Editor's note:

Qingming is coming, worship the ancestors and sweep the tomb, cautiously pursue the long term. Since March 3, the "East-West Question" of China News Service has launched a special plan of "Cross-Strait Sacrifice", through the cultural inheritance of compatriots on both sides of the strait to worship Fuxi, Huangdi, Yandi, Confucius, Qu Yuan, Mazu and Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum, and gain insight into the same bloodline, the same root, the same language, the same species, and the same sacrifice on both sides of the strait. Please pay attention.

Fuzhou, 3 March (ZXS) -- Why is the Mazu Festival listed among the "Three Major Chinese Festivals"?

——Interview with Wu Weiwei, Deputy Director of Fujian-Taiwan Regional Research Center, Fujian Normal University

China News Agency reporter Long Min

On March 2023, 3, representatives of five palace and temple institutions in Taiwan, including Xu Wenyi, honorary president of the Taiwan Chinese Taoist Federation, Guo Yongfu, chairman of Taichung Yongqing Palace, came to Meizhou Island, Putian City, Fujian Province, the "hometown of Mazu", to pay homage to Mazu. As the haze of the new crown epidemic dissipated, the pilgrimage fever of Taiwan compatriots on Meizhou Island has risen again this year.

Since 1987, thousands of Taiwan compatriots have crossed the Taiwan Strait every year to visit the Mazu Temple in Meizhou to pay homage to their ancestors. They often escort the statue of Mazu back and worship it with the golden body of Mazu in the ancestral temple, which means "reunion", and in the Tianhou Square in front of the ancestral temple, Taiwan compatriots and local people worship Mazu together.

May 2015, 5 is the 11th anniversary of the birth of Mazu, and more than 1055,<> Mazu believers from home and abroad gathered on Meizhou Island, Fujian, the "Hometown of Mazu", to celebrate the birthday of Mazu and pray for Mazu's blessings. Photo by Li Nanxuan

Why do Taiwan compatriots cross the sea to worship Mazu? Why is the Mazu Festival listed in the "Three Chinese Festivals"? Wu Weiwei, deputy director and researcher of the Fujian-Taiwan Regional Research Center of Fujian Normal University, was recently interviewed by the China News Agency's "East-West Question" to deeply interpret this.

The following is a summary of the interview:

China News Agency: Why has Mazu become a common folk belief on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, or even the largest folk belief in Taiwan?

Wu Weiwei: The Mazu faith originated in the Song Dynasty and has a history of thousands of years. According to historical records, Mazu did have a person, a descendant of the Jiumu Lin clan of the Putian Wang clan in Fujian in the Song Dynasty, because he did not cry from birth to the full moon, he took the name Mo, known as Mo Niang. She helped the needy and was loved by the people, and at the age of 28, she was martyred for rescuing shipwrecks, and legend has it that she flew into the sky.

Aerial photograph of the 14-meter-tall giant Mazu stone statue at the top of Meizhou Mazu Temple in Putian, Fujian Province. Photo by Wang Dongming

Throughout its long history, the Mazu faith has been continuously passed on and promoted. People who go to sea often carry statues of Mazu gods with them to bless them, and the statues of Mazu invited from the Meizhou Ancestral Temple are regarded as Mazu spirits to protect life and property and give spiritual comfort and support to believers. Mazu was thus revered as the "Protector of the Sea" and "Goddess of Peace on the Sea".

For thousands of years, Mazu followed followers to the world. At present, there are more than 49 million Mazu believers and more than 3,1 Mazu temples in 21 countries and regions around the world, and Mazu culture has become a spiritual bond between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait and along the "<>st Century Maritime Silk Road".

In March 2018, the Meizhou Mazu Temple was seated at the Melaka Hokkien Association in Malaysia. Photo by Zhao Shengyu

In Taiwan, there are more than 3000,1730 Mazu Palace temples, and believers account for two-thirds of Taiwan's total population, and Mazu has the largest number of followers in Taiwan. According to the records of the Langong Zhi of Dajia Town in Taichung, in <>, Lin Yongxing, a native of Putian, invited the statue of the Mazu Spirit Branch from the Meizhou Ancestral Temple to Taiwan to worship. When local believers heard about it, they went to visit the shrine. Incense flourished, and the local squires built the predecessor of Zhenlan Palace.

