African Nationhood

December 12, Hanking (Pretoria).

This day is the day of ancestor worship for the Shi family. Firstly, they want to pay tribute to their ancestors, and secondly, they want to tell all the subjects of Nanhua the origin of the Shi family.

Led by Shi Jintang, Kelly, Ye Rong, Alice, Jin Xiyue, Maria, Shi Hao, Shi Xi and other children all wore dark August 1st-style costumes and took a car to the Imperial Ancestral Temple.

Xinghan Palace is located on the hillside northeast of Hanjing. Because Shi Jintang was determined to proclaim himself emperor, when building Xinghan Palace, the location of the Imperial Ancestral Temple and Sheji Altar was reserved in the city.

The Taimiao Temple is located on the left side, 5 kilometers south of the center line of Xinghan Palace. The Tongsheji Altar is built symmetrically along the center line of Xinghan Palace.

There were gendarmerie guards and guards along the way.

The 5-kilometer journey arrived quickly. Shi Jintang and others got off the bus one after another and walked to the Ancestral Temple.

……

The two buildings, the Sheji Altar and the Imperial Ancestral Temple, did not take much effort to build. Overall, they were very simple. They were not like the ancient capitals in the East that had to build several layers of walls.

Only a circle of walls was built around the Imperial Ancestral Temple. The entire Imperial Ancestral Temple covers an area of ​​100000 square meters, is 500 meters long and 200 meters wide.

The entrance door is a five-color glazed door. This door is completely imitated in the shape of an ancient oriental capital.

Shi Jintang and others had never been here before, so it was an eye-opener for everyone, especially Kelly Alice and Maria. They all felt that this oriental building had a unique style and was very novel.

Shi Hao, Shi Xi and other children also feel that the East is very magical. Their father is from the East, but he has never taken them there.

They were very curious about worshiping their ancestors in the "Ancestral Temple", a building full of oriental atmosphere.

In the past, it was very simple for the father to lead his family to perform sacrifices during festivals. Often, after the ceremony, everyone would burn incense and observe a few minutes of silence.

Now that the Imperial Ancestral Temple has been built, if you want to worship your ancestors in the future, you must get such a special place to worship your ancestors.

There is a white marble stone passageway inside. Pine and cypress saplings are planted on both sides of the road. Walk 200 meters along the passage and you will find the square in front of the temple.

The first hall of the Imperial Ancestral Temple is called "Xiang Hall". It is a place used to worship the ancestors of the current generation. The three main halls here are all imitated in the shape of the ancient capital.

In order to rush the construction of the three halls at the same time, they worked day and night, and more than 3 workers were hired.

In addition, the painting and other steps of the hall were done in advance and temporarily installed on site, saving a lot of construction time.

The three main halls have the same shape, 60 meters long and 30 meters wide. They are located on a 2.68-meter-high white marble Xumizuo, and the hall is 22 meters high.

The roof of the hall is all made of yellow glazed tiles with double eaves. Under the eaves of the veranda, a plaque with "Xiangdian" written in simplified Chinese characters is hung.

The sixty-eight large pillars in the hall are all made of mahogany or sandalwood, with the highest reaching 13.32 meters and the largest diameter reaching 1.2 meters. The top of the hall is decorated with gold-leaf pastel paintings, and the ground is paved with gold bricks.

Some of these materials come from the Lunda Administrative Office, and some come from Falkland Island, and they are all prepared in advance.

After construction starts, it can be used directly, which is very convenient.

……

Shi Jintang has no feelings for the original owner's parents and has never returned to his hometown.

Therefore, the memorial tablets of the parents of the original owner are placed here. On the left is the spiritual tablet of Xian Kao Shi Gong and Zhong Rui, and on the right is the spiritual tablet of the first concubine Cui Shi Magnolia.

The service staff had already arranged the three sacrifices.

Pigs, cows and sheep, these three animals represent different meanings. Pigs represent wealth, cows represent hard work, and sheep represent peace.

Sacrifice is also divided into levels. Shi Jintang aspires to be the emperor and is actually the king and father of Nanhua. Therefore, he can use the big three animals to sacrifice, while the common people can only use the small three animals to sacrifice chickens, ducks, fish (rabbits).

