The main historical conditions for the spread of Mazu belief after the Qing Dynasty

Based on Lin Hengdao's Complete Works of Temples and referring to other materials, this paper makes statistics. 1. The rapid development of Mazu belief in Taiwan Province in the Qing Dynasty was not unrelated to the policy of the Qing court to encourage its spread. Datianhou Temple in Tainan was the center of the official ceremony at that time. In the Qing Dynasty, emperors and temple officials inscribed tablets on temples, and the magistrate in Tainan presided over the ceremony, which enhanced Mazu Tempel's authority and helped to spread its influence. This intention of the Qing court can be judged from the number of visitors to the temple. From the 60th year of Kangxi (172 1 year) to the 18th year of Guangxu (1892), the temple was awarded the memorial tablets of three emperors, namely Yongzheng, Xianfeng and Guangxu, and 45 memorial tablets were praised by the governor, general commanders, prefects, magistrates and imperial envoys for Mazu Tempel's spirituality and merits. Looking at the development of Mazu belief in Qing Dynasty, its greatest feature is that the Qing court unified Taiwan Province Province and maintained the rule of Taiwan Province Province, and the people of Fujian and Guangdong moved to Taiwan to explore the province, which became the main historical conditions for its spread. Therefore, the Mazu belief in Minnan, Yuedong, the hometown of pioneers in Taiwan Province Province and Taiwan Province Province has developed greatly in breadth and depth. Moreover, under the above historical conditions, Mazu belief was used by the rulers of the Qing court, which greatly enhanced the power of Mazu divinity in court affairs and was used by the rulers to suppress popular uprisings and "suppress chaos."

Second, after the overthrow of the Qing Dynasty, Mazu belief promoted the support of the central government and the support of local governments decreased. Thirty-seven years before liberation, in Chinese mainland, although Mazu belief was also supported by local officials in some places, it was basically dominated by Han folk gentry and businessmen, who raised funds or apportioned expenses to hold large-scale festivals or build or repair temples, which was basically in the stage of spontaneous development. In this spontaneous development stage, due to the change of social conditions, Mazu belief presents two characteristics. First, the belief in Mazu has got rid of the official use of address, rooted in the grassroots and tends to be popular. Because of the improvement of social science knowledge and the development of navigation technology. Generally speaking, it is the passengers who cross the ocean in big ships, and the owners and shippers who transport goods in big cargo ships, and their dependence on Mazu has weakened. These people related to maritime traffic don't have to worship Mazu before they get on the boat, as in the past. The main dependence on Mazu is boatmen, ship owners, boatmen and fishermen. They regard Mazu as a professional protector and have deep faith in her, so they dare not neglect the sacrifice. Secondly, with the increase of people going abroad to make a living, Mazu belief spread to all parts of the country. Part of the reason why it spread abroad is that the gods of Mazu or incense carried by foreigners are enshrined in overseas Chinese, and some doctors in China believe in Mazu very much in their hometown. Therefore, in order to meet the requirements of overseas Chinese's belief, the Association of Hometown built temples and offered sacrifices in overseas Chinese. Spreading Mazu belief abroad through overseas Chinese, this country has Mazu Tempel's country; Japan, the United States or Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam and other Southeast Asian countries. Due to the early contact between Japan and China, it spread to Mishima, Hirado, Nagasaki and the southern part of the Satsuma Peninsula in Kyushu, Japan, and later to the city of Mito in eastern Japan, becoming the belief of the Japanese. In Kobe, Nagasaki and other places where there are many overseas Chinese, there are Mazu Tempel, and Mito's Mazu is bathed as a Japanese Shinto god and enshrined in a shrine. Gifu, a city in central Japan, is located in the inland far from the sea, and there is also Mazu Hall. 1969 Mazu's birthday, sent someone to Beigang, Taiwan Province Province to welcome Mazu to the Heavenly Palace. Another example is Singapore and Malaysia. As long as there is Xing 'an Guild Hall or fairy settlement, there must be Tianhou Palace. The Malaysian Xing 'an Association has 27 local Xing 'an Associations, and every place with a clubhouse has a Tianhou Palace. "The most abundant historical figures in Tianhou Palace are Qingyun Pavilion and Baoshan Pavilion in Malacca, as well as the sum of Dengjialou and An Palace. Guanyin Pavilion (Guangfu Palace) in Penang, Tianfu Palace, Qiongzhou Hall and Ningyang Hall in Xingjiapo, etc. Brazil is a place where the number of overseas Chinese in Taiwan Province Province has increased dramatically in recent years. Therefore, Mazu belief also spread in Sao Paulo. 1970, overseas Chinese from Beigang, Taiwan Province Province went to the Heavenly Palace to worship the busy god.

