The legend of the Apparition of the Empress Mazu in Putian

One of the Legends of Mazu’s Appearance: Ganquan Jishi According to records, in October of the 21st year of Kangxi’s reign, Shi Lang, the navy admiral of the Qing army, led 30,000 sailors to station in Pinghai, waiting to ride the wind to cross to Taiwan. There was a drought at that time and the army was short of water. There was an abandoned well next to Tianhou Palace in Pinghai. Shi Lang ordered it to be dug and secretly prayed to Mazu. After the well was dug, the spring water was sweet, which relieved the common people and soldiers from drinking water. The spring water has been endless since then. Shi Lang thought this was a sweet spring given by God to help his teacher, so he personally wrote the word "Shiquan" on it. The well still exists today.

Legend of Mazu’s Appearance Part 2: The Legend of Yousuke’s Boat Collection. On the night of December 26, the 21st year of Kangxi’s reign, Shi Lang led his troops across the sea to attack Tai and Peng for the first time. Due to the lack of wind, the boat sailed very slowly, so Shi Lang ordered Return to the sea. Soon, a strong wind suddenly came up, and the small boat on the battleship was blown into the sea and disappeared without a trace. After the wind subsided the next day, they were ordered to go out to sea to find the small boats. They were all safely parked in Meizhou Bay. The people on the boats reported that there was a light on the bow of the boat in the waves last night, as if someone was holding the boat. It was the silent blessing of the concubine. Shi Lang was greatly moved and ordered the Pinghai Tianhou Palace to be renovated, remodeled the Mazu statue, donated a lot of money to build a dressing room and Chaotian Pavilion, and invited a Mazu statue to be enshrined on the ship.

Legend of Mazu’s Apparition No. 3: The Legend of Penghu’s Assistance in the Battle. In June of the 22nd year of Kangxi’s reign, Shi Lang led his troops eastward to attack Penghu for the second time. The soldiers in the army felt that the goddess was assisting them in the battle, and they all moved forward bravely. , Commander-in-Chief Liu Chunmeng Tianfei told them that they would conquer Penghu on the 21st and Taiwan in July. Later, the Qing troops stormed Penghu for seven days and nights and unified Taiwan. At that time, when the Qing soldiers went out to attack Penghu, Mazu sent two divine generals, the Clairvoyant and the Shunfeng Er, to assist in the battle. This is the mythical story of Mazu "Penghu assists in the war".

The fourth legend of Mazu’s apparition: the legend of building a temple in a dream. In the autumn of the 27th year of Shaoxing in the Song Dynasty (1157), there were people from the Zhang family and the Shao family in Baihu, five miles east of Putian City** *The God of Dreams pointed out the land to build the temple, and then it was verified that the land was indeed auspicious, so he built the temple. The temple was completed the next year. In the 30th year of Shaoxing in the Song Dynasty, pirates invaded. People went to the temple to pray. Suddenly, strong winds came and the waves surged into the sky. The enemies retreated in fear. Later, they invaded again and showed their power again. Many enemy invaders were captured by the army.

Legend of Mazu’s Appearance No. 5: The Legend of the Holy Spring’s Rescue from the Epidemic In the 25th year of Shaoxing in the Song Dynasty (1155), a plague occurred in Xinghua area and there was no cure. Mazu entrusted a dream to a villager in Baihu, telling her to leave. There is a sweet spring underground not far from the sea. Drinking it can cure diseases. The next day, people went to control the excavation and get water for drinking, and it really worked. After the news spread, people from far and near came to fetch water in an endless stream. All those infected with the epidemic were saved. The well was known as the "Holy Spring".

Legend of Mazu’s Appearance No. 6: The Goddess’ Rescue Legend In the early years of Xuanhe in the Northern Song Dynasty, Hong Botong, a Putian native, was sailing on the sea and suddenly encountered a hurricane. The sailboat was almost destroyed. He hurriedly called the Goddess for rescue. The cry had just ended. , the sea suddenly became calm, and the Hong family escaped the disaster.