Today, the Mazu faith has become a bond that maintains flesh-and-blood ties between the two sides of the strait, a bridge across the historical gap between the two sides of the strait, and plays an active role in cross-strait exchanges. Putian Meizhou Island is the hometown of Mazu and the birthplace of Mazu culture, known as the "Mecca of the East", Meizhou Ancestral Temple is the mother's home of Mazu Temple in the world. Every year, there is an endless stream of believers who come to the Meizhou Ancestral Temple to worship, including many Taiwanese believers. Before the outbreak of the new crown epidemic, more than 30,<> Taiwan compatriots came to the ancestral temple of Meizhou every year to pay homage to their ancestors and incense.

On September 2017, 9, Mazu Jin, Meizhou, Fujian, got up and drove to Taiwan to patrol the border. Photo by Zhang Bin

In 1987, Mazu believers from the Lan Palace in Dajia Town, Taichung, made a detour to Japan to come to the Meizhou Ancestral Temple to offer incense, which was one of the measures to break the "solid ice" separated by 38 years between the two sides of the strait, and promoted the wave of incense incense for Taiwan compatriots to come to the mainland to seek the source of their beliefs, realizing that "officials do not understand the people, and the people do not understand Mazu first." In 1997, Meizhou Mazu toured Taiwan for 102 days, passing through 19 counties and cities, and receiving more than 1000 million worshippers, which caused a sensation.

China News Agency: In all kinds of major activities to commemorate Mazu, the Mazu Festival is the highlight of the event. As part of Mazu culture, how is the Mazu festival formed? What are the traditional ceremonies? Why is it called the "Three Great Chinese Festivals" together with the Yellow Emperor's Mausoleum Festival and the Confucius Festival?

Wu Weiwei: The history of the Mazu sacrifice ceremony can be traced back to the time of worship after the ascension of Mazu in the Song Dynasty, and then through the Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties, under the promotion of the imperial court and people from all walks of life, it has been continuously enriched, improved and standardized, forming a series of high-standard Mazu sacrifice ceremonies. In the Qing Dynasty, Mazu was named the "Queen of Heaven", and the title reached the highest standard, and he shared the dance of eight with the Son of Heaven.

The Mazu festival takes the worship of Mazu as the main body, which is a special product inherited from the tradition of "worshiping the gods" of the Chinese nation and formed under the influence of the Chinese national religious ceremonies. Whenever the Mazu Festival is held, Meizhou Island is always full of believers from all over the world, and pilgrims from all over the world just want to offer a petal of incense to Mazu.

Thousands of Mazu believers from home and abroad gathered at the Mazu Temple in Meizhou, Fujian, to compete for the "head incense" of Mazu's birthday. Photo by Li Nanxuan

The content of the ritual consists of five parts: first, the deacon, generally one person who sacrifices to the main person and several people who accompany the sacrifice; There are 16 celestial students, specializing in chanting and holding incense. Second, ceremonial guards, including Qingdao banners, big gongs, dragon flags, dragon sticks, square halberds, big knives, scratch prints, grasping pens, pheasant tail fans, nine-layer yellow umbrellas, etc. Third, the sacrifice, which includes various fruit boxes, incense burners, candle screens and other sacrifices, and offerings such as five animals, five soups, and ten brocades. Fourth, ritual procedures, including drumming, saluting, chanting, burning of blessings, etc. Fifth, music and dance, including music students, singers, dancers, etc.

Mazu was established with the noble character of "virtue, benevolence, and great love", and people revered, remembered, and worshiped, with the intention of "thinking carefully and cherishing the future", "not forgetting the philosophers" and "honoring the ancestors". The Mazu Festival is an externalized form of inheriting the excellent traditional Chinese virtues and educating people to learn from the philosophers.

