Scholars in Mazu's hometown have set off an upsurge of Mazu research since the 1980s, and have held five academic seminars on Mazu culture, and Xiamen, Ningde and other places have also held academic seminars on Mazu culture. The research on Mazu culture has achieved fruitful results. His publications include Scholars at Home and Abroad Studying Mazu, Essays on Mazu Research, Compilation of Mazu Research Materials, Compilation of Mazu Literature Materials, Mazu Belief and Ancestral Temple, Meizhou Mazu, etc. Published "Macao Mazu Essays" in Macao; Published in Taiwan Province Province, "Mazu Research Seminar Proceedings" and so on. There are also scholars on both sides of the Taiwan Strait's research on Mazu, Mazu belief (Li Lulu), the heavenly queen in Mazu (Zeng) and the goddess of rivers and seas in Mazu (Jin Wu Jujube). In-depth study of Mazu culture. There are also a large number of documents, academic monographs, literary works and large picture books, such as Mazu, Molinyang, Mazu Legend, Mazu Legend, China and Mazu Culture, Mazu Millennium Festival in Meizhou and Mazu Worship Banquet, etc. Putian also held an exhibition on the origin of Mazu belief.
The world's tallest statue of Mazu was completed in Tianjin.
On September 28th, tourists watched the installation ceremony of Mazu icon in Mazu Cultural and Economic Park in Tianjin Binhai Tourist Area. On that day, the 42.3-meter-high Mazu statue was completed in Tianjin Binhai New Area. On the same day, thousands of Mazu believers and tourists from four places on both sides of the Taiwan Strait gathered in the Bohai Sea to participate in the ceremony of installing Mazu icon. Mazu statue is located in Mazu Cultural and Economic Park in Tianjin Binhai Tourist Area. It is made of marble and reinforced concrete. The Cultural and Economic Park was initiated by Mazu Friendship Association of Taiwan Province Province and invested by Langong Consortium of Dajia Town, Taiwan Province Province. According to the plan, in addition to the statue of Mazu Mazu Tempel, Mazu Yuen Long, Zen Temple, Jintai Cultural Exhibition Center, Cultural and Art Center, Folk Art Street, Business Building and Taiwan Province Food Plaza will be built.
The spiritual content of Mazu culture involves myths, folk customs, history, culturology, religion, oceanography, architecture, archaeology, edition, literature, art and other disciplines. At the same time, in the process of formation and development, it organically combined with Taoism, Buddhism, Confucianism and other cultures, absorbed its essence, and eclectically formed a unique Mazu cultural system.
The worship of Taoism in Song Dynasty promoted the combination of Mazu culture and Taoist culture.
After the establishment of the Song Dynasty regime in Zhao Kuangyin, Song Taizu, there has been a figure of Zhang Zhi, a Taoist priest in Huashan. In order to consolidate one's own throne and combine monarchical power with divine power, the wind of worshipping Taoism has intensified. Song Taizu was afraid that everyone in the world would not accept his throne, so he made up a fairy tale of "one bear and two sons". Mazu's short life is also in such an era full of Taoist spirit, which has created a lot of strong Taoist colors after Mazu's death.
When Mazu was alive, as a witch, she was actually closely related to Taoist activities in the Song Dynasty, such as the widely circulated stories of "seeing a well to get a curse" and "bringing a spiritual symbol back to life", especially the bronze symbol given by the gods. From then on, Mazu was miraculous and traveled around the sea with mysterious power, and was called "Goddess". This is a typical Taoist fairy tale.
Song Liao Pengfei said in Reconstruction of Shunji Temple in Shengdun Temple: "Ling You, the only powerful goddess, has been passed down from generation to generation as a goddess. Lin, a native of Meizhou Island. At the beginning, people's fortune could be predicted by taking Wuzhu as a thing. Since they are all dead, many people have built a temple in Benyu ... Yuan Youbing is old, phosgene often appears on the dock at night, and the villagers don't know why it is auspicious. " Thus, it can be seen that from the formation of Mazu Han folk belief in the year of Bingyin, Yuan You (1086) to the five-year period of Xuanhe (1kloc-0/23), the amount of money given to temples shows that it is only thirty-seven years since Mazu belief was officially recognized.
Song Huizong claimed to be "Emperor Daojun, the leader of the school". He was named Mazu for the first time because King Koryo died at the end of the Northern Song Dynasty, and his son succeeded him. He sent messengers to the Song Dynasty to offer condolences. "Xuanhe four years, pawn. At the beginning, the ordinary brothers in North Korea finally made up, and even the brothers fought for positions. Senior Li Li sent a letter of condolence. I wrote a letter to Fu, the person in charge of the Chinese book. " (History of the Song Dynasty, volume 487) Lu was rescued by Mazu in distress on the way and was able to reach North Korea safely. After returning to China, he presented Mazu Linghu to the imperial court, and Song Huizong presented a "Shunji" plaque to Putian Shengdun Temple, which opened the first official Mazu belief and undoubtedly promoted the Han folk belief.
Due to the court's recognition of Mazu, Mazu myth has become more and more Taoist. For example, Mazu was listed as one of the Taoist gods in "Three Religions Seeking God Tian Fei" in the Ming Dynasty. After Mazu "just sat up and died", he "met her, followed her maid and proposed to be the Queen Mother of the West." Compare Mazu's Yu and Che Zhan directly with the Taoist immortal Queen Mother of the West. In the Ming Dynasty's "Tai Shang Lao Jun said Tian Fei's Effective Classic of Saving Suffering", Mazu was also called "Beidou descended to earth, the three realms showed signs, the giant sea spirit changed". These works gradually brought the Han folk belief Mazu into the complex immortal pedigree, which improved the certainty of Mazu belief.
