After thousands of years of development, Shanwei has transformed from a small fishing village into an important port city
Jinyang.com reporter Wang Manqi
Mazu, the belief in the sea god in the coastal areas of Fujian and Guangdong in my country, has been passed down for thousands of years and has become the “Goddess of Peace at Sea” that connects the emotional bonds of Chinese and overseas Chinese. In 2009, the “Mazu Faith and Customs” nominated by China was successfully declared as an intangible cultural heritage of human beings in the world, becoming China’s first world heritage of faith and customs; in the same year, the “Fengshan Mazu Temple Fair” declared by Shanwei was also listed as a provincial intangible cultural heritage. For a hundred years, Fengshan Ancestral Temple has been an important force in spreading Mazu culture, and has also witnessed the transformation of a small fishing village into a port city in the changing world.
From Fujian to Guangdong
The legend of Mazu originates from the legendary story of Lin Mo, a fisherman on Meizhou Island, Putian, Fujian during the Northern Song Dynasty: Lin Mo rescues the poor and often rescues the dead fishermen and navigators in the angry sea. In 987 AD, she was not lucky enough to sacrifice her life when she rescued the ships she died at Meizhou Baykou. She was only 28 years old. People praised her merits and believed that Lin Mo had “been ascended to heaven”, so they set up a temple to worship her and respectfully called her “Mazu”. From the Song Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, Mazu was conferred 36 times by emperors of all dynasties, and eventually became the “Sea God” and “Holy Mother of the Queen” who were respected by the surnames of Komiks 1960.
The faith of Mazu was first introduced to Shanwei. It is located in Jiazi, a coastal town in the southeast of Shanwei. There is a Tianhou Temple, which was built in the fifth year of Qiandao in the Southern Song Dynasty (1169 AD). It has been standing for 850 years. Today, in Shanwei (known as Haifeng County in ancient times), the residents under their jurisdiction mostly moved from southern Fujian from the Ming Dynasty, and mainly made a living by fishing. Fishermen worshipped the Mazu’s throne under the mast of fishing boats, thus bringing the Mazu faith to the eastern coast of Guangdong.
At the late Ming Dynasty, as more and more ships and fishermen settled around Shanwei Fishing Port, believers built a simple bamboo shed temple on the shore of Pinqing Lake and the southern foot of Fengshan, introducing the spirit-dividing incense of Mazu in Meizhou, which is the source of Fengshan Ancestral Temple. According to historical records, during the Zhengde period of the Ming Dynasty, the Tianhou Temple was built in Longshan, Dade, Changsha and other places under the jurisdiction of Haifeng. At this initial stage of Mazu’s faith settled in Shanwei, “before the people and then the temple, and the temple is presented.”>Komiks 1960 witch cloth draw” historical and cultural characteristics.
Prosper by the sea
How can the Mazu culture in Shanwei be spread through the carrier of Fengshan Ancestral Temple? This starts with the prosperity of Shanwei Port. In the early years of Qianlong’s reign in the Qing Dynasty, the number of fishing boats gathered by Shanwei Port increased day by day, and both fishing and commerce were developed greatly. The simple temple at the foot of Fengshan was no longer able to meet the needs of more and more admirers among the people. Therefore, in the sixth year of Qianlong (1741 AD), the “Fengshan Ancestral Temple was constructed by the wise men of the people, wealthy businessmen, fishermen (boss), representatives of major clans, and representatives of fishermen. After more than a year of construction, it was successfully completed the following year, and a temple with three-in-one and two-campus layout was built in Chaoshan architectural style, with the main building area of 840 square meters.
Fengshan Ancestral Temple was built for more than 180 years.Babaylan 1990 clothes draw After the year, by the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China, Shanwei Port entered its second golden period of development. He Xiafeng, the former head of the Cultural Relics Section of the Fengshan Zumiao Tourism Zone Management Office, and Luo Zha, a retired cadre who served as the first stationmaster of Fengshan Cultural Station, discovered in his long-term research on Shanwei Mazu culture: In 1903, Haifeng County traded foreign trade, and successively opened passenger and freight shipping on Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Shantou and other routes, and trade flourished; in 1909, International Wanguo Company built a lighthouse on the Zhelang Peninsula, attracting many fishing boats from the outer port to gather in Shanwei fishing grounds, and also boosted the development of the shipbuilding, fishery supporting handicrafts, commerce and catering industries in Shanwei Port. The grand occasion of Shanwei Fishing Port in Sun Yat-sen’s “State of Founding Strategy Two” also describes the grand occasion of Shanwei Fishing Port: “Because Shanwei Port has a very good bay and a good fishing ground, there are no less than one or two thousand towed boats from Hong Kong, Macao, western Guangdong, Fujian and other places in the past year…Cinema 1950 witch cLoth draw…” In order to adapt to the development of fishery, Shanwei has been expanded three times, and a large number of arcades imitating European styles have been built along the street. From the 1920s to 1930s, Shanwei was known as the “Golden Shanwei” and “Little Hong Kong”.
