A Survey Of Mazu Belief In Longyan,Fujian Province

Mazu belief originated in Putian,Fujian Province,is one of the most influential folk beliefs in China.Mazu belief belongs to the Sea God belief,so most of the previous research results focus on the Mazu belief in the southeast coastal areas of China,and not enough attention has been paid to the Mazu belief spread to the inland areas.Longyan is located in the west of Fujian Province,which belongs to the inland area.Mazu belief was introduced here in the Southern Song Dynasty and developed rapidly in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.Compared with Mazu belief in the coastal area,the Mazu belief in Longyan area has its unique function and cultural connotation.Mazu hastraces in history.For the purpose of maintaining the rule,the officials of all dynasties highly praised Mazu belief.Mazu belief has gradually become one of the most influential folk beliefs in China.The natural environment surrounded by mountains,dense water network and strong cultural atmosphere in Longyan area provide conditions for the introduction and development of Mazu belief.In the long-term communication process,Mazu belief has changed according to the psychological demands of local people.In Longyan area,Mazu temple is widely distributed,and its location is influenced by many factors such as Mazu’s function,geomancy,traditional concept,etc.Building layout is mostly one or two-way quadrangle.The main buildings include temple gate,sacrificial hall,main hall,and some also have stage and viewing hall.There are various decoration methods,including painting,carving and text decoration.In some large-scale temples in Longyan area,there are still complete sacrificial activities.The process is perfect,the organization is orderly,the offerings are rich,and the number of participants is large,which reflects Mazu’s lofty position in the local area.Temple performance is an important part of the sacrificial activities.There are a lot of historical materials such as stage inscriptions and performance records in Mazu temple in Longyan area,including the information of the performance repertoire,the time of the performance,the performance class and the type of the performance.It can be seen from this that both the past and the present performance activity in the temple are very prosperous,with the dual functions of entertaining gods and people.