How to Worship Mazu

Mazu is the supreme god of the sea in ancient China. According to the ancient rituals, it is appropriate to worship those who can protect against great disasters, defend against great troubles, and who have merited the country. Therefore, since the Song Dynasty, successive emperors not only praised Mazu frequently, but also promulgated by the imperial court to offer sacrifices. In the Yuan Dynasty, ministers were sent to Meizhou three times to offer sacrifices; in the Ming Dynasty, when Zheng He made seven trips to the West China Sea, the imperial court offered A-Mazu sacrifices 14 times; in the Qing Dynasty, after Kangxi united Taiwan, ministers were sent to Meizhou to offer sacrifices; in the Qing Dynasty, the Yongzheng Emperor re-ordered the whole world to perform the three-kneeling and nine-kowtowing rituals, and in the 53rd year of the Qing Dynasty, Qianlong issued a decree to the Queen of Heaven's original home in Meizhou, which made the official sacrifices in spring and autumn and the official ceremonies in autumn and spring, and the official ceremonies in spring and autumn. Spring and Autumn for the official sacrifice, "to enhance the sacrificial ceremony", and "spring and autumn Oracle" officially included in the national festival. From then on, Meizhou Mazu Ancestral Temple Festival and Shaanxi Huangdi Mausoleum Ceremony, Shandong Qufu Confucian Temple Ceremony, and known as China's traditional three major national ceremonies, in the domestic and international reputation.

In order to carry forward the culture of Chinese Mazu and to standardize the rituals of Mazu, the Board of Directors of Meizhou Mazu Ancestral Temple invited experts to further improve the "Rituals of Meizhou Mazu Ancestral Temple" based on the traditional rituals recorded in the canonical books and the customary folk beliefs of Meizhou, and revised the music and dance of the rituals since 1997, in order to achieve a better combination of the culture of Mazu and the appreciation of the arts, which are based on the "Three Offerings". The music and dance are centered on the "Three Offerings", which are divided into five movements: "Welcoming the God", "The First Offering", "The Sub-Offering", "The Final Offering", and "Sending off the God", and the "Three Offerings", which are called "Hai Ping", "Heping", and "Hamping", and are chorused by both male and female students. The dance of eight rows of dancers, consisting of thirty-two male and female dancers, respectively upholding the feather and holding the flute, is the highest specification of the ancient literary dance.

(Ceremony grand scene)

Ancestral Temple Ceremony, held annually on the birth anniversary of Mazu (March 23rd in the lunar calendar), the day of ascension to heaven (the ninth day of the ninth month), and Mazu Cultural and Tourism Festival and other major festivals, and also held on a temporary basis in accordance with the requirements of the team to incense. The festival team is divided into three sizes: small, medium and large, with 66, 168 and 319 people respectively, and there are passers-by, honor guards, guards, ceremonial students, dancers, etc. The large-scale festival increases the number of musicians and singers. Participants in the festival include the chief priest (1 person), accompanying priests (a number of people), and sacrifices (an unlimited number of people). Ceremony in order as follows: 1, drums ringing three times, firing a salute; 2, honor guards, ceremonial guards, musicians, dancers in place; 3, the officiating priest, accompanied by the priest, with the sacrifices in place; 4, to welcome the gods, incense; 5, laying of silk (the first wash); 6, recitation of benedictions; 7, "three kneeling and nine kowtow" ritual; 8, "three offerings" ritual, play "three offerings 8, perform the "Three Offerings" ritual, play the "Three Offerings" music (accompanied by dancers); 9, burn the blessing, burning silk; 10, "three kneeling and nine kowtowing"; 11, send the gods. Finally, in the melodious sacred music ceremony.

The Ancestral Temple Ceremony is a ritual that has been performed for more than a thousand years, and it is a perfect combination of imperial ceremonies and folk rituals of successive dynasties. The scene is grand and atmospheric, the ancient style is rich and heavy, and the atmosphere is solemn and solemn. With its unique cultural connotations and values of history, navigation, religion, folklore, art and military science, it was listed in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage in 2006.

Tianhou Square and the playhouse

Tianhou Square is 120 meters long, 88 meters wide, with an area of 10,000 square meters, the two sides of the Observatory (including the corner tower) is 129 meters long, each with 13 levels of DengZi, can accommodate ten thousand people to watch, it is the Ancestral Temple large-scale ceremonies and hold a grand event place. Theater 28 meters high, an area of 1,500 square meters, for the heavy eaves, large-span building, dome towering, extraordinary momentum. At present, most of the large-scale ancestral temple ceremonies are held in Tianhou Square.