Mazu Belief In The Context Of Ming Treasure Voyages

The purpose of this thesis is to understand the unique artistic representations,including images,and the underlying spiritual and contemporary significance of the Mazu belief in the background of Ming treasure voyages(郑和下西洋).First,on the basis of the literature,the thesis focuses on the specific representations of Mazu belief—murals,sculptures,and architecture,etc.,and analyzes the influence of Mazu belief;in addition,the thesis combined with Taoist classics and the shape of Mazu temples,it explores the overlapping phenomenon of Mazu belief.At the same time,it pays attention to the spread of Mazu belief in the post-Ming treasure voyages,and analyzes the degree of attention paid to Mazu belief by the people and officials in the later period.Secondly,it pays attention to the image characteristics of Mazu belief in the Age of Discovery.Taking the diversified integration of Mazu images as an entry point,it points out that Mazu images and even Mazu belief gradually show a trend of“standardization”,which also implies the images of Mazu belief are unique.humanistic meaning.Finally,according to the above comparative research and analysis,it is concluded that the unique artistic representation and the pictorial conventions of Mazu belief in the Age of Discovery,had a great influence on the development of Mazu belief,and the significance of this connotation to the current society.Based on some literature reading and in-depth field investigation on the above aspects,I made the following arrangements for the structure of the paper:The introduction is to sort out the literature on the subject discussed in this paper,organize the data for historical documents,inscriptions and images,and sort out the literature.Of course,the research results of Taiwanese scholars cannot be ignored.From the perspective of anthropology and religion,they have deeply studied Mazu belief.The first chapter is mainly aimed at the overview of Mazu belief.Through sorting out the history,development reasons,religious attributes and current situation of Mazu belief,it lays the groundwork for the following,and shows the true face of Mazu to readers.The second chapter mainly deals with Ming treasure voyages and Mazu culture.From the representation of Mazu belief in the background of the great voyage in the early Ming Dynasty reflected in the whole Ming treasure voyages,pay attention to the carrier of Mazu belief-the change and shape of Mazu Temple,and excavate many Tianfei Palaces during Ming treasure voyages,among which the murals The combination of art works such as inscriptions and inscriptions and rituals discusses the influence of Mazu belief on the society at that time and the era of post-Ming treasure voyages.Especially in the post-Ming treasure voyages,the spread of Mazu belief,the images of worshipping Mazu on ships and the decoration of shrines,all show that Mazu belief play an important role in navigation.The third chapter focuses on Mazu images after the Ming Dynasty.Starting from the image,we first observe the comparison between Mazu and Guanyin as the sea goddess in the image,and then observe the “standardization” paradigm presented between different sacred images and the multi-integration of Mazu belief and other goddess beliefs.The Age of Navigation gradually showed the paradigm of“standardization”,but it also had its own unique characteristics,showing a unique humanistic meaning,which played an important role in the spread of Mazu belief.The fourth chapter is the overall summary and extension of this thesis.Ming treasure voyages were the prelude to the great voyages in the early Ming Dynasty,and it was also a grand event that opened the era of great voyages.Summarizing the important role of Mazu belief in the background of Ming treasure voyages,we will study the post-Ming treasure voyages.The dissemination of the Mazu belief is of great significance.On the other hand,the “standardization” of images is analyzed,and the significance of images to Mazu belief and the connotation of the times are discussed.