Legend of Mazu’s Appearance No. 7: The Legend of the Goddess Rescued the Ship In the fifth year of Xuanhe in the Northern Song Dynasty, the Song Dynasty sent an envoy to lead a fleet to Goryeo (now North Korea). They encountered strong waves in the East China Sea, and eight of the ships sank. Of the seven, only the ship on which the envoy was riding was still struggling in the wind and waves. Suddenly, a red light flashed on the top of the ship's mast, and a goddess in red clothes sat on it. Then the sea calmed down, and the ship on which the envoy was riding was out of danger. The envoy was surprised. A Putian man on the boat told him that the goddess of Meizhou rescued him.

Legend of Mazu’s Apparition No. 8: Protecting the Envoys According to records, Zheng He made seven voyages to the Western Ocean, and three times his fleet was plundered by pirates and framed by the King of Ceylon Mountain, Ariel Kunel; 1 The first time was when the fleet captured the Sumatra country alive; the third time was when the fleet encountered hurricanes and dangers at sea. Every time, he said that he was protected by the Mazu spirit and escaped from danger.

Legends of Mazu’s Apparitions No. 9: Heavenly Concubine Divine Assistance According to records, in the seventh year of Yongle, the imperial envoy Yin Zhang went on an envoy, and in the same year the imperial envoy Chen Qing and others went to the West; in the thirteenth year of Yongle, the imperial envoy sent Ganquan to Bangge In the same year of the Li Kingdom, the eunuch Wang Gui and others were ordered to go to the West; in the first year of Hongxi (1425), the imperial officer Chaishan was sent to Ryukyu; in the 11th year of Jiajing (1532), the imperial officer sent Chen Kan and others to Ryukyu for canonization; In the thirty-seventh year of Jiajing's reign, Guo Rulin and others were sent out as envoys. They all got the help of the concubine and made it back and forth safely.

Legend of Mazu’s Appearance No. 10: Blessing Water Transport According to records, in the sixth year of Daoguang (1826), there was a water transport fleet of more than a thousand ships in the south of the Yangtze River. One day, the fleet arrived at the Black Ocean and was hit by a storm. With the help of the Mazu spirit, the entire fleet of 20 to 30 thousand people was safe and sound.

Legends of Mazu’s Apparition No. 11: Officials Escape According to records, in the 42nd year of Kangxi (1703), Yu Shi Meng Shao went to Taiwan for inspection and encountered a hurricane at sea. He was blessed by Mazu and escaped; In the 25th year of Qianlong's reign (1760), when the general soldiers of Zhangzhou Town were ordered to patrol the south, the river was running fast and they encountered danger, but Mazu responded and everything was safe.

The Twelve Legends of Mazu’s Apparition: Blessing and Victory. Reference related information: 1) In the 19th year of Kangxi (1680), Navy Admiral Wan Zhengse was stationed in Chongwu. He dreamed of the divine concubine Zuo Feng at night, so he marched into the army. Forced Zheng Jun's army to enter Taiwan from Xiamen; 2) In the 52nd year of Qianlong's reign (1787), the imperial envoy Fukang'an and others went to Taiwan, but lost their way when they returned to Dadan, and were guided back by divine fire; 3) In the 52nd year of Qianlong's reign, they returned In 1806, Zhang Jun and others led the navy to suppress pirates. With the help of the wind, they escaped and captured more than 50 thieves; 4) In the 11th year of Jiaqing (1806), the army defeated Cai Qian with the help of Mazu at Luermen; 5) In the 21st year of Daoguang's reign (1841), the invading British troops stationed themselves in the Chaozhou Guild Hall in Shanghai. They lay naked in front of the Goddess of Heaven. At night, they dreamed of being beaten with sticks, and everyone screamed for help.

