Jizu

Jizu, translating to ancestor worship, is one of the ways one practices xiao, or filial piety. One could consider jizu to be part of the broader rituals (li), but I wanted to make a seperate page for ancestor worship.

Historically

Confucius said that maintaining rituals for ancestors isn't just symbolic. According to him, through ritual one held a spiritual connection with ancestors. You couldn't just perform without meaning, though. You needed to perform with sincerity and truly believe in the ritual to have connection.

Neo-Confucianism

During the Song (960–1279 CE) various Neo-Confucian philosophers turned Confucius' ideas of ancestor worship into structured ritual. People like Zhu Xi (who lived from 1130–1200) outlined rules for funerals, mourning and sacrifices/offerings. Most notably, recording or documenting one's lineage and tablets with inscribed names inside family shrines. He argued that paying homage to ancestors keep cosmic order and harmonize morality.

In Practice

Food offerings are common, especially meat, fish, rice and fruit to generalize. The idea behind the food is that the spirits of the ancestors take in the essence of the food, and it also acts as a parallel where you care for your ancestors as if they were still alive. Food is offered monthly (generalized).

Incense

Incense is lit every week (generalized) infront of the family altar. The smoke let out of the stick symbolizes your prayers being carried to the spirit realm. Oftentimes, three sticks of incense are set with 1 in the middle and 1 tilted to the left and right. These three sticks symbolize Heaven, Earth and Humanity.

Joss Paper

Joss Paper (míngbì) is fake currency meant to represent currency that ancestors can use in their afterlife, burning joss paper prevents ancestors from becoming hungry ghosts who bring bad luck. Burning the paper itself is more important in the context of Confucianism, there's no literal belief in an economy in the afterlife. Think of it like symbolic respect.

Where to venerate?

Mainly in 3 places. Home Altars (Jìsì Chǎngsuǒ) are small shrines with ancestral tablets enscribed with the names of the ancestors and include photos (modern century), candles, incense and offerings. Ancestral Halls (Cítáng) are temple-like structures that can be found in villages maintained by a lineage. Gravesites (Fénmù) are visited during the Qingming Festival where tombs are cleaned and fresh flowers, wine and food are offered.

Is Jizu Religious?

Ancestor worship, and often Confucianism as a whole is debated whether it falls under religion or philosophy.

Religious

University professors like Rodney Taylor argue that Confucianism asa a whole is a form of religion (Not organized like Christianity or Islam). Especially li, which is not just social but have a religious function. Confucianism and therefore Jizu is religious because it involved communication with the dead, sees the existence of ancestors in spiritual form (afterlife) and has an above-all force (Tian).

Not just religious

Other scholars like Julia Ching saw Confucianism as religious, yes, but also thought that it's more about maintaining relationships and social harmony. It's more than just the belief in an afterlife, you're venerating the continuity of the family, not just ancestors as spirits beyond the mortal realm. It's comparable to a middle ground between humanism and religion, or "religious humanism".