page_title: Chinese folk religion
section_title: Lineage religion
hierarchical_section_title: Chinese folk religion / Sociological typology / Types of indigenous—ethnic religion / Lineage religion
caption_attribution_description: 七都黄氏祠堂与广济宫, Guanji temple (left) and Huang shrine (right) in Lucheng, Wenzhou, Zhejiang, China.
context_page_description: Chinese folk religion also known as popular religion, is a polyphyletic term used to describe the diversity of practices in areas generally termed "religion," of persons of Chinese heritage, including the Chinese diaspora. Vivienne Wee described it as "an empty bowl, which can variously be filled with the contents of institutionalized religions such as Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, the Chinese syncretic religions, or even Christianity and Hinduism." This may include the veneration of forces of nature and ancestors, exorcism of harmful forces, and a belief in the rational order of nature, the universe and reality that can be influenced by human beings and their rulers, as well as spirits and gods. Worship is devoted to a multiplicity of gods and immortals, who can be deities of phenomena, of human behaviour, or progenitors of lineages. Stories regarding some of these gods are collected into the body of Chinese mythology. By the 11th century, these practices had been blended with Buddhist ideas of karma and rebirth, and Taoist teachings about hierarchies of gods, to form the popular religious system which has lasted in many ways until the present day.
context_section_description: Another dimension of the Chinese folk religion is based on family or genealogical worship of deities and ancestors in family altars or private temples (simiao 私廟 or jiamiao 家廟), or ancestral shrines (citang 祠堂 or zongci 宗祠, or also zumiao 祖廟). Kinship associations or churches (zōngzú xiéhuì 宗族協會), congregating people with the same surname and belonging to the same kin, are the social expression of this religion: these lineage societies build temples where the deified ancestors of a certain group (for example the Chens or the Lins) are enshrined and worshiped. These temples serve as centres of aggregation for people belonging to the same lineage, and the lineage body may provide a context of identification and mutual assistance for individual persons.
  The construction of large and elaborate ancestral temples traditionally represents a kin's wealth, influence and achievement. Scholar K. S. Yang has explored the ethno-political dynamism of this form of religion, through which people who become distinguished for their value and virtue are considered immortal and receive posthumous divine titles, and are believed to protect their descendants, inspiring a mythological lore for the collective memory of a family or kin.
  If their temples and their deities enshrined acquire popularity they are considered worthy of the virtue of ling, "efficacy". Worship of ancestors (jingzu 敬祖) is observed nationally with large-scale rituals on Qingming Festival and other holidays.
  This type of religion prevails in south China, where lineage bonds are stronger and the patrilineal hierarchy is not based upon seniority, and access to corporate resources held by a lineage is based upon the equality of all the lines of descent.
caption: Guanji temple (left) and Huang ancestral shrine (right) in Wenzhou, Zhejiang.
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