Confucian royal ancestral shrine

Confucian royal ancestral shrine
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese宗廟
Simplified Chinese宗庙
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu PinyinZongmiao
Vietnamese name
Vietnamese alphabetTông miếu
Chữ Hán宗廟
Korean name
Hangul종묘
Hanja宗廟
Transcriptions
Revised RomanizationJongmyo
Japanese name
Hiraganaそうびょう
Kyūjitai宗廟
Transcriptions
RomanizationSōbyō

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.