Confucian royal ancestral shrine

Confucian royal ancestral shrine
Confucian royal ancestral shrine
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	宗廟
Simplified Chinese	宗庙
Hanyu Pinyin
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin	Zongmiao
Vietnamese name
Vietnamese alphabet	Tông miếu
Chữ Hán	宗廟
Korean name
Hangul	종묘
Hanja	宗廟
Revised Romanization
Transcriptions
Revised Romanization	Jongmyo
Japanese name
Hiragana	そうびょう
Kyūjitai	宗廟
Romanization
Transcriptions
Romanization	Sōbyō

Joseon's Jongmyo

Ming·Qing's Imperial Ancestral Temple

Đại Nam Quốc's Thế Miếu

The Confucian royal ancestral shrine (宗廟制) is a system of Confucian worship for royal ancestors in East Asian region. It is historically originated from Chinese culture, yet later redeveloped among countries in East Asian cultural sphere as cultural diffusion. Nowadays this system became famous around the world for its authentic cultural heritage preserved in Korea, 'Jongmyo', designated as UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995.

Due to its importance in Confucian feudal monarchy, the term 宗廟 in respective Sinosphere countries, together with the soil and grain, was used as metaphor to refer to national sovereignty and national honor in the old time.