湄洲妈祖文化

二、湄洲妈祖文化

女士们先生们，早上好!很荣幸今天能够带领大家参观游览海上和平女神——妈祖的圣地湄洲岛。湄洲岛距离莆田市区42公里，距离台湾台中港仅72海里。得天独厚的地理优势让湄洲岛在近20年中，在经济、社会等各方面发展迅速，对台贸易繁荣，对台往来频繁。

湄洲岛最大的特色当属它是妈祖的圣地，它是世界3000多座妈祖宫庙的祖庙所在地，是全世界两亿妈祖信众心目中的“东方麦加”。

妈祖是保护渔民和水手的本地海神，是华南及东亚地区普遍供奉的保护神。传说妈祖约1100年前诞生于莆田湄洲。因从出生到满月从不啼哭，父母给她取名“默”。她16岁时，有位神仙给她一个铜护身符，从那以后她就拥有神奇的力量和智慧。她四处行善，用草药为人治病，教人防灾，抢救遇难的船只，保护过往的商人。据说她身穿红衣，即使在最危险最恶劣的天气也站在岸边引导渔船返航。她一生行善济世，28岁去世后，她的灵魂仍然在指引遇难的船只回到安全的港口。后来感激她的渔民们开始把她当做海神来供奉。传说她死后升天成了湄洲岛女神。妈祖显灵事迹逐渐传入宫廷，历朝皇帝共对妈祖进行了36次的褒封，封号有“天后”“天妃”“天上圣母”等。妈祖宫庙也不断重修、扩大，由原来的小庙发展到现在的规模。湄洲岛天后宫作为妈祖祖庙受到世界各地信徒的膜拜，对妈祖的崇拜也逐渐成为广泛的民间信仰。

湄洲的妈祖民俗风情奇趣独特。岛上的居民在每年的农历3月和9月即妈祖的诞辰日和忌日举行盛大的庆典，大批台湾和东南亚地区的信众不远千里赶来，为妈祖举行盛大的仪式。此外每年的正月元宵佳节则举行妈祖巡游活动。此间，每个宫庙灯笼高挂，烛火高照，大批信众涌入妈祖庙烧香供奉。一路上，盛装男女排列两旁，仪仗队浩浩荡荡巡行，热闹非凡。

湄洲岛的滨海风光秀丽独特。在长达30公里的海岸线上有13处海岸沙滩，滩平沙细，柔软洁净，海水透明，毫无污染。

我们现在已经到了码头，大家看到那边山顶的神像了吗?那就是妈祖石雕像，石像高14.35米，用365块花岗岩雕砌，其寓意为妈祖一年365天，天天保佑着14.35平方公里的湄洲大地风调雨顺，平安幸福。

现在请大家随我登船去岛上拜谒。祖庙原有的建筑群在20世纪六七十年代被毁，如今展现在我们眼前的妈祖庙宇建筑群是后来重建的，其布局基本按清代的结构。

这就是天后宫，是各地所有妈祖庙的祖庙。展现在我们面前的为祖庙的大牌坊，在这里可以仰望祖庙建筑群宏伟壮观的全貌。这是寺庙的第一道门即为山门，这座山门造型特别，为皇家城阙形制，这是因为妈祖的封号是天上圣母。山门内供奉的是千里眼和顺风耳。

顺着山门上来，面前的这道门称仪门，大家可以看到上面有个竖匾，写着“圣旨”二字，因此这道门又称“圣旨门”，喻示妈祖曾受历代帝王的各种褒封。仪门内的这个大广场，为每次祭奠时大型乐舞表演的地方。前方左右为钟鼓楼，每次祭祀敲鼓则祭奠开始，敲钟则礼终。

这就是妈祖亿万信众的圣地——正殿了。看着大批信众忙着烧香你就知道妈祖的信徒众多了。虔诚的妈祖信徒在拜谒妈祖前是必须沐浴斋戒的。我们现在进去看看。正殿分为上下殿，中间以天井相连。正梁悬挂的匾额是清朝皇帝御笔颁赐，后来，这四字题匾几乎为所有妈祖祖庙所复制。我们看看殿内的两尊妈祖神像。殿前端坐的这尊妈祖神像，一般称为“出巡妈祖”，为木雕软身(即四肢可以活动)。1997年“出巡妈祖”就曾到台湾巡游100天。在出巡妈祖像后还有一尊妈祖像，为木雕硬身的镇殿妈祖。当软身妈祖出巡时，镇殿妈祖就留在庙中接受信众朝拜。大家看两边神龛中的，即为妈祖的陪神。大家可以在此参观15分钟，然后我们接下去参观。

