Cultural History of Quanzhou

Quanzhou is a prefecture-level city under the jurisdiction of Fujian Province, also known as Licheng, Citongcheng and Wenling. It is a famous hometown of overseas Chinese and the ancestral home of Taiwanese compatriots in my country. Located in the southeastern part of Fujian, across the sea from Taiwan, it is the starting point of the ancient "Maritime Silk Road". During the Song and Yuan Dynasties, Quanzhou Port was known as "the largest port in the East", as famous as Alexandria in Egypt. At the same time, Quanzhou is also one of the first 24 historical and cultural cities announced by the State Council. In ancient times, it was known as "Beachside Zoulu" and "City of Light".

Quanzhou has a long history and culture, and the majority of its population is the Heluo people from the ancient Central Plains. Minnan, one of the Heluo languages, is the main language of Quanzhou. During the Western Jin Dynasty, the Five Husbands broke out in the Central Plains. People from Heluo migrated southward and settled on both sides of the Jinjiang and Luoyang rivers in Quanzhou. This is where Quanzhou emerged from. So far, the surname of each family in Quanzhou corresponds to one or more county Wangtang numbers, which represents the ancient Central Plains origin of Quanzhou people. During the Tang, Song and Yuan dynasties, Quanzhou gradually developed into a major port in the world. In "Marco Polo's Travels", Marco Polo believed that only Alexandria could be compared with it, or even more magnificent than Alexandria. Local people generally believe in religion, and there are many statues, temples, and churches of various religions. In ancient times, the people of Heluo in Quanzhou believed in Taoism, and during the Tang Dynasty Buddhism became more prosperous. During the Song and Yuan Dynasties, Quanzhou had developed foreign trade, so Arab and Persian merchants also believed in Catholicism, Nestorianism, Islam, Manichaeism, etc. Therefore, Quanzhou is known as the "Museum of World Religions". The governors of the Five Dynasties stayed and obeyed and laid great contributions to the development of Quanzhou; during the Ming Dynasty, Li Zhi, a famous ancient thinker in Quanzhou, was determined to continue and innovate the Han civilization; in the post-Ming Dynasty, the national hero Zheng Chenggong fought in the south and north to preserve the Han civilization and resist foreign aggression. Quanzhou is also the ancestral home of many outstanding overseas Chinese, very famous ones include: Jose Rizal, the founding father of the Philippines, and former Indonesian President Wahid. Quanzhou has preserved a large number of historical civilizations. The main representatives include the original Han folk art "Nanyin", Liyuan Opera, Gaojia Opera, string puppets, puppet opera, etc.

As a famous historical and cultural city, Quanzhou’s economic development began as early as the Zhou and Qin Dynasties with the ancient Fujian and Yue people. Among them, Confucian businessman culture is an indispensable part of Quanzhou's economic culture, and it is the source of power that promotes Quanzhou's economic development. Coupled with the Quanzhou people's fighting spirit of "If you love to fight, you will win", Quanzhou's economy has continued to develop, and it has gradually developed into an economic giant in Fujian Province.

The concept of Confucian business spirit refers to a unique business personality and behavioral norms formed by joining Confucianism in business. The so-called Confucian businessman means that as a businessman, you must have a Confucian spirit and a Confucian bearing. , Confucian moral norms, conduct business and conduct business based on Confucian moral ideals and moral pursuits, and permeate the "benevolence, righteousness, etiquette, wisdom, and trustworthiness" advocated and practiced by Confucianism in business behavior.

Integrity is an important moral norm advocated by Confucianism. The business principle of Confucian businessmen is "to be honest and not to deceive others, nor to suspect others of being deceived." The businesses they set up are fair and honest in business transactions, and have gained a long-term and good business reputation. The integrity that Confucian businessmen pursue is also reflected in abiding by laws and keeping promises. Most Confucian businessmen have received court training from an early age to "be law-abiding" and have the habit of "making everything based on words" and can abide by the requirements and principles of contracts and legal regulations. These concepts still have practical significance today: in modern society, with advanced information, transparent information, and sound legal systems, whether in business, politics, or life, only by adhering to honesty and trustworthiness, treating others equally, and not bullying each other is the long-term way to win. Effectively promote people's physical and mental harmony and social harmony. At the same time, the market economy is a contract economy and a legal economy. To promote the construction of a social integrity system under market economy conditions, in addition to playing the normative role of law and contracts in terms of system design, people's legal awareness and contract awareness should also be strengthened.

