[You Hongxia Tian Zhaoyuan] Genealogy Concept and the Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection of Mazu's Beliefs and Customs
Summary: The concept of pedigree is a reasonable perspective to grasp the laws of interaction and integrity of intangible cultural heritage.
For intangible cultural heritage resources, there is a close connection between pilgrimage and pedigree.
Pedigree is the basis and basis of pilgrimage, and pilgrimage is a kind of communication.
Mutual learning methods can link the spatial pedigree of intangible cultural heritage, condense the pedigree of belief groups, and construct cultural identity, embody the interactive, holistic, identification, and practicality of intangible cultural heritage resources, thereby realizing the living protection and inheritance of intangible cultural heritage resources.
Focusing on the Mazu Temple in Meizhou, this paper studies the pedigree of Mazu's beliefs and customs, the relationship between pilgrimage and intangible cultural heritage protection.
Keywords: pedigree; pilgrimage; Mazu beliefs and customs; Mazu Temple; Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection 1.
Pedigree Concept of Intangible Cultural Heritage Protection
The protection of intangible cultural heritage must follow the basic spirit of the Convention for the Protection of Intangible Cultural Heritage (hereinafter referred to as the "Convention ") adopted by UNESCO in 2003.
The definition of intangible cultural heritage in the Convention is:
Various social practices, conceptual expressions, manifestations, knowledge, skills and related tools, objects, handicrafts and cultural sites that are regarded by communities, groups and sometimes individuals as part of their cultural heritage.
This intangible cultural heritage is passed down from generation to generation and is constantly recreated as communities and groups adapt to their surrounding environment and interact with nature and history, providing these communities and groups with a sense of identity and continuity, thereby enhancing cultural diversity.
Respect for human creativity.
This statement puts forward several key characteristics of intangible cultural heritage.
One is interactivity and re-creation.
Interaction refers to the interaction between various elements of cultural tradition itself, as well as the interaction between cultural tradition and nature, history, and social environment.
In the interaction, it is constantly given new content; The second is the sense of identity and continuity, that is, the cultural elements in intangible cultural heritage can build the identity of relevant communities and groups.
This identity is stable, sustainable and passed down from generation to generation.
This determines whether a cultural event can become the key to intangible cultural heritage; The third is practical.
The realization of the value of intangible cultural heritage is inseparable from practice.
The protection and inheritance of intangible cultural heritage must also rely on public participation and practice.
In practice, it reflects interactivity and constructs identity, and provides a sense of continuity for the community and the population; Fourth, it is holistic.
Intangible cultural heritage is not an isolated, single cultural event, but a whole cultural phenomenon.
Starting from the basic spirit of the Convention, intangible cultural heritage can be regarded as an interactive, comprehensive identification, orderly and holistic cultural tradition, and is a genealogical existence.
Therefore, issues related to intangible cultural heritage protection can be studied from the perspective of pedigree.
Tian Zhaoyuan concluded: Genealogy)"From a structural perspective, it is a perspective of integrity and diversity, and from a functional perspective, it is a perspective of interaction and identification." Specifically, the basic contents of the pedigree concept include: First, pedigree is based on the premise of interaction and integrity, expresses the connectedness of the world and the relational nature of society, and is a way of presenting cultural exchanges.
A culture that lacks interaction is a dead pedigree rather than a living one.
Second, pedigree is an existence of identity.
A culture is born from a matrix, and a genealogy is biologically constructed between them.
If they disagree with each other, it is systematic dispersion.
However, there is the possibility of return and activation in the pedigree.
A culture that has fallen behind and scattered culture can be found through research, that is, to rebuild identity and find the pedigree of culture.
Third, pedigree takes time, space, ethnicity, form, structure and level as its mode of existence.
