Chinese ancestor worship, or
Chinese ancestor veneration, also called the
Chinese patriarchal religion, is an aspect of the
Chinese traditional religion which revolves around the ritual celebration of the
deified ancestors and
tutelary deities of
people with the same surname organised into
lineage societies in
ancestral shrines. Ancestors, their ghosts, or spirits, and gods are considered part of "this world," that is, they are neither supernatural (in the sense of being outside nature) nor transcendent in the sense of being beyond nature. The ancestors are humans who have become divine beings, beings who keep their individual identities. For this reason, Chinese religion is founded on veneration of ancestors. Ancestors are believed to be a means of connection to the supreme power of
Tian (
Shangdi), as they are considered embodiments or reproducers of the creative order of Heaven.