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ancestral shrine

vr.tr.ancestral-shrine · thing-q249027

Let an agent describe ancestral shrines and their kinds neutrally, explain their architecture and ritual use with attribution to the traditions and to scholarship, relay heritage status and visiting norms, and route religious guidance to the communities themselves.

Thing Registry Physical world and living systems PHY.BLT
Bundle → Layer → Finding → QuestionsClassifiersWhat it isWhy it existsDistinguishing featuresWhat robots and AI may and may not doMoral aspectsOwnersLinks to other meta-modelsIdentity and identifiersDirect propertiesRecognitionCapabilities and actionsHazards and failure modesStandards and interfacesContext of useSources

Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled

4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions

Identify What kind of shrine.

Kind

Kind and owner.

Kind

Kind.

  1. Which kind of ancestral shrine is this, and which family, lineage or house does it belong to? definition
  2. Is it an ancestral shrine, a temple to a deity or a grave site? boundary

Tradition

Tradition.

Tradition

Tradition.

  1. Which tradition and region does it belong to, and how do traditions differ? provenance
  2. Which entry fits ancestor veneration? action
Architecture Layout and objects.

Layout

Layout.

Layout

Layout.

  1. How is the shrine laid out, and what are its main elements? definition
  2. Which entry fits the architectural style? action

Objects

Tablets and images.

Objects

Objects.

  1. What tablets, images and ritual objects does it hold, and how are they arranged? provenance
  2. Which entry fits ancestral tablets? action
Rites Use and calendar.

Rites

Rites.

Rites

Rites.

  1. What rites are performed, when, and by whom, as described by the tradition and by scholarship? provenance
  2. Is the presentation neutral and attributed? boundary

Visiting

Access and norms.

Visiting

Visiting.

  1. What norms apply to visitors, and who decides access? provenance
  2. Is the user asking for religious guidance, which the community provides? boundary
Heritage Protection and history.

Protection

Heritage status.

Protection

Protection.

  1. Which shrines are protected or listed, and under which law? provenance
  2. Which entry fits heritage protection? action

History

History.

History

History.

  1. How did ancestral shrines develop, and which references are standard? provenance
  2. Which entry fits a specific shrine? action

Classifiers Filled

Family
Thing Registry
Category
Physical world and living systems
Entry kind
thing
Plane
PHY
Domain
PHY.BLT
Other names and narrower kinds
Confucian royal ancestral shrine, tanghao, imperial ancestral hall

What it is Filled

A building or hall dedicated to the veneration of the ancestors of a family, lineage, clan or ruling house, housing ancestral tablets or images and used for offerings and rites; found across East and Southeast Asia in Confucian, folk and royal traditions, from village lineage halls to imperial ancestral temples.

Why it exists Filled

Let an agent describe ancestral shrines and their kinds neutrally, explain their architecture and ritual use with attribution to the traditions and to scholarship, relay heritage status and visiting norms, and route religious guidance to the communities themselves.

Distinguishing features Filled

  • The shrine is dedicated to ancestors, including ancestors venerated as deities.
  • The shrine belongs to a family, lineage or ruling house.
  • Tablets or images are the focus of rites.
  • Architecture follows regional tradition.

What robots and AI may and may not do Filled

Must not

  • Treat ancestral tablets and rites as curiosities or props.
  • Photograph or publish private family shrines without permission.
  • Advise removing or selling ancestral objects without the family's consent.
  • Disparage ancestor veneration.

Only with a human decision

  • Restoration or relocation of a shrine.
  • Participation in rites.

May

  • Explain the role of ancestral shrines in family and lineage veneration.
  • Describe historic shrines and their rites with respect and sources.

Moral aspects Filled

  • Shrines hold a family's or clan's memory and sacred duty.
  • Shrines and their objects are vulnerable to theft and sale abroad.

Who is affected

  • Families and clans
  • Worshipping communities

Owners Filled

Steward

The family, lineage or clan that maintains it; heritage authorities protect listed shrines.

Links to other meta-models Filled

parent

  • Q30941226 - registry parent class
  • Q41176 - registry parent class

related

  • religious building - a place of rites
  • ancestral tablet - the ritual object
  • ancestor veneration - the practice
  • temple - a building for deities

What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled

Identity and identifiers required Filled

  • Vercy registry: vr.tr.ancestral-shrine
  • Wikidata: Q249027 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q249027)

Direct properties required Filled

  • Building height: metres of height - Height is measured from a stated ground reference to a specified roof or structural point.
  • Internal floor area: square metres - Floor area is measured from surveyed internal dimensions with the included halls and storeys identified.
  • Entrance clear width: millimetres - Clear width is measured across the unobstructed passage of a specified entrance.

Recognition required Filled

  • Ancestral tablets or images appear on an altar.
  • The hall may display a family, lineage or dynasty name.
  • Ancestral shrines are distinguished from temples dedicated to non-ancestral deities and from family graves.
  • A hall or courtyard complex with an altar holding tablets or images, often with a gate, courtyards and side halls in traditional architecture.

Capabilities and actions required Filled

  • identify the kind of shrine and its tradition
  • explain architecture and layout
  • explain rites and calendar with attribution
  • relay heritage status and visiting norms

Hazards and failure modes required Filled

  • Fire in timber halls
  • Loss of halls through redevelopment
  • Disrespect by visitors
  • Describing the practice as superstition or with polemic

Standards and interfaces required Filled

  • Heritage protection law and UNESCO listings for major shrines
  • Rules of the community or lineage on access and rites
  • Building codes for historic structures

Context of use required Filled

  • Housing ancestral tablets and holding rites for ancestors.
  • lineage and clan halls in China and the diaspora
  • family shrines within homes
  • royal and imperial ancestral temples such as Jongmyo in Korea and the Imperial Ancestral Temple in Beijing
  • Vietnamese and other Southeast Asian ancestral halls
  • Confucian shrines to sages, related but distinct

Sources Filled

  1. Wikidata item Q249027: ancestral shrine - identity and sense of the item
  2. Wikipedia: Ancestral shrine - general description of the item

Open questions

  • Should royal ancestral temples be separate entries?
  • How should heritage listings be linked?
  • The registry entry has merged aliases for Confucian royal shrines and Vietnamese terms; should they be split off?

Machine files

Card as JSON Specification Card backlog vercy.card/1

Provenance

thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed

Built from: models/things/publications/thing-q249027/spec.json