Clan Stelae and Some Aspects of Clan Culture in Vietnam

Abstract

Family stelae has a valuable meaning for each Vietnamese clan. Before 1945, most of the clans owned this type of stelae, which was often erected on the occasion of big events such as the construction of clan ancestral house or the election of descendants in the presence of their members. Nowadays, a large number of these stelae still exist which accounts for a significant proportion of the stone stelae in Vietnam. The study of these stelae shall be greatly useful to understand clan conventions, genealogies or family members who achieved high results in academic exams. Based on documents and data about the stelae inscriptions available at the Institute of Sino-Nom Studies (Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences), the article analyzes the characteristics of the Vietnamese clan culture through stelae inscriptions following the main themes including clan ancestral house, clan genealogy, clan descendants, clan conventions, and clan members who passed the academic exams.