thừa tự
Definition
Noun:
- Ritual heir: A person, typically a male descendant, designated to inherit the responsibility of performing ancestor worship rites to continue the family lineage.
- The state of being such an heir: The condition or role of inheriting and maintaining the family's ancestral cult.
Verb (less common):
- To inherit the ancestral cult: To take on the duty and right of conducting worship for one's ancestors.
Usage Examples
Noun:
- Gia đình ông ấy đã chọn một người cháu làm người thừa tự. (His family chose a grandson as the ritual heir.)
- Việc thừa tự rất quan trọng trong văn hóa truyền thống. (The role of the ritual heir is very important in traditional culture.)
Verb:
- Người con trai cả sẽ thừa tự ông nội. (The eldest son will inherit the ancestral cult from his grandfather.)
Advanced Usage
- The concept is deeply rooted in Confucian family values, where continuing the family line and its rituals is a paramount duty. It often involves inheritance of property, but the core obligation is the spiritual duty to ancestors.
Variants and Related Words
- Kế tự (v/n): A synonym meaning to succeed in the ancestral worship lineage.
- Nối dõi tông đường (idiomatic phrase): To continue the family line (literally: to continue the ancestral hall).
Synonyms
- Ritual successor
- Cult heir
- Lineage continuer
Related Idioms
- "Nối dõi tông đường": To carry on the family line. This idiom emphasizes the continuity of the ancestral lineage, which is the ultimate purpose of having a .
- Mong có con trai để nối dõi tông đường. (Hoping to have a son to carry on the family line.)