The Thirteenth Legend of Mazu’s Apparition: The Envoy Escaped According to relevant information, in the second year of Kangxi (1663), Zhang Xueli and others went to the Ryukyu Kingdom, and the ship encountered a storm when it returned to Gumi Mountain; in the 22nd year of Kangxi (1683) ), the envoy Wang Ji and others were on an envoy trip, but encountered a hurricane when they returned to the boat; in the fifty-eighth year of Kangxi (1719), the envoy Haibao and others were ordered to go to Ryukyu for sealing, but encountered a cyclone when they returned to the boat; in the twentieth year of Qianlong (1755), the envoy Envoy Quankui encountered a typhoon in Gumi Mountain; in the 19th year of Daoguang's reign (1839), envoy Lin Hongnian and others encountered two storms on their way to Ryukyu. They were all protected by Mazu's spirit and escaped from danger.

The Fourteenth Legend of Mazu’s Appearance: Solving Drought Problems According to records: In the summer of 1192, there was a severe drought in Fujian and the plague spread. People prayed to Mazu for blessing, and it rained when they prayed; in the tenth year of Jiading (1217) In the first year of Baohu (1253), there was a severe drought in Pu and Quan, so people in both places prayed to God, and the drought was eliminated.

Legend of Mazu’s Apparition No. 15: God helped build the embankment. According to records, in 1239, the Qiantang River burst its embankment, and when the river overflowed to the Tianfei Palace in Genshan, the water flow was blocked. The people took advantage of the situation to build embankments. It is said that it was defended by divine power; in the fourth year of Baohu (1256), Mazu divine help was given to build the embankment of the Qiantang River in Zhejiang Province.

Legend of Mazu’s Appearance No. 16: Divine Assistance to Capture the Bandits According to records, in the third year of Qiandao, pirates invaded the area. The officers and soldiers were surrounded and annihilated several times but failed to succeed. Finally, Mazu’s divine assistance led to victory. In the tenth year of Jiading, pirates invaded the country again, and the officers and soldiers got the help of Mazu to capture the leader and win. In the third year of Jingding (1262), pirates caused trouble in the waters between Xing, Quan and Zhang. With the help of Mazu, the officers and soldiers captured the pirates in the waters around Meizhou, Putian.

The Seventeenth Legend of Mazu’s Appearance: Divine Assistance According to the legend of the Song Dynasty Master, in the first year of Jiading (1208), Jin soldiers gathered in the Huaidian area, and the Song Dynasty launched a Northern Expedition to pray to Mazu for divine assistance. , solved the siege of Hefei. Legend of Mazu's Apparition No. 18: Protecting and Suppressing Bandits Legend has it that in the eleventh year of Chunxi (1184), Jiang Teli, the inspector of Fujian Province, was ordered to conquer the pirates in Wenzhou and Taizhou. Before the battle, the officers and soldiers begged the spirit of Mazu for help. During the war, he vaguely saw God above the clouds, so he marched in the wind and captured the leader of the thieves, winning a great victory. The Little Legend of Mazu Qing Dynasty historian Zhao Yi recorded a very interesting legend of Mazu in southern Fujian and Taiwan. If you are in a shipwreck and call the gods for help, say "Mazu", Mazu will immediately come to the rescue without applying makeup. If called "Tianfei", then Mazu will be dressed up and come to rescue people gracefully, so she will arrive very late. Therefore, people at sea call her "Mazu" and dare not call her "Tianfei". They hope that Mazu will come to rescue the fishing boat in the shipwreck immediately. The legend of Mazu in Taiwan is probably about Mazu using her skirt to block the U.S. air-dropped bombs in World War II, and there are also legends about Mazu bringing children back to life.

It is said that Mazu would give each person in distress a bowl of steaming hot and fragrant Xinghua Shou Noodles after each rescue at sea. Ji. Over time, Xinghua Shou Noodles became known as Mazu Safe Noodles. They became famous far and wide and became the first choice food to bless peace and auspiciousness. Whenever relatives and friends come to visit, birthdays, festivals, and family reunions, Mazu Safe Noodles are eaten. , in order to seek good luck, peace and happiness.