好，现在我们去殿侧参观一下传说中妈祖升天的地方——升天古迹，这里也是最早立庙奉祀妈祖的地方。参观完“升天古迹”，大家随我继续登高去朝天阁看一下，细心的游客马上看出来，这里的妈祖面像是黑的。据说当年台湾信众对妈祖日夜焚香膜拜，虔诚的烟火熏黑了妈祖像的脸，于是台湾妈祖宫庙里供奉的均为“黑面妈祖”，因为朝天阁是台湾鹿港朝天宫捐建，里面的妈祖影像也是鹿港天后宫的黑面妈祖。

前面就是“妈祖公园”了。大家随我进去参观。大家可以看到，这里有许多栩栩如生的石雕群，讲述妈祖的生平传说，大家可以自由参观。

现在我们到了妈祖山顶，请大家随我来瞻仰一下妈祖石雕像，也就是我们在船上看到的那尊雕像。现在大家可以清楚地看到，妈祖头戴冕旒，身披霞帔，手持玉如意，遥望大海。妈祖眼望的地方正是台湾。在台湾鹿港朝天宫有一尊一模一样的妈祖石像与之隔海遥望。

好，现在大家请随我漫步下山。大家可以看到前方有一个宏伟的建筑群，这就是新建的妈祖祖庙建筑群，包括装饰拱门、山门、钟楼、祠堂、侧殿、正殿等，占地约80平方米。

好，今天的妈祖庙之行到此就要结束了，祝大家接下来的旅途平安、愉快!

Mazu Culture in Meizhou Island

Good morning ladies and gentlemen!It’s my pleasure to be with you today on the visit to the Meizhou Island，the birthplace of Mazu，the legendary Sea Goddess.The Meizhou Island is 42 kilometers away from downtown Putian，and only 72 sea miles from Taichung，Taiwan.Being well endowed with geographical advantages，the island has been enjoying fast economic and social development and a boomin its intercourse with Taiwan since nearly 20 years ago.

The Meizhou Island is best known as a holy land of Mazu worship.And the Mazu Temple of the island is believed to be the origin of the over 3000 Mazu Temples around the world and the“Oriental Mecca”for estimately 200，000，000 deciples across the world.

Mazu，literally“Mother Ancestor”，is the indigenous goddess of the sea who is said to protect fishermen and sailors，and is invoked as the patron deity of all Southern Chinese and East Asian people.Legend has it that she was born in Meizhou，Putian in the Song Dynasty about1100 years ago.Mazu was called Mo，which refers to silence in Chinese，because she never cried until one month old.When she turned 16，a celestial being gave her a bronze talisman，and from then on she grew supernatural powers and wisdom.She went about doing good deeds，healing the sick with herbs，imparting folks skills on disease and disaster prevention，and rescuing ships and protecting business travelers.She is said to wear red garments while standing on the shore to guide fishing boats home，even in the most dangerous and harsh weather.Of all her life，she was very kindhearted，helping those in need or trouble.Mo passed away at the age of 28.For her whole life，she devoted herself to doing good deeds helping the suffered and those who were in need of help，and even after her death，her spirit proceed with her former practice－guiding the floundering ships home.Out of gratitude，the fishermen then started worship ping her as the goddess of the sea.As legends goes，she ascended to heaven and became an immortal at Meizhou Bay.Mazu’s story was so popular that even the imperial courts granted her 36 royal titles，including“Holy Queen”，“Heavenly Empress”，“Heavenly Holy Mother”and“Heavenly Princess Consort”.Since then the earliest temple dedicated to Mazu has been renovated and greatly expanded froma small shrine to what it is now.Heavenly Empress Palace in the Meizhou Island，as the originating temple，is worshipped by pilgrims from around the world，and the respect for Mazu has turned into a wide－spread belief with the passage of time.

The Meizhou Island has its unique folk customs concerning Mazu culture.Every year，the islanders give grand pageants in memory of the birth and the death of the goddess，respectively in the 3rd and 9th lunar month every year.Hundreds of thousands of devotees from Taiwan and Southeast Asia flock to the island each year to pay respect to Mazu in the special ceremonies.Besides，on every Lantern Festival in the first lunar month，a Mazu idol parade is given here.On these festive occasions，every temple is decorated with lanterns and lights itself up with candles.Worshippers flood into Mazu temples，burning incense and offering sacrifices.People in ceremonial dress line the streets where a grand parade for Mazuidol marches along.