The "Hometown of Mazu" held a Spring Festival ceremony, and more than 10,000 Mazu believers from home and abroad gathered on Meizhou Island in Fujian. Photo by Li Nanxuan

The Mazu Festival, together with the Yellow Emperor's Mausoleum Festival and the Confucius Festival, is known as the "Three Great Chinese Festivals", which are very important sacrifices in Chinese traditional culture and represent the importance and respect for history and culture. The three major festivals also have profound local characteristics and cultural connotations, reflecting the history and culture of various parts of China, and are a combination of folk activities and ancient court rituals, expressing the Chinese nation's respect for the most true and benevolent virtues, praying for the safety of the people and protecting the country and the people.

On the ninth day of the ninth lunar month in 1987, nearly 10,2006 Mazu believers on both sides of the strait held a grand commemorative event of the "Mazu Millennium Festival" at the Meizhou Ancestral Temple. In September 9, Taichung's Dajia Town Lan Palace organized more than 4300,2018 Taiwan compatriots to visit Mazu on Meizhou Island, setting one of the largest and largest records in the history of cross-strait relations. In April 4, Mazu believers from Tin Hou Temple of Hainan Hall in Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, came to Meizhou Ancestral Temple to learn the Mazu ritual program. In November 2019, the Mazu Festival was performed in the new Chinatown in Bangkok's Mankenthie district, which attracted the attention of believers on both sides of the strait and overseas.

On November 2019, 11, Mazu Venerable in Meizhou, Fujian Province, completed a five-day tour of Thailand, starting from the Thai Lin Clan Association in downtown Bangkok and returning from Bangkok. Photo by Gao Yacheng

China News Agency: In addition to the Mazu festival, what are the other important customs of the cross-strait joint worship of Mazu? What are the cultural connotations and significance of these customs?

Wu Weiwei: In the 59th year of the Kangxi Dynasty of the Qing Dynasty, the Mazu sacrifice was included in the Spring and Autumn Sacrifice of local officials and compiled into the "Ritual Ceremony", which truly formed a set of official ritual ceremonies. In Putian, the Meizhou Ancestral Temple has the highest standard and status of sacrifice, and has always been called a festival.

On April 2022, 4, the conference to commemorate the 23nd anniversary of the birth of Mazu and the Mazu Spring Festival Ceremony of the Year of Nonyin were held in the Tianhou Square of Mazu Temple in Meizhou, Putian City, Fujian Province. Photo by Lin Chunsheng

Other Mazu sacrifices also have certain rituals and names, sacrifices in the temple are called temple sacrifices, sacrifices on the sea or by the sea are called sea sacrifices, sacrifices on boats are called boat sacrifices, and sacrifices at home are called family sacrifices. For example, boat festivals, boat-based fishermen basically have boat festival customs, but they vary from place to place. The earliest clear record of boat sacrifice to Mazu in history should be Zheng He's enshrinement of Mazu on the ship when he went to the West in the seventh voyage.

These traditional customs, although different in form and place, are all a pitying expression of the believers' reverence for Mazu and are part of Mazu's beliefs and customs.

On October 2018, 10, Meizhou Island, Fujian Province, the "Hometown of Mazu", held a commemorative event to commemorate the 17st anniversary of Mazu's ascension to heaven and a cross-strait common sea worship ceremony on Mazu on Shenaodi Beach. Photo by Lv Ming

China News Agency: In 2009, "Mazu beliefs and customs", including the Mazu Festival, was inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, becoming China's first World Heritage Site of Beliefs and Customs. As a world intangible cultural heritage, what is the unique value and world significance of "Mazu beliefs and customs"?

Wu Weiwei: Mazu faith is one of the representatives of China's marine culture, reflecting the history of ancient Chinese maritime civilization and the development of maritime folklore, and is an important part of Chinese traditional culture in prayer and prayer. Its cultural value remains relevant today, helping to shape a positive mindset and good character among the faithful.