1949 after the liberation of Niu Guo mainland, Mazu belief, like all folk religious beliefs, showed a declining trend, which was mainly caused by the great changes in social living conditions. With the elimination of the system of exploitation by man and political oppression, the difficulties encountered by the broad masses of people in production and life, with the help of the government and the mutual help of the masses themselves, the sense of urgency of asking God for help has been reduced. On the other hand, the use of religious superstitions for personal gain is prohibited, and those who advocate God or take the lead in raising funds to build temples and hold festivals all support it. Coupled with the influence of atheism education, Han folk religions tend to decline, and Mazu belief is no exception. However, many temples were preserved before the Cultural Revolution, which was the central temple of Mazu belief in various places. Although the number of people entering incense has been greatly reduced, the incense has not been broken, such as the two Tianhou Palace in Meizhou Island and Wenfeng Palace in Putian City, the Tianhou Palace in Dongshi, Jinjiang County, and Fuhai Palace in Xiamen. However, during the Cultural Revolution, the whole of Mazu Tempel was destroyed, or temples were destroyed, or statues were destroyed and incense was cut off. Mazu Tempel in Meizhou Island was demolished, and bricks and wood were used for other purposes. After the Cultural Revolution, many Mazu Tempel were restored with the support of their followers. For example, Fuhai Palace in Xiamen has been renovated, and now the incense in the temple is flourishing; Dong Shi's Tianhou Palace was completely renewed after painting; The Mazu Tempel in Meizhou Island has been rebuilt in the original site, and the main building has been built, and other ancillary buildings are gradually being restored. The construction of Xianlianggang Ancestral Temple has also been completed, and the wood carving statue of Mazu in the Southern Song Dynasty has been taken out for worship after renovation. In addition, Mazu of Wenfeng Palace in Putian City also found a new address in Dongshan nearby, and the incense was quite prosperous. Many new small temples have appeared in Puxian and some places in southern Fujian. 1985 March 23rd is the 25th anniversary of Mazu's birth. The memorial ceremony for the ancestral temple in Meizhou Island was unprecedented, with more than100000 participants, including believers in Taiwan Province Province and overseas. Thirdly, from 1895 to the present, Mazu belief has been flourishing among the people in Taiwan Province Province during the Japanese colonial rule and the Kuomintang rule. This state can also be seen from the rapid increase in the number of Mazu telephones in Taiwan Province Province. According to the statistics of the Governor's Office of Taiwan Province Province, at the end of 1934, there were 335 Mazu Tempel in Taiwan Province, which increased by about 100 in less than 40 years. This shows that during the Japanese colonial rule, the belief in Mazu among the people in Taiwan Province Province was in an increasingly prosperous state. 1945 after the Japanese surrendered and the Kuomintang authorities took over Taiwan Province province, the number of Mazu Tempel continued to increase. According to the temple survey conducted in 1964, there are 384 Mazu Tempel in Taiwan Province, with an increase of 49 in 30 years and more than 100 in recent 20 years, reaching about 500. "Since Taiwan Province Province, there are still more than 500 temples dedicated to the Virgin Mazu in the sky, which shows its important position in the eyes of Han folk believers." According to the book "The Origin of the Gods in Taiwan Province Province" published by the Taiwan Province Provincial Cultural Affairs Committee in recent years, "there are more than 500 temples dedicated to the Virgin Mary in Taiwan Province Province, with Tainan County accounting for the most, accounting for 64, Kaohsiung County accounting for 60, and now there are 49 in Pingtung Fei and Taichung County, 48 in Yunlin County and 42 in Changhua County". As can be seen from the above, Mazu belief was also in an increasingly prosperous state during the Kuomintang rule. In the modern society of Taiwan Province Province, the belief in Mazu can be maintained in its heyday, which is not only a common reason why unstable factors in social life force people to seek God, but also an important reason why Mazu has changed from a patron saint of the sea to an omnipotent god to whom all walks of life and ordinary families can seek blessings and eliminate disasters. Of course, among Mazu believers today, there is no doubt about Mazu's efficacy at sea, but they also believe that Mazu's magic and spirituality are boundless. As long as they sincerely offer sacrifices, they will be responsive. This can be seen from the millions of people who come to Beigang to make pilgrimages every year. Among these pilgrims, there are few water workers, and most of them are workers, farmers and businessmen. The purpose of their visits is to pray for Mazu to protect his family's safety, recover from illness or seek children and wealth. Another example is Dajia Town, where tens of thousands of people organize a collective incense group in March of the lunar calendar every year to send Mazu in Langong Town to worship his ancestors in Beigang Tiangong. However, the town is not by the sea, and it is the origin of bluegrass. Residents mainly weave, and pray for Mazu's project with various requirements of seeking happiness and eliminating disasters. This fact shows that in people's minds, Mazu has the spiritual ability to satisfy all kinds of prayers of worshippers in a wide range of fields, so it can maintain a large number of believers. The prosperity of Mazu folk belief in Taiwan Province is not only manifested in the increase in the number of temples, but also in the increasingly exquisite temple buildings and grand ceremonies. After the Kuomintang regime took over Taiwan Province Province, most of the original Mazu Tempel was renovated, rebuilt or expanded, and some Mazu Tempel became more and more gorgeous, and some new temples of