In coastal fujian and other places, people very much admire a "goddess", she is "Mazu".
People often say that where there is seawater in the world, there are Chinese, and where there are Chinese, there is "Mazu". The "Mazu" culture spread far and wide around the world, and the temples spread across 46 countries and regions, reaching tens of thousands. Nowadays, there are more than 300 million admirers of "Mazu", and "Mazu" culture has become a folk culture with a worldwide nature.
So, who is "Mazu"? Where did the "Mazu" culture originate?
"Lingfei a woman, petal incense up Meizhou." The "Mazu" culture began with the commemoration of a real historical figure. According to Song Dynasty documents, "Mazu" was originally named Lin Mo, and Song Jianlong was born in Putian, Fujian Province in the first year of the Song Dynasty (960 AD). When he grew up, he knew astronomy, knew medicine, was eager to be righteous, and saw righteousness and courage. He once lit his house as a beacon to help the boatmen and fishermen in the wind and waves escape and return to the harbor. In the fourth year of Song Yongxi (987 AD), on the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, when he was rescuing a ship in distress at sea, Lin Mo was unfortunately hit in the head by a mast and fell into the water and died, at the age of 28.
In order to commemorate her, the locals built an ancestral hall for her. From the Song Dynasty to the middle of the Ming Dynasty, the folk called her "Psychic Goddess" or "Meizhou Goddess". After the middle of the Ming Dynasty, the people affectionately called her "Mother Mother". Subsequently, Fujian immigrants who went to Taiwan further honored her as "Mazu", which means "ancestor" of Niangma. Nowadays, the simple folk title of "Mazu" has been deeply rooted in the hearts of the people and is generally accepted by people.
During the Northern Song Dynasty, the legend of "Mazu" was still limited to the Putian folk area, and its influence was not large. For more than 100 years after her death, she remained unknown. It was not until the fall of the Northern Song Dynasty and the establishment of the Southern Song Dynasty that "Mazu" gradually became famous in the world.
In the twenty-fifth year of the Southern Song Dynasty Gaozong Shaoxing (1155 AD), Lin Mo was given the title of Lady Chongfu. Since then, through the four dynasties of the Southern Song Dynasty, Yuan, Ming and Qing, 14 emperors have been enthroned 36 times, and Lin Mo's status has changed from "lady", "heavenly concubine" and "queen of heaven" to "heavenly virgin", with the longest title of 64 characters. In the fifty-eighth year of the Kangxi Dynasty (1719 AD), "Mazu" was included in the national ceremony, and local officials personally presided over the Spring and Autumn Festival, performing three kneeling and nine prostrations, with the same status as Confucius and Guan Yu. It can be seen that the status of "Mazu" in people's hearts at that time cannot be said to be low.
It should be known that in the feudal society after the Northern Song Dynasty in China, the social status of women was very humble. In addition to the goddesses formed in ancient times, such as Nuwa and the Queen Mother, the protector gods that people believe in are almost all male, so why is there only the exception of "Mazu"?
The number one Jun believes that this must start from the historical development of Fujian.
Fujian is known as "eight mountains, one water and one field", and mountains and hills account for more than 80% of the total area of the province. Because most of them are mountainous and have more snakes and insects, Fujian is referred to as "Min". Of course, such terrain is not suitable for the development of farming culture, so before the Tang Dynasty, Fujian was sparsely populated and social development was extremely slow. In 733 AD, when Emperor Xuanzong of Tang set up the Fujian Jingluo, the name "Fujian" appeared.
At the end of the Tang Dynasty, the world was in chaos, and the brothers Wang Chao, Wang Zhenzhi and Wang Zhenyi of Gwangzhou, Henan Province, launched an uprising and went south into Fujian, which is the famous "Three Kings Kaimin". The Three Kings ruled Fujian for 41 years, extensively administered moral government, and developed the economy, during which time they really developed. Because of the lack of arable land, they attached great importance to overseas trade, laying a solid foundation for the prosperity of Fujian in the future.
During the period from the "Three Kings ruling Fujian" to the Northern Song Dynasty, Fujian's local economy was in a transitional period from fishing and hunting civilization to agricultural civilization and commercial civilization. After all, in the fishing and hunting-based folk, women are still dominant, and the reason why Lin Mo can "seal" the gods as women reflects that the Fujian folk areas still have the characteristics of a "matriarchal clan" society at that time, which has the same historical background as the formation of the "Nüwa" myth in the Central Plains. Therefore, although Lin Mo is a woman, she can become a god believed in by the locals.
"Mazu" has been accompanied by the sea all his life and dedicated to the sea. With the expansion of sea frontiers during the Song and Yuan dynasties, the prosperity of Zheng He's voyage to the West in the Ming Dynasty, and the maritime trade in the Qing Dynasty, the "Mazu" culture moved from Meizhou Island in Putian, Fujian Province, to the world. As one of the "Three Major Festivals of China", the Meizhou Mazu Festival was included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage list by the State Council in 2006.
The "Mazu" culture has been passed down from generation to generation and has been integrated into the food, clothing, shelter and transportation of the locals. "Sailboat head, sea shirt, red and black pants to send peace" is a typical Mazu costume. Whenever relatives and friends visit, celebrate their birthdays, celebrate their birthdays, and reunite their families, they must eat a bowl of Mazu noodles, which means "peace and tranquility".
On September 30, 2009, "Mazu Beliefs and Customs" was inscribed on unesco's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, marking that Mazu culture has become a common cultural heritage of all mankind. After thousands of years, Mazu culture has long become a cultural consensus in Southeast Asia and even overseas Chinese at home and abroad and has become more and more prosperous.
Today, the "Mazu" culture, which originated on Meizhou Island in Putian, Fujian Province, contains the spiritual connotation of "morality, good deeds, and great love", the core concept of "peace, bravery and friendliness", and the value orientation of "peace, harmony and tolerance", which reflect the distinctive characteristics of China's marine civilization and have become the spiritual force of "national identity" of Chinese people on both sides of the taiwan strait and at home and abroad, which has been passed down from generation to generation and is endless.