Fourth, the pedigree is formed due to the spread, needs and identification of culture; it is interrupted due to the interruption of communication between space and ethnic groups; a broken pedigree is a divided group of people; the continuation and expansion of the pedigree is the prerequisite for cultural development, and maintaining pedigree connections is the key to establishing cultural relations, and the development of all functions is rooted in the pedigree.
In short, pedigree is a rule and an order that reflects the development laws of intangible cultural heritage.
The status of the pedigree is a barometer of the development status of intangible cultural heritage.
Once there is a problem with the pedigree, the protection and inheritance of intangible cultural heritage will also face certain crises.
The construction of the pedigree is actually a way to protect and inherit intangible cultural heritage in an orderly manner.
For intangible cultural heritage resources that believe in customs, the interactivity and integrity emphasized by the pedigree concept can build the identity of belief in customs.
Wan Jianzhong commented: "The existence of intangible cultural heritage is not the 'intangible' form itself, but the interconnectedness between its different types and related factors.
That is to say, no intangible cultural heritage can exist in isolation, and it must form an interdependent relationship with other intangible cultural heritage and its related elements.
This 'relationship' is precisely the survival mechanism of intangible cultural heritage." This statement reveals the interactive nature of intangible cultural heritage resources.
Only through interaction can we grasp the overall structure of intangible cultural heritage and build the identity of intangible cultural heritage.
Only through interaction can we achieve the protection and inheritance of intangible cultural heritage.
Once alienated from interactivity, wholeness and identity, intangible cultural heritage resources will lose the cornerstone on which to survive.
On the one hand, the protection and inheritance of intangible cultural heritage resources of beliefs and customs must rely on the practical activities of rituals, celebrations, sacrifices, folk customs, etc.
carried out in various regions and palaces around the belief itself.
More importantly, all regions, palaces and temples, as well as relevant communities and groups must interact, exchange and learn from each other, so that faith and customs can become an interconnected cultural whole and inherit their spiritual core and cultural values.
This is also the practical way of intangible cultural heritage resources, reflecting the practical characteristics of intangible cultural heritage resources.
In practice, it promotes the interactive exchange of various cultural elements, otherwise it will become a rigid, isolated, and fragmented existence, and it will not be possible to achieve living inheritance.
"Mazu Believing in Customs" is the first human intangible cultural heritage project in China that believes in customs.
This paper focuses on the Mazu Ancestral Temple on Meizhou Island and discusses the relationship between the pedigree of Mazu's Believing in Customs and the protection of intangible cultural heritage.
2.
The pedigree of Mazu's beliefs and customs and the picture of pilgrimage
1.
The pedigree of Mazu's belief in customs
Mazu's beliefs and customs have gradually been upgraded from community cultural events to a regional, national, and even global grand cultural system.
They have far-reaching, solid and profound cultural roots.
Their pedigree can be divided into external form pedigree and internal structure pedigree.
Two aspects.
The pedigree of external forms refers to the various cultural forms contained in Mazu's beliefs and customs, including two major parts: Mazu beliefs and Mazu customs, and mainly consists of "three major parts: sacrificial rituals, folk customs and stories and legends." On this basis, it is subdivided into ten categories: Mazu legend, Mazu costumes, Mazu ceremonies, Mazu temple meetings, Mazu offerings, Mazu golden body patrol, Mazu return to her mother's home, Mazu believers pay homage to their ancestors, Mazu Dojo, and Mazu sugarcane Tower.
Each category has rich and complicated cultural forms, and many have been rated as representative intangible cultural heritage projects of various types.
In addition to the list of human intangible cultural heritage ", there are also national-level projects" Mazu Sacrifice ", and Putian City's provincial-level projects" Meizhou Mazu Belief and Customs "," Mazu Returning to Her Mother's Family to Sacrifice Folk Customs "," Mazu Cane Pagoda Making Craft in Yanning Palace "and" Mazu Legend "; The prefecture-level projects of Meizhou Mazu Temple are "Meizhou Mazu Sacrifice","Mazu Golden Body Parade Customs","Meizhou Women's Headwear Clothing","Mazu Believers 'Custom of Visiting Their Fathers","Meizhou Mazu Temple Tribute","Meizhou Fish Rice","Meizhou Mazu Peace Cake","Meizhou Mazu Peace Face","Meizhou Mazu Temple Praying for New Year", as well as the Meizhou Island Management Committee's "Meizhou Brown Pallet Dance","Meizhou Mazu Temple Fair","Meizhou Folk' Flower Changing 'Customs", etc.
