The quiet, prayerlike talk to previous generations in the solemnity of the temple binds one closely to his ancestors--to the generations of family, past and present. The treasured Chinese cultural concept of the unity and flow of family is symbolized in the ceremony.
買主是那些有財富而無門第的同姓者，他們更改家譜上的世系，偽裝自己也是名門子弟。對中國人來說，家譜一向是高貴及榮耀的象徵，每當子孫有所成就，便想修譜。