Chapter 7 China 279each new and full moon, visits are made. On the customary festivals, sea-
sonal foods are offered, and when an event occurs, reports are made.
Should there be flood, fire, robbers, or bandits, the offering hall is the first
thing to be saved. The spirit tablets, inherited manuscripts, and then the sac-
rificial utensils should be moved; only afterward may the family’s valuables
be taken. As one generation succeeds another, the spirit tablets are rein-
scribed and moved to their new places. (Ebrey 1991:14)
The ancestors, clearly still members of the family, required almost as much
attention now that they were dead as they did when living. They needed to be
checked in on daily by the head of household, who was to don a special robe
and light incense. The offerings of tea, wine, and fruit were for the relatively
simple fortnightly offerings. On major occasions such as New Year’s they had
to be served rice, soup, vegetables, and several kinds of meat. The ancestors had
to be informed of every significant event in the life of the family. Zhu Xi even
provided some sample reports. Did a member of the family receive a promo-
tion? Then they should say:
On such a day of such a month we received an edict conferring on such rela-
tive such office... A, due to the instructions he received from his ancestors,
holds a position at court beyond what he deserves. Through the grace of the
sovereign, this honor has been conferred. A’s salary comes too late to support
his parent, which leaves him unable to choke back his tears. (Ebrey 1991:19)
Occasionally, reporting to the ancestors was a form of confession. Did you lose
your job? You should say you were “dismissed from such a post, that having dis-
carded the ancestral teachings, one is in trepidation and uneasy” (Ebrey 1991:18).
The most significant feature of this mode of worship is the way in which it
reinforced family hierarchies. A Western family might simply “gather round”
the grave of a departed grandfather (probably only once). The Chinese did it in
rank order, and with men and women segregated. When a man died, his eldest
son became the presiding man at all ancestor worship, and his wife became the
presiding woman. There might, however, be living family members who were
senior to the presiding couple; if so, they stood in front of them. Behind them
was everyone junior to them, in rank order. Family hierarchies, impressed on
each person’s psyche through these somber rituals dozens of times every year,
had sacred power. This was the power and force of li.
Though every family needed an ancestral altar in the home, everyone did
not have the same ritual obligations. Different ranks of gentry had different
authority to perform rites: the higher the rank, generally, the heavier the ritual
obligations; of course, this was also a matter of prestige. The eldest son wor-
shipped on behalf of his brothers, and this right was passed down in the senior
line. The youngest son of youngest sons never did ancestor worship by himself
but had to join the senior men of the family at their household. When the next
generation of elders died, the ancestors moved up, too; the ancestral tablets
were shifted to the table to the west (to the left), while great-grandfather and