Household Worship of Confucian Sages and Worthies by Ming-Qing Confucians

In the late imperial China, the worship of Confucian sages and worthies usually took place in Confucian Temples, Shrines to Worthies, and academies. The main ritual participants were local officials and Confucian scholars and students. Peasants and women were usually excluded. According to Huang Ching-chin, one of the most prominent scholars of Confucianism as Religion publishing in Chinese and English, the public and official characteristics of Confucian rite prevented it from penetrating people’s ordinary lives.

            Some Ming-Qing materials, however, reveal that many Confucians conducted certain rites to communicate with Confucian sages and worthies in the household. This paper aims to discuss the phenomenon and meaning of Confucian rites in the household, along with ancestor worship, by Ming-Qing Confucians. Through these private rituals, Confucian scholars expressed their respect and will to inherit the legacy of the former sages and worthies. The fact that they worshipped ancestors and Confucian sages in the same household indicated that both family line and the Confucian lineage (Daotong) were similarly important to them. In addition to considering the applicability of ritual theories and practice to my findings, this paper will also discuss the relationship between these two lineal ritual systems and their import to the popularization of Confucianism in late imperial China.