How to write the memorial tablets of the three generations of ancestors

Answer 1

There were many ways to write the ancestral tablets of the three generations of ancestors.

I. Basic content
1. ** Name related **
- If one wanted to write the names of their most respected ancestors, they could write it below the surname. However, there were some places where the surname was not written in the middle. This was because there were a large number of three generations of relatives with the same surname in large families. The customs in different regions were different. Some people would write the family surname, such as the Zhang family.
- For the deceased direct elders, such as the father, if the memorial tablet was written, the name should also be written (if the father had passed away, the format of the memorial tablet could be "The West Lotus of the Lord of the Benevolence Law Office").
2. ** Date of Birth and Death **
- Below the ancestor's name, the date of birth and death could be written in the form of year, month, and day. There were also cases where the names of the Yang people's children were written on the left side of the front of the memorial tablet, the hometown of the deceased was written on the right side, and the date of the deceased's birth and death (lunar calendar) was written on the back of the memorial tablet.
3. ** Other content **
- Words of respect and blessings could be added according to one's wishes. Some of the tablets had words like "To be served" written on the top.

Second, the different types of tablets
1. ** Yansheng memorial tablet **
- In the middle should be written "a certain incense tablet" or "a certain Yansheng tablet".
2. ** The memorial tablet of the dead **
- In the middle was written,"The lotus position of my ancestors."
3. ** If the memorial tablet is written with the name of the clan (commonly seen in Taiwan, Fujian, Guangdong, Jiangxi, Hunan, Zhejiang, etc.)**
- In the middle, the main characters were "the name of the clan + the position of the ancestors."

Third, writing format
- The words on the tablets were usually arranged vertically, with the right side above and the left side below. Moreover, they would choose a suitable place in the family, such as the ancestral hall or the family shrine, to place the memorial tablet.