These intangible cultural heritage projects and their cultural forms constitute the external form of Mazu's beliefs and customs.
Looking at the internal structure, intangible cultural heritage resources contain their own temporal development context, spatial and regional distribution, as well as related communities, groups and other elements.
The interactive relationship of these elements is reflected in the temporal pedigree, spatial pedigree, ethnic pedigree, and power pedigree and other aspects, which is the internal structural pedigree of intangible cultural heritage resources.
This paper focuses on discussing the internal structure and pedigree of Mazu's beliefs and customs from cultural elements such as spatial distribution and religious groups, thereby conducting research on the protection of intangible cultural heritage.
Intangible cultural heritage resources originate in a certain region, and then in the life chain of their development and inheritance, they will spread, spread and radiate to other regions with economic development, cultural exchanges, and population migration, thus forming a certain "Space resource belt" or "space cultural circle".
These regions constitute an integrated structure of mobility, interaction and relevance, that is, the pedigree of intangible cultural heritage resources.
The pedigree of religious and customary intangible cultural heritage resources is actually formed by the interconnection of various palaces and temples.
The palaces and temples are where relevant communities and groups condense the "signifier" of faith into a visual and accessible "signifier".
It gathers belief symbols such as icons, sacred relics, and scriptures, and collectively carries the spiritual core and cultural genes of faith.
It is a concrete and materialized landscape presentation.
The palace and temple are also objects of faith and spaces for worship, expressing the emotions, needs and wishes of relevant communities and groups, and are a gathering place for believers.
Palaces and temples are also comprehensive cultural spaces, reflecting the relationship between people, people and society, and people and gods.
As Lefebvre said: "Space produces social relations and is also produced by social relations." Therefore, the palace and temple itself is the carrier of various "relationships" and the entrance to exploring the genealogy.
The Mazu belief and custom originated from Meizhou Island in Putian, Fujian Province.
In the historical context of its occurrence and development, it gradually spread to other regions and even overseas.
Many branch spiritual palaces and temples were established, becoming a belief form with great influence among the Chinese community.
Zhang Xun concluded: "A huge genealogy table can be formed between Mazu temples." This is an expression of a pedigree concept.
"Mazu in the world, and her ancestors are in Meizhou." Mazu palaces and temples in various places are rooted in the Mazu Temple on Meizhou Island.
They have a common spiritual core and cultural gene, and are a cultural whole that connects, exchanges and learns from each other.
The pedigree of Mazu's beliefs and customs was formed through the interaction between the ancestral temple and the branch spiritual palace temple.
Tian Zhaoyuan pointed out: "The ancestral temple and the branch temple interact, forming various types of pedigree, including spatial pedigree, ethnic pedigree, intrinsic structural pedigree, and also internal power pedigree." The palaces and temples that have been separated from the ancestral temple can be further separated from the spirits and become the mother temple of each sub-spiritual temple.
Some of the sub-ling palaces and temples directly divide the souls from the ancestral temple, and some of them indirectly divide the souls.
According to the order and level of the sub-ling palaces and temples, the "seniority" in the pedigree of each sub-ling temple also has a staggered ranking.
It can be said that the pedigree of Mazu's beliefs and customs is a cultural structure with a hierarchical sequence.
2) The pilgrimage picture of Mazu's belief in customs
The pedigree of Mazu's beliefs and customs is mainly practiced through ritual behaviors centered on pilgrimage.