This memorial ceremony is also to welcome the spirit tablets of the ancestors of the Shi family. After Shi Jintang ascends the throne and proclaims himself emperor, he will need to come here to pay tribute and deliver a memorial message as the emperor.

Shi Jintang did not want to participate in these matters. However, Shi Jinyong, who was in charge of this matter, felt that "proper etiquette makes the gods". If an emperor disrespects his ancestors, how can the people follow him?

Shi Jintang was persuaded by his old classmate, so he did everything he could and cooperated to visit the Ancestral Temple.

……

After the group of people stood in the Hall of Enjoyment, Shi Jintang stood at the front, with Kelly and Ye Rong on the left and right, and behind them were Alice, Jin Xiyue and Maria.

The children are headed by Shi Xi and Shi Hao, and there are dozens of people in the family.

Because the ancestor worship was very serious this time, the younger generation and the children who could not control themselves were not brought to prevent the crying children from disturbing the peace of the ancestors.

Since the Dayan Dynasty implemented new etiquette standards, today's ancestor worship uses a new etiquette - the bowing ceremony.

Shi Jintang stood still while twisting incense and silently recited the sacrificial words:

Ancestors of the Shi family, I have been in this world for 59 years, and I have behaved uprightly, saving all people from water and fire, opening up new territories in the barbaric land of southern Africa, and reestablishing wind and fire.

This new dynasty is forged for my descendants from China, and we will be supported and loved by all people.

This is my achievement, and it also brings a lot of glory to the Shi family.

My ancestors, may my Shi family be everlasting and undefeated.

Please enjoy the sacrifice!
After praying and bowing three times, Shi Jintang stepped forward and inserted incense sticks on the copper incense burner. Kelly and Ye Rong also slowly stepped forward to insert incense sticks, followed by Alice and others.

After all the Shi family members finished placing incense, everyone followed Shi Jintang to the second hall at the back - the "Bedroom Hall".

The dormitory hall is the place where the tablets of emperors and queens of past dynasties are usually enshrined.

Shi Jintang has not died yet, so the memorial tablets of the parents of the original owner are usually placed here. On festival days, the memorial tablets of their two elders are brought to the "Hang Hall" in front to be worshiped.

After the worship is completed, please come back here to lay it down.

This hall is equipped with sacred chairs, incense tables, beds, mattresses, pillows and other items. Anyway, the principle is that death is as important as life.

The layout and decoration of the main hall are similar to those of Xiangdian.

Further back is the last main hall of the Ancestral Temple - "Yu Hall", where the tablets of the Shi family's ancestors are placed.

For example, the original owner's grandfather Shi Qianwen, grandmother Zhao Erya, great-grandfather Shi Ziran, great-grandmother Qian Wen, and so on.

It can be seen from the tablets in this "ancestral hall" that the ancestors of the Shi family were descendants of Duan, the Duke of Song Dynasty during the Spring and Autumn Period.

The ancestor's name was Zishi, and his descendants took the ancestor's name as their surname and were called the Shi family.

Shi Jintang cannot guarantee whether this piece of evidence will stand up to verification.

But Shi Jinyong, Zhong Yilin, Liu Jiazhao and others took the history books for several months and finally came up with a complete family tree.

After Shi Jintang saw it, he felt that it was almost the same and it was casual.

After all, the original owner's home was in Lu, and the branch of Gongzi Duan in the Spring and Autumn Period was distributed in the Shangqiu area of ​​Yu. It is entirely possible for it to spread from this area to Lu.

Anyway, ancient emperors would find a good ancestor for themselves. Shi Jintang proclaimed himself emperor in Nanhua, which can be regarded as helping the original owner's family find a good ancestry.

After worshiping their ancestors, the group walked around the Ancestral Temple to take a look at the buildings and environment, so that they would not feel unfamiliar when they come back in the future.

After the visit, Shi Jintang and his party boarded the car and returned to Xinghan Palace.

Tomorrow is Shi Jintang's big day, and he must be prepared and recharge his batteries for the splendor. (End of chapter)