Welcome to Meizhou Island, known as "Mecca in the East, Potala Palace onthe sea". I'm Xiao Li, the tour guide. Now, please follow me to pay a visit tothe goddess Mazu and the ancestral temple.
In order to let you know more about Meizhou Island during your tour, I'dlike to introduce the general situation of Meizhou Island by boat: it covers anarea of 14.3 square kilometers. Because it's shaped like a human eyebrow andembedded in thousands of blue waves, it's named "Meizhou". It's not only theplace where Mazu lived since childhood, but also the place where Mazu templesare famous at home and abroad. My friends, Meizhou Island has arrived. Pleasetake your luggage and belongings with you and follow me to get off the ship.Please be careful at your feet and pay attention to safety!
Looking ahead, there are groups of pilgrims. They include Chinese Taiwancompatriots and overseas Chinese from across the sea, as well as pilgrims fromthe mainland. Have you noticed that there is a statue of Mazu in front of theseteams? Are your friends very curious? In fact, these statues were sent out fromthe ancestral temple before. Now they send her back, also called "Mazu back toher mother's home". This phenomenon is often seen here, which proves that thefragrance of Meizhou Island is very strong.
Please look at this magnificent building in front of us. Does it look likethe Potala Palace in Tibet? This is Mazu temple. Now we are at the first gate ofthe ancestral temple, the mountain gate. Because Mazu is "the virgin of heaven",is the supreme goddess, so its specifications are built according to the royalpalace. In the mountain gate, there are two gods, Qianliyan and shunfenger. Itis said that Qianliyan and shunfenger were sea monsters recovered by Mazu.
We walked up the stone steps and saw the second gate of the ancestraltemple, Yimen. You see, there is a plaque on the top of this instrument door,which says "imperial edict", so it is also called "imperial edict door". Thesquare we see now is the place where large-scale music and dance performancesare performed at every memorial ceremony. On my left and right are the belltower and the drum tower. Friends, let's continue to go up. Now we come to the"Prince hall", which was built by Yao Qisheng, governor of Fujian Province. Youmay be surprised that this is the Mazu temple. How can there be a prince hall?It is said that Yao Qisheng was sheltered by Mazu and successfully completed thetask assigned to him by the emperor. He was granted the title of "PrinceShaobao" by the emperor. Yao Qisheng wanted to thank his mother Zu built the"Prince hall" here. At the beginning of the construction of this hall, it wasintended to become the main hall, but the folk custom is still willing to followthe ancient system. I only think that the building next to me is the mostprimitive main hall. Now let's visit the main hall with me.
This is the holy place in the hearts of hundreds of millions of Mazubelievers. Before we go to visit, let's take a look at the couplet on the gatepost. Do you know what the couplet means? In fact, the couplet skillfully usesthe characteristics of ancient Chinese interchangeable words, so it should beread like this: "qizhai, qizhai, qizhai, qiqizhaijie; Chaochao, Chaochao,Chaochao, Chaochao, Chaochao sound "the first couplet introduces the culturallandscape of Meizhou, where visitors sincerely worship Mazu, while the secondcouplet introduces the natural scenery of Meizhou, which mainly highlights theChaoyin of Meiyu, one of the 24 scenic spots in Putian, Meizhou Island. Afterreading the couplet, please follow me into the hall. There are two halls in thehall, which are connected by a patio in the middle. You can see that there is aplaque hanging on the main beam, which is issued by the Emperor himself!Friends, have you noticed that this hall is very special. There are two Mazuworshipped here, the one in front is called "visiting Mazu", and the one behindis called "Zhendian Mazu" When Matsu went on a tour, Matsu in the town hall wasworshipped by believers. As you can see, the shrines on both sides are full ofMazu's accompanying gods, known as the 18 Shuique immortal class. Some of themare sea gods worshipped in other places in ancient times, and some are waterdemons and sea monsters recovered by Mazu.
OK, after visiting the main hall of Mazu temple, let's take a look at thelegendary place where Mazu ascended to heaven - the historic site. Here we are.While you are visiting, I will tell you about the legend of Mazu's life. It issaid that Mazu never cried from birth to the full moon, so her parents named her"Lin Mo". Mo Niang was smarter than other children since she was a child. It issaid that she could recite sutras at the age of 8, and was called "filialdaughter" because she saved her relatives at sea. After Lin Mo's death, it issaid that she emerged and soared in Meifeng. It is said that the imperial courtsent an emissary Lu Yundi to Korea, and the ship encountered wind and waves whenit was in the East China Sea. In the face of danger, I saw red lights on the topof the ship, and then there was no wind and waves. Lu Yun was surprised, so heasked his subordinates what kind of deity appeared to rescue him. It happenedthat there was a Putian man on board, who said that Meizhou goddess rescued him.Later, when Lu Yundi returned to the court, he played the emperor. This is thefirst time that Mazu's deeds came from the people to the court.
Now that the story is finished, let's go to Chaotian Pavilion, the highestpoint on the central axis. Have you noticed that the Mazu worshipped in it isdifferent from other halls? By the way, the Mazu worshipped in it is blackfaced. Friends who have been to Chinese Taiwan must find that all Mazu worshipped inMazu temple in Chinese Taiwan are black faced Mazu. Do you want to know why? It is saidthat during the voyage of Fenling Mazu in Chinese Taiwan for several months, believersburned incense day and night to worship, and devout incense blackened Mazu'sface, so all Mazu worshipped in Chinese Taiwan are black faced, because ChaotianPavilion is the Chaotian Palace in Lukang, Chinese Taiwan So Mazu is black faced. Now,let's go to the top of the mountain to see the stone statue of Mazu. It takes 99steps to get there, and the axis from the archway of Mazu temple at the foot ofthe mountain to the statue of Mazu at the top of the mountain is 323 meterslong. 99 is the day of Mazu's ascent on the 9th day of September. Let's guesswhat 323 meters stands for. By the way, it's Mazu's birthday.
Well, friends, this is the highest point of Mazu mountain. This statue is14.3 meters high and made of 365 chopsticks of granite. It symbolizes that Mazublesses the residents of 14.3 square kilometers Meizhou Island 365 days a year,happy and safe. Look, Mazu's face is kind, looking at the sea. As like as twopeas, the Mazu goddess looks at Chinese Taiwan, and there is a statue of Mazu in Chinese Taiwan.We are jointly maintaining peace and tranquility on both sides of the Straits.There are countless believers in Mazu all over the world. In fact, they have astrong sense of not forgetting their ancestors. Maybe this is the key to thelong-lasting spread of Mazu belief.
Friends, if you have the chance, I hope you can visit Meizhou again.Welcome to visit this strange woman. At that time, please come to Meizhou withyour friends. Thank you!