On the one hand, Fenling Temple's pilgrimage to the ancestral temple consolidates the ancestral temple's authoritative position as the center of the genealogy; on the other hand, Fenling Temple also obtains spiritual power through pilgrimage to the ancestral temple to show its "immediate family" relationship with the ancestral temple, thereby gaining its orthodox status in the genealogy.
First of all, the ancestral temple is the center of the genealogy and the pilgrimage center for each branch spiritual palace temple.
Wu Xiaomei and Zhou Jinyan pointed out: "Meizhou Ancestral Temple has two roles: the island's sacrificial center and the world's Mazu belief center." The ancestral temple is first of all the pilgrimage center on Meizhou Island.
In addition to the ancestral temple, the 14 Mazu Palace temple fairs on Meizhou Island regularly worship the ancestral temple.
The ancestral temple is the belief center of Mazu in the world, and is regarded as the "mother's family" by the various sub-spiritual temples.
The activity of "Mazu Returns to Her Mother's Family in the World" has been revitalized in the contemporary era.
Mazu palaces and temple fairs in various places escort Mazu statues to the ancestral temples to pay homage to the ancestors, that is,"the ancestral temple divides the spirit from the temple to the temple from which it originated or the ancestral temple recognized by the believers." A ritual act of pilgrimage and pilgrimage." In recent years, there have been countless pilgrimages to ancestral temples in various sub-Linggong temples.
Taiwan goes crazy on the birthday of Mazu on the 23rd month of the third lunar month every year; in 1987, Dajia Zhenlan Temple first organized a pilgrimage to the ancestral temple; in 1988, Guo Qingwen, chairman of Beigang Chaotian Palace, led a pilgrimage group to Meizhou Island to find roots and conclude a close relative covenant with the ancestral temple; in 2001, the "Beigang Mazu Cultural Journey" delegation arrived at Meizhou Ancestral Temple to visit; in 2006, Xingang Fengtian Temple returned to Meizhou Ancestral Temple for the first time; At the beginning of 2016, Chaotian Pavilion of the ancestral temple held a celebration of the opening and seating of the world's largest rosewood Mazu statue.
Representatives of Lugang Tianhou Palace and nearly a thousand Mazu palaces and temples from both sides of the Taiwan Strait gathered to make a pilgrimage to the ancestral temple.
The pedigree centered on a certain branch temple is also maintained by pilgrimage.
For example, the Chaotian Temple in Beigang is directly separated from the Meizhou Ancestral Temple, and is regarded as a mother temple by many palaces and temples inside and outside Taiwan Island.
The Ciyou Palace in Songshan, Taipei, and the Haotian Palace in Wuqi Town, Taichung, etc.
all went to the Chaotian Temple in Beigang; in 1969, Natsusaburo Takahashi, Gifu City, Japan, came to Chaotian Temple in Beigang to welcome Matsu and established the Chaotian Temple there; In 1971, Brazilian overseas Chinese Wu Qizhen and his wife came to Chaotian Temple in Beigang to welcome Matsu to establish Chaotian Temple in São Paulo; in July 1976, a pilgrimage delegation from Sao Paulo City came to Chaotian Temple in Beigang to pay homage; in 1972, the Shinichi Church in Paris, France was established, with Mazu of Chaotian Temple in Beigang as the main god; the Pilgrimage Palace in San Francisco, the United States, returned to Chaotian Temple in Beigang in 1994 and 2002 respectively to pay homage to its ancestors and pilgrimage; In 2002, Chaotian Temple in Cape Town City, Republic of South Africa, returned to Chaotian Temple in Beigang to pay homage to ancestors.
The suspension of the pilgrimage means the rupture of the pedigree.
To rebuild the pedigree, the pilgrimage must first be resumed.
Secondly, in order to enhance spiritual power and develop believers, each Fenling Temple will inevitably strive to improve their "seniority" in the pedigree and compete to have direct contact with the ancestral temple.
