Editing Altar (section)

==Taoism==
[[File:Daoist altar from plum.jpg|thumb|Detail of {{circa|1700}} painting of a Taoist altar during a ritual for the dead, illustrating a scene from ''[[The Plum in the Golden Vase]]''. Note the [[Three Purities]] plaques at the back of the altar, and the ritual implements, including incense burner and ritual sword on the right. Bowls hold food offerings for the deceased woman.]]
[[File:Yiguandao altar.png|thumb|left|An [[Ikuantao]]ist altar]]

[[Taoist]] altars are erected to honor traditional deities and the spirits of ancestors. Taoist altars may be erected in temples or in private homes. Strict traditions and different sects describe the items offered and the ritual involved in the temples, but folk custom in the homes is much freer.

Imperial dynasties built huge altars called {{Lang|zh-latn|jìtán}} ({{Lang|zh|祭坛}}) to perform various [[sacrifice|offering ceremonies]] called {{Lang|zh-latn|jìsì}} ({{Lang|zh|祭祀}}). The [[Temple of Heaven]] in [[Beijing]] is one of those.

Nearly all forms of Chinese traditional religion involve {{Lang|zh-latn|baibai}} ({{Lang|zh|拜拜}})--bowing towards an altar, with a stick of incense in one's hand.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Liu |first=Zhongyu |title=The Relationships between Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism, and folk custom |journal=Shijie Zongjiao |year=1996 |pages=24–32}} (Regarding "baibai" as the term for the act of offering incense as a form of worship.)</ref> (Some schools prescribe the use of three sticks of incense in the hand at one time.<ref>{{cite book |last=Silvers |first=Brock |title=The Taoist Manual |place=Honolulu, HI |publisher=Sacred Mountain Press |year=2005 |page=74}}</ref>) This may be done at home, or in a temple, or outdoors; by an ordinary person, or a professional (such as a [[Taoist priest]]); and the altar may feature any number of deities or ancestral tablets. {{Lang|zh-latn|Baibai}} is usually done in accordance with certain dates of the lunar/solar calendar (see [[Chinese calendar]]).

At certain dates, food may be set out as a [[sacrifice]] to the gods or spirits of the departed. (See, for example, [[Qingming Festival]] and [[Ghost Festival]].) This may include rice, slaughtered pigs and ducks, or fruit. Another form of sacrifice involves the burning of [[Hell Bank Notes]], on the assumption that images thus consumed by the fire will reappear—not as a mere image, but as the actual item—in the spirit world, and be available for the departed spirit to use. In Taoist folk religion, sometimes chickens, pigs' feet, and pig heads are given as offerings. But in orthodox Daoist practice, offerings should essentially be incense, candles and vegetarian offerings.<ref>{{cite web |last=Liu |first=Zhong |translator=Lü, Pengzhi |title=Burning Incense and Worshiping Spirits |series=Daoist Folk Customs |website=taoism.org.hk |publisher=Taoist Culture and Information Centre |url=http://www.eng.taoism.org.hk/religious-activities&rituals/daoist-folk-customs/pg4-8-1.asp |access-date=2007-07-05 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929102702/http://www.eng.taoism.org.hk/religious-activities%26rituals/daoist-folk-customs/pg4-8-1.asp |archive-date=2007-09-29}}</ref>