The Meizhou Island also boasts its charming coastal scenery endowed by nature.Along the 30－kilometer coast of the island lie 13 golden beaches with fine sand and clear sea water.

Here we are at the dock.Do you see the statue on top of the hill over there? That’s a stone statue of Mazu，14.35 meters tall and built with 365 granite rocks，which carry the implication of gaining the bless from the goddess within the 14.35－square－kilometer island in all the 365 days of a year!

Now let’s step on the island and visit the Heavenly Empress Palace.The ancient buildings dedicated to Mazu on the island were ruined in the 1960s and 1970s，and the modern ones in front of us were built later based on the Qing Dynasty layout.

Here is the Heavenly Empress Palace，the originating temple of all the Mazu temples around the world.This is the memorial archway，where you can have a full view of the ancestral temple.The first gate to the temple was shaped like an imperial city gate because Mazu was granted an imperial title of“Heavenly Queen”.Enshrined in the gate are Mazu’s two guardian generals known as“Thousand Miles Eye”，meaning a special capacity of seeing what is happening a thousand miles away，and“With－the－Wind Ear”，meaning what the other guardian is able to achieve——hearing whatever it is wherever the wind travels.

Let’s march up the path to the Gate of Ceremony，the second gate to the temple.The two characters on the plaque above are translated as“Imperial Edict”，which is also the name of the gate.This is to remind people of Mazu’s honorary titles conferred by the imperial courts.Music and dancing performances for memorial ceremonies are usually given in the square behind the gate.The two buildings ahead are the Bell Tower and the Drum Tower.Traditionally，the memorial ceremonies begin with the drumbeating，and end with the bell ringing.

This is the main hall of the palace，a sacred place for millions of Mazu believers.When you see throngs of devoted people here busy burning incense，you’ll see how popular Mazu worship is.Faithful believers of Mazu are supposed to take a bath and start a fast before the worship.Let’s go inside the palace hall，which is divided into the upper hall and the lower hall，connected with a courtyard.The plaque hanging on the girder was written by a Qing Dynasty emperor，and in almost every Mazu temple，you will see a copy of this plaque.Look at the two Mazu statues in the middle of the hall.The one in front，commonly known as the“Touring Mazu”，is a wood sculpture with movable arms and legs.It is the idol that tours outside the native Meizhou Island to accept worship by local believers.In 1997 the statue was invited to Taiwan for a 100－day tour.You’ll see another wood sculpture of Mazu sitting behind the“Touring Mazu”.It is the“Staying Mazu”.When the“Touring Mazu”is on her tour，the“Staying Mazu”would stay in the temple for visiting believers.These idols in the side shrines are Mazu’s escort gods.You can stay here for 15 minutes before we move on to the side hall.

Now let’s take a look at the place near the main hall where Mazu legendarily ascended to heaven and became immortal.The original Mazu temple was also set up here.Next we’re going to Chaotian Pavilion.As you might notice，the Mazu statue here has a black face.There’s a story behind it.It’s said that Taiwan believers were so devoted to Mazu that they burned incense day and night in front of the statue，making her face dark.Therefore Mazu is dark－faced in every Mazu temple in Taiwan.And this one，donated by Taiwan believers，is no exception.

Ladies and gentlemen，this is the Mazu Park.You’ll see groups of stone sculptures about various stories of Mazu and learn more about the legendary goddess.

Now we’re on top of Mazu Hill.May I have your attention to the stone statue of Mazu over there，the one we saw on board.Now you can see better that she is dressed in the jewel－festooned robes with chaplet diadem，holding a ceremonial scepter and wearing a flat－topped imperial cap with dangling beads at the front and back.She is looking toward Taiwan，where a statue exactly like this is standing.

Now let’s go downhill.You’ll see an architectural complex，a newly built construction dedicated to Mazu.These buildings include the decorative archway，the first gate，the bell tower，the sacrificial hall，the side halls and the main hall.The new palace occupies a space of over 80 thousand square meters.

That’s all for today’s trip.Hope you enjoyed it.Thank you!

Vocabulary:

indigenous　　　a.本地的

patron　　　n.(宗教)守护神

celestial　　　n.神仙

talisman　　　n.护身符

pageant　　　n.盛会

originating temple　　　n.祖庙

edict　　　n.法令

archway　　　n.拱门