Three major events of the clan: building a tomb, building a shrine and continuing the genealogy.

Recently, the author went to the Zhou Ancestral Hall in Guinan Village, Baiyun Long, Guangzhou. After visiting two magnificent ancestral halls of the Zhou family, I realized that each clan has three important things to do, namely, sweeping graves, building ancestral halls and continuing genealogy.

The so-called tomb repair is to repair the ancestral grave. The ancestral grave is the place where ancestors sleep, where future generations seek roots and worship, and where ancestors communicate with future generations, so the ancestral grave can be said to be a witness to the historical origin of a clan. Therefore, repairing ancestral graves is a top priority for a clan. Why build ancestral graves? Because a clan has developed for a long time since its ancestor was established, families of different factions will form within the clan. The cemeteries in Kaiji and Fang Zuming are in disrepair, so it is easy for outsiders to destroy, occupy or even find them. Over the years, the author has heard many such examples. In addition, with the beginning of inheritance, after the big house is divided into small houses, there will be more and more ancestral graves of a clan. Over time, it will be difficult for future generations to distinguish the owner of each ancestral grave. I don't know whose generation the owner is, so the information of the ancestral grave will become confused and the origin of the clan will become a mystery. Therefore, repairing ancestral graves, erecting ancestral graves and writing the names and deeds of ancestors have become the top priority of a clan. Only in this way can the ancestral information be completely passed on to future generations (sometimes future generations will lack important information when compiling genealogy, and the tombstone content just fills the blank), helping future generations to understand the historical origin of the clan.

The so-called temple building refers to the construction of ancestral temples. Ancestral temples are ubiquitous in the north and south of the river, especially in Lingnan area, which is an important embodiment of people's respect for their ancestors and respect for their ancestors. The ancestral temple is a place where ancestors are sacrificed and a holy place for the whole clan. In addition to the function of ancestor worship, there are many functions such as assembly, banquet and storage. Generally, clan activities will be held in ancestral halls, so ancestral halls also have the function of connecting clan friendship. Ancestral temples are divided into various types, such as Rujia Temple, Grand Ancestral Temple, Small Ancestral Temple, Ancestral Temple and Public Ancestral Temple. , and have ancestral halls, ancestral halls, incense halls and other similar functions; In fact, in a word, the above places are places where all clans worship their ancestors, and they are holy places where their souls rest in peace. The ancients believed that after death, one soul belonged to the cemetery and the other to the gods. Therefore, there has been a custom of building ancestral temples to worship ancestors since ancient times. First, it is to commemorate the grace of our ancestors. Second, I hope our ancestors can continue to protect their descendants in the underworld. Third, they can hold clan activities through ancestral halls. Fourth, they can hold clan fellowship through grand activities of raising families to worship their ancestors. Therefore, the ancestral temple is a sacred place for the descendants of the clan to be grateful for virtue and seek their roots, and the construction of the ancestral temple is also the second important thing for all clans.

The so-called continuation of genealogy is the continuation of genealogy. Genealogy, also known as genealogy, genealogy and running water genealogy, is an important document recording the origin and lineage of a clan. Genealogy is an important written record of the development history of a clan. It can record the complete lineage of the clan from three emperors and five emperors to ancestors with surnames, ancestors with houses, and descendants, and record the birth and death date, life story and burial place of each generation of the clan. Therefore, with genealogy, there is a complete lineage. The descendants of every clan know their own generation, word generation and family faction, and know where their ancestors came from, where their roots are and where they should go to find their roots. In the turbulent years in the past, a person can emigrate without anything, but he must take the spectrum spy, because as long as he takes the spectrum spy away, his future descendants in the birthplace will know the information of their ancestors through the spectrum spy, so as to know how to find their roots in their ancestral home. Genealogy is generally compiled by predecessors and then continued by others. The predecessors will record the information of the predecessors, and the descendants will record the information of the predecessors, which will be passed down from generation to generation, just like a trickle into an ocean, so the genealogy is also called "running water spectrum". Genealogy and the contents of ancestral graves are mutually complementary, so now we see a lot of news that clans can find their ancestral home through the contents of ancestral graves and genealogy, which is actually the truth. Therefore, the renewal of genealogy is the third important thing for all clans.

To sum up, at any time, building a tomb, building a shrine and continuing the genealogy are the three major events that the clan should do. These three things have contributed to the present and bequeathed to future generations, so they must not be taken lightly.