Why is the fisherman’s patron saint not the Dragon King but Mazu? It’s a question many people want. The following China story network editor will bring you detailed answers.
Liao Pengfei, a native of Putian in Fujian Province in the Southern Song Dynasty, recorded in the rebuilding of Shunji temple at shengdun ancestral temple and the Puyang comparison by Li Junfu:
In the fifth year of Xuanhe in the Northern Song Dynasty (1123), Ji Shizhong Lu Yundi was ordered to send an envoy. On the way to the East China Sea, he suddenly encountered wind and waves, and eight ships covered seven. Lu Yundi crawled on the boat and suddenly saw a goddess appear on the top of the mast. I saw her dancing and waving her jade hand, and the sea was immediately calm. Lu Yundi narrowly escaped death and hurriedly asked all the people on the ship what God appeared. Li Zhen, a native of Putian in Fujian Province, replied that this was Mazu in Fujian Province, and told all kinds of stories about Mazu’s miraculous rescue. So after Lu Yundi returned, he explained the reason of song Huizong’s case. The emperor immediately issued an imperial edict, giving Mazu a plaque of “Shun Ji” and setting up a temple to worship at Jiangkou.
Since then, the legend of Xuanhe Mazu rescuing envoy has been constantly enriched by later generations. One of them is that Lu Yundi once paid homage to the dragon king before he set out, but at the critical moment, the Dragon King didn’t care, but Mazu stood up to save him. Therefore, the Dragon King was not as good as Mazu, and gradually lost his heart.
Is the sea god prayed by Lu Yundi Mazu? Did Lu Yundi worship the dragon king before going to sea? There is no paper to test. But it is certain that about the Southern Song Dynasty, the belief in the goddess Mazu suddenly rose in Fujian and soon spread to the whole country.
Mazu’s prototype is the daughter of a Lin family on Meizhou Island in Putian, Fujian Province. According to the records of Puyang Bi Shi and many subsequent documents, we can roughly outline Mazu’s life experience: Mazu was born in the first year of Jianlong in the Northern Song Dynasty (960). It is said that he did not cry from birth to the full moon. His family was very surprised and named him “Mo”. When she was a girl, Lin Mo became a psychic witch. At that time, maritime disasters occurred frequently around Meizhou Island. Lin Mo was familiar with the waterway and proficient in magic, so he often saved fishermen and merchants in danger by himself. At the age of 28, Lin Mo, who was unmarried all his life, rose to heaven. People remember Lin Mo’s kindness and set up a temple to worship her, calling her “Mazu”. According to folklore, Mazu often appeared after his death and continued to rescue fishing boats and merchant ships as before.
Putting aside all kinds of myths, Mazu should be a witch in the coastal areas of Fujian Province. She was familiar with the nature of water in her lifetime and often rescued fishing boats along the coast. After the death of merchant ships, she was constantly deified among the people and became a sea god in Fujian Province.
Why is the fisherman’s patron saint not the Dragon King but Mazu?
Of course, in the great cause of folk escort, Mazu is not the God of the sea fighting alone. She has many powerful “peers”. After the Tang and Five Dynasties, local maritime protection gods have appeared in coastal areas, such as Liu Mian in Putian, Fujian, Chen Jinggu, wife of Linshui in Fuzhou, Fujian, Tianmen governor in Xiangshan, Zhejiang, and Yan Gong in Linjiang, Jiangxi. This kind of sea god is not the same as the earlier four sea god and Sea Dragon King. The Sea Dragon King and others are gods produced by the worship of marine water bodies. They are the standard gods of marine water bodies, representing the ocean itself. Because the sea is unpredictable and the wind and waves are changeable, in people’s minds, this kind of sea god is not friendly in many cases. However, Mazu and other rising sea gods appeared as ocean challengers. They were the guardians of fishermen and boats against the sea waves, the gods in charge of matters related to the sea, and accurately speaking, the God of navigation protection. Disclaimer: the above content originates from the network, and the copyright belongs to the original author. Please inform us if your original copyright is infringed, and we will delete the relevant content as soon as possible.