Righteousness and benefit are the core value propositions that Confucianism focuses on. Influenced by Confucianism, Confucian businessmen regard "valuing righteousness" as an important principle in doing business, emphasizing that it is better to sacrifice profits for righteousness than to see benefits and forget justice. When summarizing his business experience, a famous Shanxi businessman in the Ming Dynasty proposed that businessmen, like scholars, should pay attention to moral cultivation and achieve "profit through righteousness and reputation through purity." The correct handling of the relationship between justice and benefit is still necessary today to promote physical and mental harmony and social harmony.

This bridge was the first project in the world to successfully integrate biology and engineering. It pioneered the raft-shaped bridge foundation and used oyster planting to strengthen the bridge foundation. Quanzhou also has the Anping Bridge, the longest cross-sea stone bridge in ancient China, with a total length of 2,250 meters. It is inserted directly into the coast from the dock for people and goods to enter and exit. Through these bridges, people can see the port's former prosperity. Other buildings in ancient Quanzhou also reflect the mutual penetration of Chinese and foreign culture and art. For example, the Qingjing Temple in Quanzhou has a very strong Arabic religious architectural style with its round dome and pointed arch gate, but its detailed structure has the characteristics of ancient Chinese architecture. The different religious beliefs and living customs of merchants from various countries have left Quanzhou with rich relics. UNESCO has designated Quanzhou as the "World Multicultural Exhibition Center" and the "World Religious Museum".

These religious relics are cultural relics promoted by Quanzhou's developed maritime trade, and are also related to the unique worship of the sea god by people engaged in shipping. When people go to sea from Quanzhou port, they often hold a wind prayer ceremony at Tingfu Temple at the foot of Jiuri Mountain in the western suburbs of Quanzhou to pray that Chinese and foreign merchant ships will arrive or return safely. People also worship Mazu, the female sea god. Due to the status and influence of Quanzhou port, Quanzhou quickly became the center of the spread of Mazu belief and had widespread influence in the Chinese world. During the wind praying and worship ceremonies, people would carve records of prayers on rocks, forming valuable wind praying relics over a long period of time. These stone carvings are important historical relics of Quanzhou's overseas transportation. They record the history of maritime trade and friendly people-to-people exchanges between Quanzhou Port and Southeast Asia, the Indian Ocean, the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea and East Africa. They are rare and important evidence of the existing history of ancient China's overseas transportation. , can be called a monument of the Maritime Silk Road.

Quanzhou has a long cultural history, which can be traced back to the ancient Minyue culture. After the Zhou and Qin Dynasties, especially during the Western Jin and Tang Dynasties, the Han people from the Central Plains migrated south to Fujian on a large scale. Quanzhou, where the Central Plains culture began, took root and evolved. The indigenous culture gradually declined. Especially in the Tang Dynasty, Quanzhou's port economy rose and gradually became the southern Fujian region. political, economic, military and cultural center.

During the Song and Yuan Dynasties, Quanzhou Citong Port became "the largest port in the East", and Egypt's Alexandria Port was equally famous in the world. More than 100 countries and regions traded with Quanzhou, showing the "market and ten continents" The prosperous scene of "people" and "businessmen from all countries amidst the sound of the rising sea". The culture of the Central Plains became mainstream, and Quanzhou became "the area where Zhu Xi changed his culture". Major religions in the world, such as Buddhism, Islam, fundamental religions (including Catholicism), Hinduism, Manichaeism, Judaism, etc., have flocked to Quanzhou with the exchange of economy and culture. Quanzhou culture has also been deeply influenced by these foreign cultures, especially religious culture.

There is a website here, you can check it out yourself: /whither-info-11211.html