Fujian Daily, New Fujian Client, May 1 (Reporter Chen Shengzhong, He Jin, Correspondent Cong Wenjun, Cheng Liting, Lin Chunsheng, Gao Yacheng) On the morning of the 1st, the 1064th anniversary of the birth of Mazu and the Jiachen Spring Festival Mazu Ceremony were held in the Tianhou Square of Mazu Temple in Meizhou, Putian.
Yuan Jingui, Deputy Director of the Standing Committee of the 11th Provincial People's Congress and Honorary President of the China Mazu Cultural Exchange Association, Fu Chaoyang, Secretary of the Putian Municipal Party Committee, Lin Xuyang, Deputy Secretary of the Putian Municipal Party Committee and Mayor, Lin Guangda, Consultant of the China Mazu Cultural Exchange Association and former Director of the Standing Committee of the Putian Municipal People's Congress, Zhao Dong, Chairman and Secretary of the Party Committee of Xiamen Airlines Co., Ltd., Xie Bing, General Manager and Deputy Secretary of the Party Committee of Xiamen Airlines Co., Ltd., Su Yongge, Secretary of the Party Group and Director of the Standing Committee of the Putian Municipal People's Congress, Shen Mengya, Secretary of the Party Group and Chairman of the Putian Municipal People's Political Consultative Conference, and other leaders. Guests attended the event.
Yuan Jingui and other leading guests presented flower baskets to Mazu to celebrate the 1064th anniversary of Mazu's birth.
Lin Xuyang said in his speech that adhering to the concept of "one family on both sides of the strait", we will work together to draw "concentric circles" with affection, tighten the "cooperation chain" with communication and integration, and narrow the "life circle" with benefits and promote integration, so as to enhance cultural communication, economic and trade integration, people's resonance, and development and sharing. With Mazu culture as a link, we will actively carry out equal exchanges and mutual learning between different cultures and civilizations among various countries and regions, and make great strides forward on the road of building a community with a shared future for mankind.
Lin Chuqin, chairman of the Thai Chinese Chamber of Commerce, said that Mazu is not only the patron saint of the sea, but also the spiritual strength of overseas Chinese to overcome difficulties and obstacles when making a living abroad, and it is also a cultural bond connecting overseas Chinese. The Thai Chinese Entrepreneur Association will continue to contribute to the development of China and Thailand, and make unremitting efforts to inherit Mazu beliefs and customs, spread Mazu culture and carry forward the spirit of Mazu.
Wang Jingfei, chairman of the reconstruction committee of Taiwan's Dazhuang Haotian Palace in Taichung, said that compatriots on both sides of the strait gathered in Meizhou to jointly commemorate the 1064th anniversary of Mazu's Christmas, experience the majestic Mazu festival, and feel the profoundness and infinite charm of Chinese culture, which is not only the inheritance and promotion of the Mazu spirit, but also the witness and continuation of the deep friendship between compatriots on both sides of the strait.
Lin Jinzan, chairman of the board of directors of Meizhou Mazu Temple, said that the ancestral temple will further promote the Mazu spirit of "virtue, kindness, and great love", and hold hands and hearts with Taiwan compatriots and Mazu admirers around the world, hold more and more connotative Mazu cultural activities, and constantly enrich the connotation of Mazu beliefs and customs.
At about 10 o'clock in the morning, the salute of guns in Tin Hau Square rang out, the drums were beating, and the chimes were played. Under the auspices of Tongzan, the honor guard and honor guard were in place, and the singers, musicians, and dancers were in place. In the sound of music, the chief priest and the accompanying priest wear traditional ceremonial clothes, follow the etiquette system, and worship sincerely.
With the playing of ancient music, the dancers danced the Eight Hundred Dance, dancing in a wonderful way or majestic, expressing the spiritual connotation of Mazu's sacrifice to help the poor and the escort of Cihai. Seven 25-meter-long colorful ribbons symbolize the "Maritime Silk Road" where the hearts of people from all over the world converge, flocking to the golden body of Mazu, implying the perfect integration of maritime culture and Mazu culture.
As an important part of Mazu beliefs and customs, the Mazu festival has been inherited for thousands of years, and is known as the "three major festivals of China" together with the Yellow Emperor's Mausoleum Festival and the Confucius Festival, and was included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage list in 2006, with unique cultural connotation and historical, navigational, religious, folk customs, art and other values. The nearly 40-minute performance of the whole festival brilliantly reproduces the rich connotation of the combination of imperial sacrifices and folk sacrifices in the past dynasties, which is magnificent and solemn.
The event attracted more than 10,000 Mazu admirers from Singapore, Thailand, Bolivia, the Czech Republic, Brazil, the Philippines and other countries, Shandong, Shanghai, Tianjin, Henan, Hainan, Zhejiang, Guangdong, Fujian and other places, as well as Taiwan, Hong Kong and other regions.
In September 2009, Mazu beliefs and customs were inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO, becoming the first world heritage site of belief and customs in mainland China. So far, there are more than 10,000 Mazu temples that have been separated from the Mazu Temple in Meizhou, covering 50 countries and regions on five continents, and more than 300 million people worship Mazu.
Source: New Fujian