Spirit tablet
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Spirit tablet
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| Chinese name | |||||||||||
| Chinese: | 神主牌 | ||||||||||
| Literal meaning: | spirit master sign | ||||||||||
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| alternative Chinese name | |||||||||||
| Chinese: | 神位 | ||||||||||
| Literal meaning: | spirit seat | ||||||||||
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| Japanese name | |||||||||||
| Kanji: | 位牌 | ||||||||||
A Spirit tablet, Spirit seat or Ancestor post[1] is a placard used to designate the seat of a deity or past ancestor as well as to enclose it. With origins in traditional Chinese culture, the spirit tablet is a common sight in many East Asian countries where any form of ancestor veneration is practiced.
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[edit] General usage
A spirit tablet is often used for various deities and ancestors, with shrines found in households or in temples, where there are specific rooms for individual spirit tablets for ancestors. A spirit tablet acts as an effigy of a specific deity or ancestor. In Taoism, spirit tablets are often used for the spirits ancestors and sometimes such tablets are found under deities, which represent the enclosed spirit of the deity. This practice influenced the Buddhist faith, where tablets are found in many temples; however tablets usage are not limited to ancestors, but to wandering spirits, demons, and preta as well.
In Shinto and different forms of Buddhism in Japan, spirit tablets are also used in the same respect as the Chinese usage.
When used, incense sticks are usually burned before the tablet. Sometimes fruits, tea and pastries are placed near the tablet to offer food to the spirit.
In Chinese folk religion for example, a household will have one or at least more tablets for specific deities:
- One outside the house at the front door （A shrine either to the Jade Emperor or the earth deity, the latter is placed above the door and one below it, respectively)
- One in the kitchen (A shrine to Zao Jun, the kitchen god)
- Two in the house, usually at least one in the living room (A shrine to any other deity or family ancestors)
Spirit tablets can be found not just amongst the Chinese but in other East Asian cultures, such as Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.
[edit] Gallery
 Tablet in Taiwan |
 A stone tablet |
[edit] References
- ^ Yeasia.com Using this as a quick reference to a Chinese name and English name match. It also conclude this is not something made up.
[edit] See also
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