Ancestral temples of Huishan
During the Tomb Sweeping Day holiday, families use traditional ceremonies to renew their reverence for those who came before
Every year, especially during the Tomb Sweeping Day holiday — a time for Chinese people to worship their ancestors — many families in Wuxi, Jiangsu province, hold traditional ceremonies at their ancestral temples in Huishan Ancient Town.
People who share the same surname usually wear traditional Chinese clothes, burn incense, lay wreaths and present alcohol and food in front of their ancestors’ memorial tablets. They also recite family mottos, eat meals together and otherwise commune with one another.
In December, about 100 members of the Lyu family in Wuxi gathered at their ancestral temple for a ceremony to worship their ancestors and remind themselves of their roots, which date to the Song Dynasty (960-1279).
Their ancestral temple was destroyed in wartime, but the local government helped them rebuild it in 2013.
To protect traditional architecture and keep the old culture alive, the Wuxi government has invested heavily since 2001 to help local families rebuild and renovate their temples. With its help, the Lyu family raised 1.5 million yuan ($229,253) in 2019 to decorate the temple, print new editions of family tree books, make paintings of the family’s famous members and rebuild the family library.
“Many local families have actively participated in protecting their ancestral temples,” said Jin Shisheng, director of the Huishan Ancient Town management department’s cultural relics office. “The Lyu ancestral temple has a fine architectural style and displays valuable materials for visitors. It’s a place for people to appreciate ancient ceremonies, learn traditional culture and renew moral values.”
Huishan has 118 temples that allow visitors to come free. The town, which covers an area of 30 hectares, lies at the foot of picturesque Huishan Hill. Since ancient times, local people have maintained the tradition of burying deceased family members on the hill, believing this to be good feng shui that will help the departed to find peace and their descendants to receive good fortune.
Some celebrities known even to young Chinese schoolchildren have temples in the ancient town. They include Sima Guang and Fan Zhongyan.
Li Wenyang, who is in his 70s, spent 10 years researching ancestral temples and wrote a 1.5-million-character book that contains the stories of 110 temples and more than 200 people.
He traveled across China to visit libraries and conduct research. Together with 500 members of the Wuxi Ancestral Temple Cultural Studies Society, Li hopes his work will support the temples’ application to be designated a world cultural heritage.
“The stories behind the temples are interesting,” Li said. “They help people nowadays to understand what ancient people thought and to appreciate traditional culture.”
For example, an ancestral temple was built for Hua Xiaozi, a man who kept the hairstyle of a boy throughout his whole life in remembrance of his father. His father told him before he joined the army that he would come back to change the boy’s hairstyle and find him a wife.
In ancient China, a boy’s change of hairstyle at his coming-of-age ceremony was seen as an essential ritual for growth. But the father never came back. Hua kept his boy’s hairstyle, never got married and waited for his father to come home. He died without that satisfaction.
“While his behavior may seem unnecessary in the eyes of many people in modern society, Hua’s love for his father was impressive,” Li said. “It reminds people of the importance of family.”
The temples, with their different sizes and views, vary greatly. Some have lakes, long corridors or private backyard parks. The ancient town became Wuxi’s fourth scenic spot to be given a 5A rating — the highest in China — in 2020.
Dubbed an open-air museum showing Wuxi’s history and culture, the town attracts many visitors on holidays.
To fully enjoy the history of each ancestral temple, some knowledge of traditional Chinese culture and ancient celebrities is required. But there is nothing to worry about, even if the visitors do not have much knowledge. There are plenty of other places of interest to visit, as well as lots of delicious food.
Well-known sites include Huishan Temple Garden, Jichang Garden and Ah Bing’s Tomb Park, which was built to honor the legendary blind street musician who composed Erquan Yingyue. The work has been referred to as the “Chinese fate symphony”. For some, the sad music may add a somber atmosphere and ambience to Tomb Sweeping Day.
The Jichang Garden, built during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), was favored by Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) — so much that he even built exact replicas at the Summer Palace when he went back to Beijing.