considerable scale appeared. The continuation of the ceremony of "welcoming Mazu" in the streets of Taiwan Province and the old habit of going to several big Mazu Tempel to make pilgrimages have played a great role in maintaining and developing Mazu belief. Among the more than 500 Mazu Tempel in Taiwan Province, several Mazu in Mazu Tempel are regarded as particularly effective and authoritative, such as Guandi Temple in Taipei, Tianhou Palace in Lugang Town of Changhua County, Chaotian Palace in Bingang Town of Yunlin County, Tianhou Palace in Kaiji City of Tainan City, etc. Among them, the Chaotian Palace in Beigang is the center of Mazu believers in Taiwan Province, and the other temples mentioned above are the worship centers of believers in the surrounding areas. For example, Mazu believers in the northern region usually burn incense and offer sacrifices in Mazu Tempel where they live, but they don't pray for anything. Or in order to show that they are more devout in Mazu belief and are more sure to be protected, believers in the northern region will go to Guandi Temple once a year or several years to pay homage, and if possible, it is best to go to Beigang to worship the Heavenly Palace. Therefore, the above-mentioned central temples have hundreds of thousands and millions of pilgrims from all over the world every year. In addition, there are many Mazu of Mazu Tempel in Taiwan Province Province, which are some major incarnations of Mazu Tempel. Because it is considered to be very spiritual, it has become a two-story hall, and nine halls are divided from this palace. This temple fair relationship and the custom of welcoming guests at festivals have expanded its influence. Here is the grand occasion of Langong Mazu in Dajia Town going to Beigang Tiangong to worship his ancestors. Based on this, you can imagine how influential it is. It has been more than a hundred years since Dajia Mazu went to Beigang to worship his ancestors every year. The first time at 1980, he chose to start driving at 25: 00 on the third day of the third lunar month. The pilgrimage team totals more than 50,000 people, stretching for several kilometers, accompanied by more than 5,000 people on foot. There are more than 200 tourist buses, more than 300 cars, more than 400 bicycles and more than 300 motorcycles. One-way trip from Dajia to Binhai lasts for three days and three nights, and round trip lasts for eight days and eight nights, including the "burning incense" ancestor worship ceremony in Beigang. Believers have to go through more than ten towns and visit more than 30 temples along the way. When their feet and legs are sore or the soles of their feet are worn out or blistered, they go to the sacred area and ask for "furnace Dan" (incense ashes) to be taken with boiling water or rubbed on the injured part, and then continue. Wherever the sacred land passes, whether in town or country, every family prepares fragrant fruits, lights incense candles and waits in front of the door. When Shen Yu arrived, they bowed to the ground and burned gold paper to welcome him. On the fourth day, after arriving in Beigang, he will stop at the temple. Please take out the statue of Mazu and sacrifice it on the desk, and wait until midnight for the ceremony of "cutting incense". Because the population of Beigang Town suddenly increased by 50,000 people, people were sleeping inside and outside the temples and under the cloisters in the streets. When the incense was cut off, thousands of believers knelt in front of the temple and in the street. Everyone kowtowed to the temple with the chanting and the instructions of the temple master. The gold paper presented by the believers was piled in front of the temple and transported by car to the river for burning. Throughout the day, lion dance, dragon array, horse riding, eight generals, walking on stilts, martial arts performances and other celebrations continued. Pilgrims are busy offering offerings, adding fragrant oil and asking for incense ashes. The so-called "burning incense" or the endless continuation of the Holy Spirit can be achieved through this ceremony. The specific method is to burn the scriptures, essays and gold paper read by the master in the "ten thousand years incense burner", that is, the so-called "head burner", and then shovel the embers in the burner into the "sacred drum" of Dajia, and then put the two gods of Dajia Mazu into the sacred case for worship, and assemble and bind the flags and symbols. After Shenyu returned, shops along the street in Beigang set off firecrackers to bid farewell to Mazu, and prepared tea and food for pilgrims for free. For the ancestors of Dajia Mazu, there is also a superstition around Qianxiang that Dajia Mazu will be accompanied by rain when entering the incense and bring "timely rain" in spring ploughing, so it is called "Rain Mama". Every year, Beigang Tiangong receives many pilgrims like Dajia Town, especially around Mazu's birthday on March 23rd of the lunar calendar. The prosperity of Mazu belief is also highlighted in the grand ceremony of "welcoming Mazu" in various places. This festival has a long history in all parts of Taiwan Province Province and is held regularly every year. At that time, every household should prepare a "sacrificial ceremony" to hold a rich banquet for relatives and friends who came from other places to watch the fun. During the "Welcome Mazu" Festival, in addition to carrying the local Mazu Palace statue out of the street in a sedan chair, it is also necessary to welcome the Mazu statue in Tiangong and the Mazu statue belonging to Mazu Tempel in Hong Kong to swim in their respective sedan chairs. In order to meet the request of the Chaotian Palace in Beigang to invite Mazu to visit the streets, there are more than ten statues of Mazu in the temple, including the second mother, the second mother, the third mother, the third mother, the fourth mother, the fifth mother, the sixth mother and the tower suburban mother. During the "Welcome Mazu" Festival, Chinese and Western bands, costume teams, floats, flag teams and other parades are several kilometers long, and crowds are on both sides of the street. This kind of grand occasion is rare except in Taiwan Province Province.

