State And Ancestor: Memory Interpretation Of The Transformation Of Ancestral Temple By Modern State

In order to strengthen the construction of public cultural services at the grassroots level,some areas in southeastern Hubei have carried out massive renovation work has been carried out on ancestral temple in some areas in southern Hubei since 2014 to curb the trend of villagers privately expanding their clan’s ancestral temples and occupying land resources.At the same time,based on the renovation of ancestral halls,local governments have taken measures to transform traditional clan ancestral halls into cultural auditoriums of the new era and make them a place to spread advanced socialist culture.The launching of relevant actions in Huangshi City and Yangxin County of Hubei Province is not only closely related to the special historical traditions and regional characteristics of southeastern Hubei,but also contains political considerations for strengthening spiritual construction and solving social problems.From the process,the renovation and transformation of rural ancestral halls embodies the logic of "pilot first,then spread out".In southeastern Hubei,where clan culture is profound,ancestral temples are not only historical relics,but also important symbols of rural community memory.In 2017,the Ming Ancestral Hall,one of the clan ancestral halls in Gang Village,was also included in the renovation scope,and is ready to be redesigned by the local government.Prior to the official renovation,the ancestral hall was rebuilt by the Ming clan under the leadership of the clan elite and with the support of all walks of life.The reconstruction was completed in 2016,and a safe,stable and more magnificent new ancestral hall was built.Due to various factors,the local government’s transformation of the new Ming Family Ancestral Hall did not meet strong opposition from the Ming clan.The renovation of the ancestral hall of the Ming Dynasty mainly involves two aspects: first,various symbols symbolizing the modern state are embedded in the ancestral hall to publicize the will of the state and political parties;second,standards for the operation and maintenance of the cultural auditorium were established to institutionally ensure the development of cultural activities.After the renovation,the ancestral hall of the Ming Dynasty officially transformed from a long-standing site of ancestor worship to a cultural auditorium with "a hall with many functions" and an important position for grassroots party building.Only in the actual operation later,the so-called "cultural auditorium" or "cultural activity center" did not receive the expected effect from the local government,and even had the unexpected consequences of increasing the frequency of ancestor worship activities and reviving the memory of rural communities.From the perspective of "nationalization",the renovation of ancestral temples in southeastern Hubei is the embodiment of the requirements of "building a comprehensive cultural service center at the grass-roots level" at the higher level,reflecting the top-down power transmission path of "nationalization".The local government transforms clan ancestral halls scattered in the vast rural areas into cultural auditoriums or cultural activity centers with unified styles,which reflects the goal of modern countries to "unite the countryside from division".In a sense,the local government’s renovation and transformation of clan ancestral halls symbolizes the challenge and reconstruction of political power to the memory of rural communities with ancestor worship as the core.However,although modern national and local governments have transformed the ancestral hall as a "memory field" by embedding symbols and system setting,and used the "dual name system" to ease the tension of ancestral hall/cultural auditorium,this process has not really reconstructed the memory of rural communities and constructed the national memory.What we see is that the country wants to integrate the society according to the established goals,but the society is also responding to the country according to its own logic.The case of the transformation of the Ming ancestral hall in Gang Village symbolizes the complex process of "nationalization" of rural community memory.This process is full of contradictions and paradoxes,which shows that the relationship between "modern country" and "rural tradition" is not one-way,but interactive and mutually constructed.This incident enlightens us that the "nationalization" process of reconstructing rural community memory in modern countries is not overnight.We need to take into account the situation in different places,take targeted measures,and keep an open mind,so as to truly connect the country with the countryside and the national memory with the rural memory.