Have you noticed that all the popular videos on YT a while ago have been censored by Mazu? Have you ever wondered why Mazu from one Mazu temple has to walk more than 300 kilometers to another Mazu temple and back again every year? Today, let’s talk about “Mazu Culture”! Hiho~ Hello everyone, I am Zhiqi! Mazu was originally a local belief along the coast of China, specializing in protecting people who went to sea. However, under the promotion of Shi Lang and Emperor Kangxi, as early as three hundred years ago, the number of Mazu temples in Taiwan was already more than the number of Mazu temples in China! Moreover, Mazu in Taiwan's defense scope is not only at sea. Whether you have any physical injuries, hospitalization, coma, trouble at work, family discord, anything you want to pray for, you can go to Mazu, especially in the third month of the lunar calendar every year. Mazu’s birthday is celebrated all over Taiwan with “March Madness Mazu”. Discovery has even ranked the “Mazu Detour at Dajia Zhenlan Palace” as one of the “three major religions in the world” together with the “Mecca Pilgrimage” and the “Vatican Christmas Mass” Not only foreigners will come here for pilgrimage, but also more and more local young people . Yan Qingbiao, chairman of Zhenlan Palace, said that the number of Dajia Mazu participants this year is the highest in 37 years, more than 2 million. The number of people signing up for Mazu pilgrimage in Baishatun, Miaoli is also fast. Soaring, breaking the record ! What on earth is Mazu crazy about during March Madness? Why is it getting stronger and stronger? Why does the goddess go out to circumambulate? What is the difference between the two major detours? But before we start today’s discussion, let’s go into some business service time! [Why does Mazu offer incense? 】 I wonder if you have ever thought about which Mazu temple is the "original deity" since there are Mazu temples everywhere in Taiwan ? In other words, which one has the strongest divine power? Before discussing this issue, we may need to explain the concept of "distributing spirits" first. The so-called "distributing spirits" means that whenever a new temple is to be built in a place or someone wants to worship a certain god in his home, he must arrive first. Go to large temples with a long history and miraculous miracles to seek the spiritual power of the gods. After special rituals, the new statues can be regarded as clones of the gods in the ancestral temple, with similar spiritual powers. But in principle, these clones need to be replaced every year. Through " Visiting Ancestors and Cutting Fire", you return to the ancestral temple to pay homage to your ancestors and distribute incense to maintain his spiritual power . So to a certain extent, "going to incense" is a bit like helping the gods "recharge". In traditional society, this The ceremony is very important. People will even assemble the strength of the entire village so that the gods who protect their homes can recharge their batteries . Generally speaking, everyone thinks that the sooner a temple is built and the earlier it starts worshiping a certain god, the stronger the power of the god will be. Therefore, Mazu's birthplace is "China's Mekong". "Zhou Tianhou Temple" is the so-called "ancestral temple". If Mazu temples from all over the world can go there to offer incense, of course it would be best. However, if you want to go there in Taiwan, you have to cross the sea, which is really inconvenient, so Dajia Zhenlan Temple has been open every year for more than 70 years. They all went to "Beigang Chaotian Temple" to offer incense until 1988. So, does the Mazu from Zhenlan Palace have relatively poor spiritual power? Or is it that He was separated from the Heavenly Palace? Um! This is a sensitive issue! Because the action of "burning incense" does imply a certain degree of "upper-lower relationship" and this can easily ignite a war between Mazu temples! [War between Mazu Temples] Why do Mazu temples quarrel? To put it simply, we want to steal believers! After all, Taiwan is small and there are many temples, so it is easy for the sources of believers to overlap. In order to compete for believers, people may argue about whose Feng Shui geography is the most effective? Who built it earlier? Who has more connection with Meizhou Ancestral Temple? Are there any special deeds or badges from the past? For example, was it built by Shi Lang or Zheng Chenggong? Or the statues of gods brought by their troops, the temples consecrated by the emperor of a certain dynasty, etc. These qualifications are a bonus ! Yes, in order to grab people , Mazu temples compete with each other for resumes . Another common dispute among Mazu temples is who has a higher status? Who is more upstream? Theoretically, when Temple A goes to Temple B to offer incense and cut fire, it usually means that "Temple B has a higher status" or that "Temple B is the mother temple of Temple A." Temple B has stronger spiritual power . Just mentioned, originally the town of Dajia Lan Gong would go to Beigang Chaotian Palace to offer incense every year. But starting in 1988, Zhen Lan Palace began to change because he felt that his status had improved! [Dajia Mazu’s technique to improve her status! 