Mazu, as the patron saint of the ocean, is the object of super-class belief. No matter the owner, owner, boatman, fisherman or passengers of any status, they can pray for her to protect the safety of navigation. However, in the long-term development of Mazu belief, the divinity of Mazu was influenced by the ideology of the ruling class, especially by ethics and political ideas. Carl's blessing produced various conditions, which reflected social relations in the relationship between God and man. According to the legend of Mazu's supernatural reaction recorded since the Song Dynasty, Mazu has always defended the ruling class in the confrontation between the government and the people, and all the people punished by Mazu are the so-called pirates, thieves and troublemakers. At this point, it clearly shows the class nature of Mazu's divinity. In Mazu belief in Taiwan Province Province, Mazu showed more signs of maintaining the divinity of the ruling class, which was caused by the unstable situation in Taiwan Province Province at that time, forcing the ruling class to use Mazu belief.

By the Qing Dynasty, praying for Mazu's safety when sailing had become a solid social belief, so Mazu's belief flourished in places where there were many ships coming and going at sea. During the period of 2 12 in Qing Dynasty, the relationship between Fujian and Taiwan was very close, and the maritime traffic across the Taiwan Province Strait became frequent, both officially and privately. Officially, the local government of Taiwan Province Province has been under the jurisdiction of Fujian for about 200 years, with frequent official exchanges. Officials, large and small, are sent by the mainland, and their rotation has to go through Fujian and cross the Taiwan Province Strait. In addition to sending reinforcements during the riots in Taiwan Province Province, the rotation of troops stationed in Taiwan at ordinary times and the supply of military supplies made the exchanges between Fujian and Taiwan very busy. In the Qing Dynasty, the people on both sides of the Taiwan Province Strait traveled the most, which can be seen from the rapid increase of the Han population in Taiwan Province Province. At the beginning of the Qing Dynasty, the population of Han nationality in Taiwan Province Province was about 200,000, and by the end of the Qing Dynasty, it had reached 2.9 million, of which 87% were from Fujian, 80% were from Zhang Quan in southern Fujian, and 13% were from Jiaying in Chaoshan, Guangdong. This figure shows that in the Qing Dynasty, millions of people traveled across the Taiwan Province Strait to recover Taiwan Province Province. In addition, due to the gradual development of Taiwan Province Province, the trade between Taiwan Province Province and the mainland has also developed. Taiwan Province's rice and sugar are exported to the mainland in large quantities, and mainland China's porcelain, textiles and groceries are supplied to Taiwan Province Province, all of which have to take the risk of crossing the Taiwan Province Strait. The above social and historical conditions led to the extensive development of Mazu belief in Qing Dynasty, mainly concentrated in southern Fujian, northeastern Guangdong and Taiwan Province Province, while the spread area in the area north of the Yangtze River did not expand, and the number of temples did not increase much. In addition to the above-mentioned general historical conditions, unsafe navigation means and man-made difficulties in crossing the Taiwan Province Strait at that time also contributed to the development of Mazu belief in these areas. At that time, the ships crossing Taiwan Province were relatively small, and the wind in the Taiwan Province Strait was strong, and there were several bumps, so shipwrecks often occurred. Therefore, people crossing Taiwan Province and planting plants have to pray for Mazu's safety, and their families have to pray for Mazu's relatives to reach their destination after people go out. The ban on crossing Taiwan by the Qing court and the appearance of some people who used boats to kill people for money also increased the risk of crossing Taiwan. These natural conditions and personal helplessness caused by man-made dangers forced the reclamation people all over Taiwan Province to rely more on the protection of Mazu's magical power in fantasy. Various factors caused by the above historical conditions make Mazu a god that people in their hometown must sincerely believe in. Therefore, during this period, many Mazu Tempel were built in counties and towns in southern Fujian, big market towns along the coast, Chaoshan, Haifeng and Jieyang in northeastern Guangdong, among which Mazu Tempel, the port opposite to Taiwan Province, had a particularly strong incense. Xiamen is the main port of Taiwan Province Province, so there are many Mazu Tempel. According to the Records of Xiamen compiled by Zhou Kai, there are as many as 32 temples dedicated to Mazu in Xiamen, most of which are dedicated to Wu Zhenren. The temples dedicated to Mazu include Chaotian Palace outside the West Gate, Mazu Palace in Dong 'ao Society, Fujian Sea Palace in Xiamen Port, Longquan Palace by Caozi ■ Sea, Qianyuan Palace behind Dadan Mountain, Yuan Chao Palace in Liaozi Houhai and Gulangyu Island.

