Author(s)

Wei Tang

Affiliation(s)

School of Tourism and Historical Culture, Zhaoqing College, Zhaoqing 526061, Guangdong, China.

Corresponding Author

Wei Tang

ABSTRACT

As a crucial institutional space within China's clan-based society, ancestral halls in the Lingnan region possess unique cultural ecosystems and social functions. For centuries, these halls have not only served ceremonial and deliberative purposes but also constituted educational domains imbued with profound local knowledge, ethical norms, and symbolic significance. This study employs interdisciplinary perspectives from cultural anthropology, folklore studies, and sociology. Grounded in structural-functionalism, cultural reproduction theory, and symbolic interactionism, it systematically identifies the structural elements of Lingnan ancestral hall educational customs.It further analyzes the mechanisms underpinning their continuity, transformation, and reproduction at the cultural level. Research reveals that Lingnan ancestral hall educational customs comprise six core elements: “spatial structure, ritual system, textual resources, key figures, institutional norms, and emotional bonds,” forming a folk educational system integrating educational content, educational interaction, and cultural symbolism. At the cultural mechanism level, its internal logic manifests as a four-fold cycle: “clan identity formation—moral norm reinforcement—social order stabilization—cultural meaning reproduction.” The article further indicates that against the backdrop of rapid urbanization, ancestral hall educational customs are undergoing transformations: shifting from clan-based to community-based,transitioning from offline to digital, and evolving from standardized to culturally autonomous. This research holds practical significance for understanding the continuity of Lingnan local culture, rural social governance, and intangible cultural heritage education practices.

KEYWORDS

Lingnan culture; Ancestral halls; Educational customs; Cultural reproduction; Clan society; Local knowledge

CITE THIS PAPER

Wei Tang. Identifying structural elements and analyzing cultural mechanisms of Lingnan ancestral hall educational practices. Journal of Religion, Ethics, and Philosophy. 2025, 2(1): 41-46. DOI: https://doi.org/10.61784/jrep3011.

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