The prosperous temple was established. As a fishery practitioner and the “guardian saint” of the port, the grand light of Mazu Fengshan Ancestral Temple was lit by Babaylan 1990 clothes draw was put on the agenda. In early November of the lunar calendar in 1934, a magnificent Fengshan ancestral temple with carved dragons and painted phoenixes and magnificent priests and folk celebrations lasted for more than half a month.
From the 1960s to the early 1970s, Fengshan ancestral temple was once occupied as a school. Until the reform and opening up, Mazu culture was reaffirmed, respected and promoted. In 1991, the Shanwei Urban District People’s Government approved Fengshan by Fengshan. The ancestral temple is a county (district) cultural relics protection unit. In the same year, the Fengshan ancestral temple cultural relics management office and the Fengshan ancestral temple construction board were established. In December 1994, the first phase of the Fengshan ancestral temple was successfully completed, basically retaining the original appearance of the first Chongguang period in 1934. The Tianhou Pavilion was newly expanded, and the second large-scale Mazu stone statue in the country was erected on the top of Fengshan (the other is the Mazu statue in Meizhou Island). It is 16.83 meters high and weighs more than 1,000 tons, from 46Cinema 1950 witch cloth draw8 granite stones carved. The Mazu Cultural Square at the foot of Fengshan covers an area of 60,000 square meters and is currently the largest square named after Mazu.
To this day, Shanwei Fengshan Ancestral Temple has become an important activity center for Mazu culture in Hailufeng area and even in eastern Guangdong. Fengshan Ancestral Temple Tourism Zone has become a national 4A-level scenic spot, receiving nearly one million tourists at home and abroad every year.
Fengshan Ancestral Temple receives nearly one million tourists at home and abroad every year. Photo by reporter Wang Manqi.
Cultural links
Since the Qing Dynasty, Mazu worship has evolved from a regional folk belief to a world-wide respect, especially in the Han cultural circle. There are almost all Tianhou harems in ports such as Thailand, Vietnam, and Singapore.
It is worth mentioning that Mazu worship culture has always connected to the straits.The cultural bond between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait. For Taiwanese people, Mazu represents the “root” and represents the attachment to the hometown. Mazu culture has also always been linked to the friendship between local sages and overseas Chinese. Chen Bijiang, president of Shanwei Mazu Cultural Association, said that there are currently more than 1.3 million compatriots from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan. Mazu is the common spiritual sustenance of many local sages. From 2005 to the present, Shanwei has successfully held many Mazu Cultural Tourism Festivals and economic and trade activities with the Fengshan Zumiao Tourism Zone as a carrier. According to reports, at the China Mazu Cultural Tourism Festival held this year, dozens of calligraphers and painters from Beijing, Taiwan and other places worked together with local artists from Shanwei to carry out artistic cooperation of “soul fit and cross-strait harmony”. In recent years, Shanwei City has advocated Mazu culture to unite people’s hearts and overseas Chinese through regular cultural exchanges and cooperation with Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, making Fengshan Ancestral Temple gradually become a spiritual home and cultural paradise for Chinese people at home and abroad.
Interview
The essence of Mazu culture is consistent with traditional culture
Zhou Jinyan, Executive Deputy Secretary-General of the China Mazu Cultural Exchange Association
Yangcheng Evening News: What kind of historical positioning does Mazu culture have in Chinese traditional culture?