】 According to scholar Huang Meiying’s visit records , before the Japanese colonial era, Dajia Mazu would go to the Meizhou Ancestral Temple every 30 years to offer incense. But later, Taichung’s Da’an Port declined due to severe siltation and was abandoned by the Japanese government. Moreover, the Japanese government also wanted to Taiwan is promoting "de-Sinicization", so Mazu temples are encouraged to go to "Beigang Chaotian Temple" to get incense. Therefore, since 1914, Zhenlan Temple has been going to Beigang Chaotian Temple to offer incense . However, since 1988, "Dajia Zhenlan Temple" has been The activity of "Our Lady goes to Beigang to cut incense" was changed to "Our Lady goes around the sky to offer incense at Zhenlan Palace in Dajia." All the signs, flags, etc. of the procession were completely changed. The end point of the offering of incense was also changed to Fengtian Palace in Xingang, Chiayi. So why is Zhenlan Should the palace be disconnected from Chaotian Palace? At that time, the Zhenlan Palace believed that because the media had long reported "Dajia Mazu returned to her natal home", believers believed that Dajia Mazu was a branch of the Chaotian Temple in Beigang , but there was no documentary record to prove it! On the other hand, in 1987, when Taiwan finally lifted the travel ban with China, the Chulan Temple quickly used various methods to directly welcome back a Mazu statue from the Meizhou Ancestral Temple, greatly enhancing its status in Taiwan's Mazu Temple. After 1988, they also went to Meizhou every year to "visit their ancestors" to strengthen their legitimacy ! Although Dajia Ma’s popularity continues to grow , another strong challenger has emerged in recent years: Baishatun Mazu [Baishatun Mazu’s popularity has skyrocketed! 】 Compared to the Gongtian Temple in Zhenlan Palace in Miaoli and Baishatun in Dajia, people have always gone to Chaotian Temple in Beigang to offer incense. According to oral interviews with local elders, the history of Mazu in Baishatun going to Beigang to offer incense has not changed since before the temple was built in the 19th century. , it has already begun! However, Baishatun Mazu is not a "split spirit" from Beigang, so the relationship between the two is not a "mother and child" or a "master-slave" relationship, but an equal exchange . But why should we go to Chaotian Palace to offer incense? A more common saying is that for hundreds of years, the incense in Chaotian Temple in Beigang has been very prosperous , so Mazu in Baishatun naturally wants to communicate with her to make her incense more prosperous . However, some believers are more fond of saying that it may be the hometown of "the wrong Mazu". There are wild legends such as: The current Mazu statue in Baishatun was originally the Mazu statue in Beigang, so it is very reasonable to "return" to Beigang every year . No matter what, compared with many Mazu temples, the current incense pilgrimage activities in Baishatun are very unique! The first feature is that many temples now use more convenient transportation methods to offer incense. Not many people like Zhenlan Temple or Gongtian Temple still insist on walking. Especially the 400-kilometer walk to Baishatun is still the longest in Taiwan . The route and schedule of the incense pilgrimage in Baishatun are all guided by Mazu "the God", making it completely unpredictable. Even if you have to walk to Zhuoshui Creek or the hospital, it is not surprising that if you walk to the hospital, medical staff will come out to pick you up. Moreover, Baishatun Mazu’s speed was so fast that she once reached Beigang in “more than 30 hours”! In addition, the top of her sedan chair will be covered with a thin layer of pink canvas, so believers nickname it "Pink Supercar" or "Pink Ferrari" [Why is Mazu becoming more and more popular? 】 We just mentioned that Yan Qingbiao, chairman of Zhenlan Palace, said that the number of participants in Dajia Mazu pilgrimage this year has exceeded a 37-year high . Local residents in Baishatun also said that the number of applicants for Gongtian Palace pilgrimage is doubling and has exceeded 100,000 in recent years. Why do people do this? We can discuss it from several different angles First of all, it is the efforts of the temple. Before the event, the Dajia Zhenlan Palace Committee announced various information about the detour , including detailed route itinerary, nearby stations, etc. It also launched an official app so that everyone can follow their own needs at any time. It’s easy to join and experience the charm of Mazu . The elusive Baishatun Mazu Temple provides GPS positioning so that everyone can keep track of the latest developments of Mazu. In addition, both have very rich video records, peripheral products, and even Dajia Ma. Activities such as road races, fireworks, and hip-hop competitions