The Qing Dynasty was also a period of great development of Mazu belief in Taiwan Province Province. Before Kangxi unified Taiwan Province Province, there were ten Mazu Tempel in Taiwan Province Province. Namely, the ancestral temple of Kaiji Tianhou Palace in Tainan City, Notre Dame de Lumen, Tianhou Palace in Gong Xian, Long Chao Palace in Wuxing Lane in Tainan County, Shuizhengchen Shelter Palace, Qing 'an Palace in Xigang Village, Dongshigang Palace in Chiayi County, Fengtian Palace in Xingang, Zhudong Tianhou Palace in Kaohsiung County and Lu Kang Tianhou Palace in Changhua County. The distribution of Mazu Tempel above reflects that the coastal plain in southern Taiwan Province was developed during the reign of Zheng Chenggong and Zheng Jing. According to the estimation of 200,000 immigrants from mainland China to Taiwan Province at that time, that is, an average of 20,000 people had a Mazu Tempel, but the Mazu Tempel waiting there was very small, with only a few small temples. After the Qing court ruled Taiwan Province Province, due to the aforementioned historical factors, there was a great increase in Mazu Tempel, with 222 new buildings, the distribution of which is as follows:

The number of temples built in Taiwan Province during the Zheng Dynasty was 1683 until the end of the Qing Dynasty. Number of temples built in Keelung City 02 Taipei City, Taipei County 0 (city 5, county 12) 17 Yilan County 07 Taoyuan County 03 Hsinchu County, hsinchu city 04 Taichung County, Taichung City 029 (city 4 counties 25) Nantou County 0 13 Changhua County 120.

Based on Lin Hengdao's Complete Works of Temples and referring to other materials, this paper makes statistics.

(excluding those in front of Zheng Zhitai)

As can be seen from the above table, by the end of the Qing Dynasty, all counties and cities in Taiwan Province Province had Mazu Tempel, and only Hualien County had no Mazu Tempel because of the lack of a large number of Han people. Even Taitung County, which was developed very late and has a small Han population, has two Mazu Tempel, 42 Tainan City, and 29 Taichung County and Taichung City. In terms of density, it has reached an unprecedented height, with an average of about 12000 people owning a Mazu Tempel.