Meizhou Mazu Temple held a Mazu Golden Body Patrol Activity. Photo by Lv Ming

As a world cultural heritage, the spread of the Mazu faith has also promoted cultural integration and people-to-people ties between China and other countries in the world. Nowadays, Mazu culture has become the common wealth of all mankind, which is constantly understood and actively accepted by different countries and regions and ethnic groups in the world, and has become a unique communication carrier.

Many countries have incorporated the Mazu faith into the lives of their local people. There are many Mazu temples built in the United States; The mayor of Cumberland, British Columbia, Canada, specially went to China to invite Mazu; Every year in Japan, the Lantern Festival holds the Mazu Street Walking Event; In 1954, the Philippines "Mazu put on a dress" and became the "Virgin"; In Cape Town, South Africa, black brothers and sisters recognize black-faced Mazu as "their own people of the same skin color"; Dubai, UAE hosts Mazu Carnival events and more.

On October 2018, 10, Meizhou Mazu arrived at the International Cruise Terminal in Manila Port in the Philippines, and the series of activities of "Mazu Goes to the South Seas and Re-walks the Maritime Silk Road" patrol the Philippines and public welfare charity was launched. Photo by Guan Xiangdong

Since 2016, the World Mazu Culture Forum has been held every year, witnessing hometown, family affection and friendship, and has exerted a wide impact on overseas Chinese around the world and countries and regions along the "Belt and Road". Mazu cultural exchange activities around the world have become more frequent, becoming an important platform for enhancing the spiritual connection of all mankind and making important contributions to promoting the mutual understanding of people of all countries.

The 5th World Mazu Culture Forum was held in Meizhou Island, Putian City, Fujian Province. Photo by Wang Dongming

China News Agency: Today, Mazu culture has become a bridge and link for cross-strait people-to-people exchanges. How to give full play to the advantages of Mazu culture, promote the spiritual harmony of compatriots on both sides of the strait, and promote the peaceful development and integrated development of the two sides of the strait?

Wu Weiwei: incense inheritance, do not forget the hometown; Pilgrimage to protect peace. Mazu culture contains the noble Mazu spirit, including dedication, helping others, courage, tolerance, tolerance and other characteristics.

Inheriting Mazu culture, promoting cross-strait integration and development, and realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation are the common aspirations of compatriots on both sides of the strait.

On June 2019, 6, representatives of 8 Mazu temples in Taiwan went to the Mazu Temple in Meizhou, Fujian Province with Mazu God in their hands. Photo by Wang Dongming

At present, the two sides of the Taiwan Strait give full play to the advantages of Mazu culture, carry forward the Mazu spirit, enhance consensus and mutual trust, further promote peaceful development and integrated development, and organize various forms of cultural exchange activities, such as temple fairs, theatrical performances, lectures, exhibitions, etc., so that compatriots on both sides of the Strait can appreciate Mazu culture while enhancing mutual understanding and feelings; Promote cultural tourism, attract more tourists to pilgrimage, study and exchange, and promote the integration of compatriots on both sides of the strait; Organize cross-strait teachers and students to visit each other, set up Mazu cultural courses, and strengthen cross-strait educational exchanges and cooperation; Strengthen academic research on Mazu culture, deeply explore the historical, cultural and spiritual connotations of Mazu culture, and provide more profound theoretical and spiritual support for cross-strait integration. (End)

Taiwanese youth visit Mazu Temple in Meizhou. Photo by Chen Xiaoyuan

Respondent Profile:

Wu Weiwei, Deputy Director, Researcher and Doctoral Supervisor of Fujian-Taiwan Regional Research Center, Fujian Normal University, mainly engaged in the research of Fujian-Taiwan history and culture, cross-strait relations and maritime history; He has published more than 70 papers in journals such as "Studies of World Religions", "Historical Archives", "Taiwan Historical Research" and so on; He has published more than 10 monographs, including "Diaoyu Dao: History and Sovereignty", "Taiwan Literature Collection", and "History of China's Maritime Areas: East China Sea Volume".