional customs, once the urn is placed, it should not be easily moved except for relocation or burial. In order to respect traditional customs and facilitate people to worship the deceased, ancestral tablets are used instead of urns. When people worship, they will only need to pray for ancestral tablet and not the urns.