have been planned. With these activities and services, media and advertising can more easily promote slogans such as "the world's three major religious events", "Taiwanese people must go once in a lifetime", "all people chase the goddess" and so on. In just a few years, it has successfully attracted the attention of many people and participated in Mazu pilgrimage. What is interesting is that there are now more and more participants who are not necessarily driven by belief or the miracles of Mazu. Some people say that their daily lives are stressful and they follow Mazu. When I go out to play around, I feel very relaxed. Moreover, in the process of incense, it is easy for everyone to find common topics. Even if they don’t know each other before, it is easy to establish relationships and become each other’s pillars. For believers, no matter what their goals are, Whether making a wish or fulfilling a wish, the incense pilgrimage, which is a great test of physical strength and endurance , can make people feel very at ease. This is also the key charm of the two major hiking incense pilgrimage cultures. But of course, things are not only good. The annual Mazu pilgrimage also triggers There have been a lot of controversies [Controversies and challenges of the Mazu circuit] In the past , fireworks and firecrackers were often set off without control during the Mazu circuit. The entire road was covered with firecrackers . The noise, garbage, or traffic chaos caused by the firecrackers, the crowds, and the There are many public grievances . Sometimes, people may quarrel with people who are detouring. Sometimes, if the conflicts between people participating in the activities are serious for some reasons , it may even turn into a fight. In addition, in recent years, the "tourism of faith" has The issue has also aroused more and more discussions. Some people believe that more and more people are profit-oriented when promoting Mazu culture . They hope that more and more people will come to visit the better , but there is not enough publicity in this process. , it is a pity . For example, we mentioned at the beginning that "incense offering" is a major event in local villages in traditional society , so some local residents will carefully prepare meals to comfort the hard-working incense offering group. However, some tourists may not participate, thinking that the scene is a carnival, and even go there The situation of grabbing food makes many believers feel disappointed and even angry. The reason why everyone donates is for the sake of Mazu. However, if more and more tourists do not follow the rules and do not respect the culture, the rights of believers may even be squeezed out. There may be fewer and fewer people willing to contribute [Our point of view] Before entering the point of view, we would like to express special thanks to all members of Zhiqi Qiqi. Because with your support and sponsorship, we can continue to operate this channel and study various The various topics are really appreciated. Thank you all very much! If you are willing to support us to go further, you are welcome to click the "Join" button on the channel homepage to become our member , or you can also use "Super Thank You" to support us with a small amount . Okay, having said that, I can see that the detour is becoming more and more popular. Our biggest feeling is that in this era of "scientific rationality", people still seem to have a strong need for "faith" . After all, we still have many problems that cannot be solved by modern science or medicine, but "God" It can give people hope and even seem to really "see" problems . For example, in recent years, Mazu's sedan chair in Baishatun has often taken the initiative to enter markets, schools, township offices, hospitals and other places. To believers, She is patrolling the people and following the people. Everyone interacts with each other. Even if everyone does not come here purely for faith, every pair of clasped hands on the road will be touched by such a scene and leave behind their own stories or memories of Mazu. In addition, during our research this time, we also found that from Kangxi, Japan Times, the lifting of martial law, and the very high correlation between Mazu belief and society and politics. Not only was it interesting to see the Mazu temple fair seize the opportunity to find ways to improve its status, we also deeply realized once again that "as long as there are people, There is politics and power relations." To a certain extent, behind these lively incense-making activities may be a competition process in which "Mazu temples compete with each other and establish their own prestige"! Finally, let me ask you all, how do you feel about the increasingly popular Mazu trend? Finally, if you like today's video, please share it to let more people know about "March Madness Mazu"! In addition, you can also click here to watch the videos of "The First Fragrance" and "Around the Qingshan Palace". So, today's Zhiqi Qiqi comes to an end here. See you tomorrow night!