Pilgrimage to the ancestral temple is the legal proof of the Fenling Temple's legitimate identity.
For example, Xing 'an Palace in Lugang is considered to be the earliest Mazu temple established by immigrants from Putian in Xinghua, Fujian Province.
It honors the second mother of Meizhou Ancestral Temple and becomes the foundation of the Mazu belief in Lugang.
In order to demonstrate its position in the genealogy, Lugang Xing 'an Palace used a special temple flag as a symbol of pilgrimage to the ancestral temple, and called the Mazu it worships as "Lugang Meizhou Ma" instead of "Lugang Ma".
Another example is that in 1987, Taiwan's Dajia Zhenlan Palace sent a group to make a direct pilgrimage to Meizhou, making them "immediate family members" of the ancestral temple.
However, they no longer respected the Chaotian Temple in Beigang as the mother temple, but became each other's "sister temples", re-establishing the "seniority" of Dajia Zhenlan Palace in the pedigree, and establishing a sub-pedigree with Dajia Zhenlan Palace as the mother temple, thus reconstructing the internal structural pedigree of the entire Mazu beliefs and customs.
This kind of competition for "seniority" in the pedigree is a relatively common phenomenon.
Zhang Xun summarized the new trend of Taiwan's Mazu culture: "I am keen to go to Meizhou to pay homage to my ancestors; I am keen to compete for the size of the pedigree; and I am keen to establish a network between Mazu temples."
Through the above discussion, we can outline the pilgrimage picture of Mazu's beliefs and customs: the ancestral temple is the center of the pedigree; the Fenling Palace Temple must establish a connection with the ancestral temple through pilgrimage, so as to obtain spiritual power and its legitimate identity in the pedigree; the Fenling Palace Temple can change its "seniority" in the pedigree by pilgrimage to the ancestral temple and reconstruct the pedigree.
The pilgrimage strengthens the interactive connection between the Fenling Palace Temple and the ancestral temple, consolidates and activates the pedigree, and is a practical way to protect and inherit intangible cultural heritage resources.
Without the pilgrimage, the pedigree will become an isolated, rigid, and fragmented existence, and the protection and inheritance of intangible cultural heritage will be impossible to talk about.
3.
The intangible cultural heritage protection of Mazu's beliefs and customs
Pedigree and pilgrimage behavior are interdependent and interdependent.
On the one hand, pedigree is an orderly expression of faith and customs, and is the basis and basis for pilgrimage.
Once there is a problem with the pedigree, pilgrimage will inevitably be affected; on the other hand, pilgrimage is a A way of communication and mutual learning is an orderly expression that realizes the interactivity and integrity of the pedigree, and constructs the identity of relevant communities and groups.
The pilgrimage has a direct impact on the formation, change, consolidation and development of the pedigree.
Without the pilgrimage, there would be no interaction, and the pedigree would face a crisis of disintegration, directly affecting the survival and development of intangible cultural heritage resources.
According to the pedigree concept, pilgrimage is a practical way to protect and inherit cultural heritage resources.
1) Use pilgrimage as a medium to enhance the recognition of Mazu's beliefs and customs
Cultural identity is the goal of intangible cultural heritage protection.
The pilgrimage requires establishing divine affinity and kinship between various palaces and temples, and constructing and enhancing the identity of intangible cultural heritage resources, which is "recognition of the common culture between people or between individuals and groups." The cultural identity symbol of Mazu's belief in customs was comprehensively summarized when it applied for the United Nations Intangible Cultural Heritage List in 2009.
At that time, Tang Bingchun served as the leader of the application team and Lin Jinbang served as the deputy leader.
The entire application process won the support of 14 Mazu palaces and temples on the island.
With the support of the worship palaces and temples in various places, the first sentence of the application text clearly clarifies the declaration statement at the beginning:"Mazu, the goddess of peace admired by the government and the people of China," summarizes the cultural spirit of "moral integrity, good deeds, and great love." On October 1, 2009, Meizhou Daily published a large-scale report in four pages, with the titles: "Tongxi","Tongxi" and "Tongxi".
