By Qishen Peng
China has historically been a long-standing agricultural patriarchal society, where the strong concept of bloodline ethics has led the Chinese to place great importance on their roots. Ancestor worship has become a key symbol of identity recognition, and there are two main perspectives on this. The first perspective stems from Confucian teachings regarding filial piety and duty to one’s ancestors. According to the system of primogeniture, the eldest male descendant is responsible for the living ancestors, and upon their death, he is responsible for performing ancestor worship. The second perspective comes from the traditional Chinese belief system, which emphasizes the existence of a soul within every individual (Eng 2006).
The two most prevalent practices of ancestor worship in China are compiling and maintaining the family genealogy and venerating the ancestors at the gravesite. Family genealogy（家谱）, in particular, refers to a book-like record that includes, but is not limited to, the family tree, anecdotes about ancestors, and a list of family rules and disciplines. It helps familiarize descendants with the structure of the kinship system and makes them aware of their position in the family line (Hu, 2018). Since ancestor worship regulates kinship ethics according to relative position in a family line, with filial commitment flowing from the younger to the older generation, knowledge of one’s family tree is critical for fulfilling filial duties and maintaining family identity (Watson 1982).
At the same time, within the context of globalization, overseas Chinese communities continue to maintain the tradition of ancestor worship to preserve their cultural identity. In foreign countries, ancestor worship has become an important way for Chinese communities to strengthen their sense of ethnic belonging and pass on cultural heritage. For example, among the Chinese in Malaysia, many aspects of their culture show a strong continuity with their Chinese origins (Lee and Ackerman 1988). Among ethnic Chinese in Malaysia, much of the familiar ritual associated with ancestor worship is practiced. The physical objects central to the ritual, such as graves and spirit tablets, are common, and while there is great variety in their forms, this variation does not seem to go beyond the limits seen in China itself. Likewise, the occasions and forms of ancestor worship correspond closely to those practiced in China (Clarke 2000).
Ancestor worship among ethnic Chinese in Malaysia shares some important similarities with the practice in China, but there are also notable differences. As in China and Taiwan, ancestor worship in Malaysia focuses primarily on the ritual actions, which carry a strong symbolic meaning to which there are numerous possible interpretations. However, the Malaysian Chinese do not have a clear concept of this and do not concern themselves with whether it is linked to religion (Clarke 2000). Moreover, by using ancestors as a form of socio-moral capital, the Chinese government—at both the provincial and local levels—along with rural villagers, has been able to cultivate and establish Transnational Guanxi (关系) networks with the Chinese diaspora, Transnational Guanxi Networks are cross-border relationship-based networks rooted in trust, reciprocity, and mutual obligation, facilitating international business, trade, and investment, particularly among Chinese diaspora communities. Through these networks, the diaspora is encouraged to visit their ancestral homes. Through ancestor worship, they are bound to a shared family and lineage history, fostering a sense of identity and belonging to the distant past (Eng 2006).
For some Chinese in Malaysia, this practice is a form of identity expression. By commemorating their recently deceased relatives as ancestors and asserting a Chinese origin to the family to which these ancestors—and they themselves—belong, they are able to define themselves as ethnic Chinese within Malaysian society. This is likely a significant factor in the lack of an acceptable interpretation of ancestor worship by Islam. In Malaysia, Islam is seen as a central aspect of Malay identity, which exists in a system of ethnic differentiation, particularly in relation to the ethnic Chinese (Lee and Ackerman 1997) .
In this way, ancestor worship provides individuals with a sense of connection to history, family, and even the nation, offering them a strong sense of belonging. As modern society evolves, the culture of ancestor worship continues to maintain its central place in Chinese culture and identity, even amid waves of globalization. By respecting and valuing their ancestors, Chinese people, both domestically and overseas, maintain a strong identification with their cultural roots in a rapidly changing world.
References
Clarke, Ian. “Ancestor Worship and Identity: Ritual, Interpretation, and Social Normalization in the Malaysian Chinese Community.” Sojourn: Journal of Social Issues in Southeast Asia, vol. 15, no. 2, 2000, pp. 273–295. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/41057042. Accessed 17 Oct. 2024.
Eng, Kuah-Pearce Khun. “Moralising Ancestors as Socio-Moral Capital: A Study of a Transnational Chinese Lineage.” Asian Journal of Social Science, vol. 34, no. 2, 2006, pp. 243–263. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/23654419. Accessed 17 Oct. 2024.
Hu, Anning, and Felicia F. Tian. “Still under the Ancestors’ Shadow? Ancestor Worship and Family Formation in Contemporary China.” Demographic Research, vol. 38, 2018, pp. 1–36. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/26457035. Accessed 17 Oct. 2024.
Lee, Raymond L. M., and Susan E. Ackerman. Heaven in Transition: Non-Muslim Religious Innovation and Ethnic Identity in Malaysia. University of Hawaii Press, 1988.
Lee, Raymond L. M., and Susan E. Ackerman. Sacred Tensions: Modernity and Religious Transformation in Malaysia. University of South Carolina Press, 1997.
Watson, James. “Chinese Kinship Reconsidered: Anthropological Perspectives on Historical Research.” China Quarterly, vol. 92, 1982, pp. 589–622. Cambridge University Press, doi:10.1017/S0305741000000965.
Identity Hunters 