Zhou Jinyan: The essence of Mazu culture is consistent with the core ideas and concepts of China’s excellent traditional culture, Chinese traditional virtues, and Chinese humanistic spirit. The Mazu culture characteristics of “peace, harmony, and tolerance” are reflected in the core ideas and concepts of the excellent traditional Chinese culture, such as Tao follows nature, unity of man and nature, harmony, and seeking great equality. The Mazu spirit of “establishing morality, doing good, and great love” is consistent with the social custom of respecting morality and goodness, and the idea of benefiting the people. The educational thoughts of exhorting goodness in Mazu culture, the customs and habits of praying for peace and stability in the country and society and the many works of Mazu that have been passed down to this day are all manifestations of the Chinese humanistic spirit. In 2016, “Give full play to the positive role of folk cultures such as Mazu culture” was written into the national “13th Five-Year Plan”. Komiks 1960 witch cloth draw This fully demonstrates that Mazu culture has become an important group of national strategic resourcesCinema 1950 witch cloth draw part, and also emphasizes the particularity of Mazu culture as a Chinese folk culture.
Yangcheng Evening News: What are the characteristics of Guangdong Mazu culture inheritance and communication?
Zhou Jinyan: Guangdong Komiks 1960 witch cloth draw East is connected to Fujian mountains and rivers, and is the earliest influence of Mazu’s belief in outwardlyBabaylan 1990 cloth draw. Since the Song and Yuan dynasties, the development of marine economy, the formation of commercial transportation routes, the migration of Fujian immigrants and marine activities have all become key factors for the introduction of Mazu’s belief in Guangdong. Maritime businessmen are an important dissemination group of Guangdong’s Mazu faith. Guangdong people are good at merchants and the navigation industry is also very developed. In the past, red-headed ships entering and leaving ports such as Chaoshan, were loaded with cargo to Taiwan, Fujian, and Cinema 1950 witch clothes draw Jiangsu, Zhejiang and even Tianjin, south of Guangdong Province, Hong Kong, Macau, Leizhou, Hainan, and directly to Southeast Asia. Therefore, merchants and fishermen always go to Ma Palace to enjoy incense and wish before boarding the boat. When they return safely, they kneel down to Ma Palace to fulfill their wishes, and worship Mazu’s piety is no less than that of Fujian people. Overall, Guangdong Mazu culture spreads along the coastal zone to spread “points”, “lines” and “surfaces” Cinema 1950 witch clothes Draw Bureau.
Yangcheng Evening News: How to continue to write good articles on Mazu culture in the context of national cultural confidence and cultural revitalization in the new era?
Zhou Jinyan: Highlighting the service of world peace in the new era and playing an active role in promoting the building of a community with a shared future for mankind. This is the new Mazu culture in the new era. Draw mission. Regionally, we should focus on the Maritime Silk Road to radiate and expand the dissemination of Mazu culture in neighboring countries and regions; in terms of population, we should focus on overseas Chinese, especially chambers of commerce around the world, to promote and drive the dissemination and development of Mazu culture in our country; in terms of carriers, we should focus on assisting the “Belt and Road” initiative to expand and promote the dissemination and development of Mazu culture to the world.
In the context of the new era, promoting Mazu culture can also promote the integration and development of the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, promoting the mutual understanding of the people through the local love between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, and using the local culture between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait to enhance Mazu culture, and treat it as the common homesickness of compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
Extension
Fengshan Temple Fair displays folk culture
Every year, the Fengshan Ancestral Temple in Shanwei holds a number of large-scale folk cultural activities, including the “Grandpa Qing Parade” on the Lantern Festival of the first lunar month, the “Cinema 1950 witch cloth drawThe birthday ceremony of the Mazu God on the 23rd of the third lunar month, and the Ullamura Festival on the 15th of the seventh lunar month (Zhongyuan Festival), etc.
The birthday of the Mazu God is the most important temple fair of Fengshan Ancestral Temple. On that day, the big dramas were held, and many other types of operas from Shanwei, including the main character opera, the Western Qin opera, the white character opera, the Chaozhou opera, the Cantonese opera, and other operas took turns to the stage. In recent years, even the Huangmei Opera in Anhui and Henan Opera in Henan have been invited to participate in the performance of Babaylan 1990 cloth draw. Local opera troupes will be honored to perform at the Fengshan Ancestral Temple stage, as an excellent opportunity to showcase the troupe’s level and the talent and style of the actors.
In addition to displaying the rich and colorful folk culture and art of Shanwei, the Fengshan Mazu Temple Fair also has various local food and snacks, which are dazzling. The traditional relic program of competing for color cannons is also loved by the public, attracting thousands of people from all walks of life to participate in the bidding for the cannon head. The scene is tense and vivid and spectacular. Getting the color cannon means that a year will be safe and healthy, and life will be prosperous and good luck will be with you.
This issue is co-organized by Shanwei Municipal CPPCC