Home » City specials » Qingdao
City celebrates the sea goddess
By Pan Zheng |
October 23, 2010, Saturday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
WITH its close nautical ties, Qingdao has always had a special appreciation for the Chinese sea goddess Mazu. Pan Zheng looks at the ways in which she is commemorated.
In the harbor city of Qingdao, Mazu is an important part its regional culture. October 10 (September 9 in the lunar calendar) was the 1,023rd anniversary of Mazu, the Chinese goddess of the sea, becoming immortal.
On that day, a grand folk culture ceremony was held in Qingdao Tianhou Palace, including a memorial ceremony for Mazu, large singing and dancing performances, a sea cruise and cultural forums.
Among all the activities, the cruise tour from Laiyang Road Dock to Yinhai Yacht Club was the highlight as for the first time it was featured as part of the Mazu memorial ceremony.
In Chinese history, Mazu was a divine ancient woman whose original name was Lin Mo. She was the sixth daughter of a general and was born in AD 960 and became goddess in AD 987.
Mazu was extremely clever since her childhood and by the age of 11 she could already foresee fortunes and disasters. When she grew up, she often used her ability to help people, especially saving merchant ships in danger at sea.
On September 9 in AD 987, when she was 28, Mazu told her family that she would no longer remain on Earth as a mortal but they didn't believe her. Then, she went to the peak of Mei Mountain, turned into white light and rushed up into the sky.
After she became a goddess, she kept helping local people. It was said that when any boat was in danger, the sailor would always see Lin Mo who would guide them through the darkness to safety. She was later called Mazu, which means goddess of the sea, by local fisherman. They built temples for her and held ceremonies to show their gratitude, and such tradition has been preserved until now.
The location of the ceremony - Tianhou Palace - is also the symbol of the coastal city's folk culture and history. It was first built in 1467 and is the oldest construction of Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties in Qingdao.
When it was built more than 500 years ago, the Tianhou Palace was comprised of the Goddess Temple and Dragon King Temple. Since then until the early 20th century, it has been rebuilt seven times. In 1996, Qingdao government gave it another total reconstruction and made it the Qingdao Folk Customs Museum, which was formally opened in 1998.
Now, the Tianhou Palace occupies about 4,000 square meters. Among all the ancient buildings of Qingdao region, the architecture and wall paintings at Tianhou Palace rank the highest. It's a very important historical relic for the study of Qingdao history.
Because of the importance of Tianhou Palace, the Mazu memorial ceremony is held there. According to the curator of Qingdao Folk Customs Museum, Jiang Feng, the traditional memorial ceremony is divided into two seasons, one in spring, the other in autumn.
The spring ceremony is for the birth of Mazu, and the autumn rite is for her becoming immortal. Among folk people, the spirit of Mazu represents peace, justice, courage and a warm heart. In the past thousands of years, her followers have visited the temple of Mazu and prayed for her blessing every year.
In 2009, Mazu culture was selected as a World Intangible Cultural Heritage. Now, there are more than 5,000 institutes of Mazu culture with about 200 million believers worldwide.
In the harbor city of Qingdao, Mazu is an important part its regional culture. October 10 (September 9 in the lunar calendar) was the 1,023rd anniversary of Mazu, the Chinese goddess of the sea, becoming immortal.
On that day, a grand folk culture ceremony was held in Qingdao Tianhou Palace, including a memorial ceremony for Mazu, large singing and dancing performances, a sea cruise and cultural forums.
Among all the activities, the cruise tour from Laiyang Road Dock to Yinhai Yacht Club was the highlight as for the first time it was featured as part of the Mazu memorial ceremony.
In Chinese history, Mazu was a divine ancient woman whose original name was Lin Mo. She was the sixth daughter of a general and was born in AD 960 and became goddess in AD 987.
Mazu was extremely clever since her childhood and by the age of 11 she could already foresee fortunes and disasters. When she grew up, she often used her ability to help people, especially saving merchant ships in danger at sea.
On September 9 in AD 987, when she was 28, Mazu told her family that she would no longer remain on Earth as a mortal but they didn't believe her. Then, she went to the peak of Mei Mountain, turned into white light and rushed up into the sky.
After she became a goddess, she kept helping local people. It was said that when any boat was in danger, the sailor would always see Lin Mo who would guide them through the darkness to safety. She was later called Mazu, which means goddess of the sea, by local fisherman. They built temples for her and held ceremonies to show their gratitude, and such tradition has been preserved until now.
The location of the ceremony - Tianhou Palace - is also the symbol of the coastal city's folk culture and history. It was first built in 1467 and is the oldest construction of Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911) dynasties in Qingdao.
When it was built more than 500 years ago, the Tianhou Palace was comprised of the Goddess Temple and Dragon King Temple. Since then until the early 20th century, it has been rebuilt seven times. In 1996, Qingdao government gave it another total reconstruction and made it the Qingdao Folk Customs Museum, which was formally opened in 1998.
Now, the Tianhou Palace occupies about 4,000 square meters. Among all the ancient buildings of Qingdao region, the architecture and wall paintings at Tianhou Palace rank the highest. It's a very important historical relic for the study of Qingdao history.
Because of the importance of Tianhou Palace, the Mazu memorial ceremony is held there. According to the curator of Qingdao Folk Customs Museum, Jiang Feng, the traditional memorial ceremony is divided into two seasons, one in spring, the other in autumn.
The spring ceremony is for the birth of Mazu, and the autumn rite is for her becoming immortal. Among folk people, the spirit of Mazu represents peace, justice, courage and a warm heart. In the past thousands of years, her followers have visited the temple of Mazu and prayed for her blessing every year.
In 2009, Mazu culture was selected as a World Intangible Cultural Heritage. Now, there are more than 5,000 institutes of Mazu culture with about 200 million believers worldwide.
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