Folk custom of sending the king a boat without heritage

The folk custom of seeing the king ship off is a folk activity widely spread in Minnan area of China and the coastal area of Malacca.

Folk belief (sending the king boat from Fujian and Taiwan) is a traditional folk activity in Fujian coastal fishing villages. By paying homage to the sea gods and mourning the souls killed at sea, we pray for peace at sea and benefit the fishermen, and pin our good wishes on fishermen to avoid disasters and pray for blessing. This custom can be traced back to the early Ming Dynasty and has a history of more than 500 years. It is usually held every three years.

In Minnan dialect, the title of "Wang Ye" means reverence and awe, and it is also circulated among the people that its predecessor was a ghost named by the emperor, so it is called "Wang Ye". However, "Wang Ye" does not refer to a certain god, but to a group of gods with similar nature, and the origin of each Wang Ye has different explanations.

Historical origin

There are many theories about the origin of "Wang Ye". One of them is that Wang Ye is the representative of the Heaven Emperor who made a tour according to the great gods of good and evil on earth. The temples dedicated to Wang Ye are usually called "Daitianfu", and Wang Ye is also called "Daitianfu". Sending the king's boat is a folk ritual activity to send plague and pray for blessings. During the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty, the book Records of Taiwan Province's Embassies and Consulates contained two volumes: "Three years, Wang Chuanzao." Gan Long's "Haicheng County Records" recorded in detail the ceremony of sending the king's boat in winter in the ugly year (1769).

Fujian and Taiwan sent a king boat to send the prince who hunted for the sky. The legend of the prince is still inconclusive. The earliest legends can be traced back to the early years of the Ming Dynasty and the Yongzheng period of the Qing Dynasty at the latest. In 2004, Prince 148 was sent out by Lucuo Village, Xike Town, Tongan District, Xiamen City, Fujian Province. Calculated by four years, it has a history of more than 500 years. This prince does not represent the "god of plague", but instead of the emperor, he toured all directions, rewarded the good and punished the evil, and prayed for the wind.