This is the first half of a pair of auspicious couplets carved on a plaque against a celestial cloud background. Together, the couplet reads道盡其後人紀念宗祖 (dao jin qi hour en ji nian zong zu, Descendants who inherit the ‘Dao’ remember their ancestors) and 德行於先代禎祥子孫 (de xing yu xian dai zhen xiang zi sun, Ancestors who practice virtue bring fortune to their descendants). Auspicious couplets are usually hung on walls to adorn doorways or altars in Peranakan homes. Judging from the content of these couplets (see also 2004-00108-007), it is likely they were used to frame an ancestral altar. Peranakan Chinese traditionally practised syncretic Chinese religion and ancestor worship.