In a word, Mazu belief has a strong Taoist color, which is completely related to Taoist worship in the Song Dynasty. This is because Taoism has the closest relationship with Han folk beliefs, and many of its immortal lineages come from Han folk beliefs. The legend of Mazu is a myth adapted from real people. The formation and development of his beliefs are closely related to Taoism. She absorbed the essence of Taoist culture and gradually formed a unique Mazu cultural system.
The Integration of Mazu Culture and Buddhist Culture in Yuan Dynasty
Mongolian nobles have long worshipped Tibetan Buddhism. After Kublai Khan unified China in Yuan Shizu, Tibetan Buddhism Lamaism was designated as the state religion. Later, the emperor of the Yuan Dynasty worshipped Buddhism out of the need of rule. And out of the need to protect Thailand by water and sea, Mazu is also respected. Even floods and droughts are inseparable from Mazu's blessing.
In particular, the records of "practicing Buddhism" in the Yuan Dynasty abound. For example, The History of Yuan Dynasty said: "In the first year of Zhi Zhi (132 1), in the first month of spring, Ding Chou was appointed to practice Buddhism in Wende Hall." Yuan Huangyuan's "Record of the Newly-built Fan Li Temple in Shengdun Shunji Ancestral Hall" records: "There is a temple in Meizhou's old residence, which is the place where the gods are shot." Quannan, Chuyue, Huaizhe, Xia Chuan, and the island are all delicious, even the incarnation of Putuo tuas is hundreds of billions. "For the first time, I played the role of Guanyin in Buddhism for Mazu. History of Yuan Dynasty, Volume 15, Records of Rivers and Channels: "In November of the first year of Wenzong (1328), Du Shuiyong Tian thought:' From August 10th to 19th, during the flood season, the tide was low and calm. /kloc-on October 4th, Tian Fei was blessed to enter the temple, and he took the balance of Haibei revetment from Yuemiao Temple in Honshu. "
Due to the inclusive and equal religious policy in Yuan Dynasty, it created an opportunity for the combination of Mazu culture and Buddhist culture. There are many Buddhist stories about the "Tianfei Niangniang" in the "Three Religions Seeking God" in the Ming Dynasty. For example, "Mother Chen tasted the dream of Guanyin and swallowed it with a good potted flower. She was pregnant, left her body in April and got a concubine ... after ten long days. Young and clever, just one year old, I saw my idol in infancy and made a gesture of worship. At the age of five, I was able to recite the Guanyin Sutra. "
There is also a legend among the Han people that Mazu's mother got pregnant after eating the "excellent bowl flower" of Guanyin in Nanhai in her dream. Guanyin, formerly known as Guanyin, is the head of the Buddha. It was called Guanyin in the Tang Dynasty because it avoided the word "world" of Li Shimin. "Guanyin" means that when all beings in the dust are in danger, Guanyin will benefit the happiness of all beings. So is Mazu. "In the Yuan Dynasty, grain was transported through the ocean every year. When the waves were rough, you were in a hurry and didn't know what to do. You called Ling Fei to the palace, and when your neck was waiting for your life, suddenly there was a set of crimson torches and a wooden wife on the top of the mast, and you were in a state of fear "(Ling Ci Palace by Lu Xiong in the Ming Dynasty). These stories are very similar to those of Guanyin saving lives. There is a saying in "Seven Repairs" that "the boat will tip over, and Tian Fei will shout, but if you see a candle boat, the boat will be less safe, and there will be butterflies flying around the boat tomorrow, so you won't go. The yellowbird is standing in the building eating rice. In a blink of an eye, the wind started again, and the boat flew again, leaving for Fujian tomorrow. In the afternoon, it will enter Dinghai. God cannot hide it. " There are too many similar stories, most of which show that the signs of Mazu's appearance are "red light", "Rise of the Legend", "divine bird", "yellow bird" and "pink butterfly", which are very similar to Guanyin's appearance. No wonder some people call Mazu "the goddess of the South China Sea".
Most of these Mazu legends, which contain Buddhist culture, come from Yuan Dynasty and later Ming and Qing Dynasties. In other words, Mazu culture was gradually formed after more than one hundred years of development with the grain transportation in Yuan Dynasty.
When it comes to "loyalty", it is naturally inseparable from "filial piety". Filial piety is the concentrated expression of Confucian ethics. The idea of "son, minister, brother, friend, loyalty, filial piety and righteousness" is also mentioned in The True Classics of the Heavenly Queen Mother. There is a saying in the article called "filial piety as a son, filial piety as a brother, action in heaven and earth, moral understanding in the gods, kindness and goodness", and it is believed that only by respecting parents, caring for the elderly and caring for the young, being modest and polite can moral standards be achieved. The story of "seizing the opportunity to save my father" in the Legend of Mazu also highlights the theme of "filial piety".
There are many contents of "loyalty, filial piety, chastity, righteousness and faithfulness" in The Sutra of Our Lady in the Sky, such as "honoring parents and observing ethical rules", "being first-class, being loyal to martyrs, being righteous and honest", "seeking loyal ministers, dutiful sons, honoring others", "obeying three virtues and preparing for others" and "being upright", which are undoubtedly Chinese.