Taking advantage of this application for human intangible cultural heritage projects, the application team integrated the Mazu belief and custom culture distributed around the world.
It can be said that "one application is shared globally", establishing the interactivity and integrity of various regions, palaces and temples., itself is a practical act of building cultural identity.
Mazu's cultural identity discourse of belief in customs has become the cornerstone of the protection and inheritance of intangible cultural heritage.
The pilgrimage transforms the "conceptual" beliefs and customs of Mazu into "real" rituals such as pilgrimage, sacrifice, ceremonies, and folk activities, requiring the host ancestral temple and related communities and groups) and the pilgrims 'respective spiritual palaces and temples and related ethnic believers).
Both parties jointly build cultural identity of Mazu's beliefs and customs.
The hosts should realize that Mazu's beliefs and customs are not only the community culture belonging to the ancestral temple and Meizhou Island, but also the cultural heritage of all mankind.
They have the responsibility and obligation to carry forward the cultural spirit of Mazu's beliefs and customs and actively promote the development of pilgrimage activities.
From the perspective of pilgrims, we must establish cultural consciousness, realize the spiritual connotation and cultural value of Mazu's beliefs in customs, visit the ancestral temple in person through pilgrimage, and truly experience Mazu culture on the spot through visiting temples, participating in rituals, ceremonies and folk activities., practice Mazu's beliefs in customs, perceive the identity discourse of "moral integrity, good deeds, and great love", complete the "separation stage, marginal stage and aggregation stage" in the "transitional etiquette", and obtain spiritual baptism and sublimation.
This resulted in a certain cultural identity with Mazu's beliefs and customs.
The host and pilgrims have established an interactive connection through pilgrimage activities, which is an expression of pedigree.
In the pilgrimage practice of both parties, they must take the pedigree of Mazu's beliefs and customs as the basis, maintain the authority of the pilgrimage center of the ancestral temple, and follow the pilgrimage of Fenling Temple.
The ancestral temple supports the pilgrimage order of Fenling Temple, and centers on the cultural identity discourse of "moral integrity, good deeds, and great love" to establish an overall pilgrimage concept.
Only by establishing the cultural identity of Mazu's beliefs and customs can the spiritual value and cultural genes of intangible cultural heritage resources be truly conveyed.
2) Based on ethnic pedigree, give full play to the inheritance capabilities of relevant groups
People often form certain organizations because of common beliefs.
Lin Meiren successively proposed the concepts of "sacrificial circle" and "belief circle"."Both are geographical social organizations linked by faith." Wang Xiaobing and Lin Haicong pointed out that the belief community of Mazu is a kind of "pseudo-kinship relationship".
The so-called "Mazu is the same person in the world, and all believers in the world share one family." Since it is a kinship relationship, there must be close interactions, and pilgrimage to the ancestral temple is an inevitable way to maintain this close relationship.
For example, on the afternoon of October 22, 2016, 188 Mazu believers from the "Heart-to-Heart Group between the Taiwan Strait and the Three Places" from Hong Kong, Macao and Shenzhen, led by their leader Chen Yongxiong, visited the ancestral temple for 17 consecutive years.
Zhang Xun said: "By returning to the center of the Mazu Temple, Mazu believers and even non-believers in Taiwan and even all of China will form a network system of beliefs and culture." The pilgrimage brings together relevant communities and groups of people and forms an interactive ethnic pedigree.
The basic concept of intangible cultural heritage protection is "seeing people, things, and life", among which "people" are a very key element.
The inheritors of intangible cultural heritage projects, relevant communities and groups, and believers are the main body of intangible cultural heritage protection and inheritance.
and soul, this is the relevant group in the ethnic spectrum.
The pilgrimage brings relevant groups together in one public space, and its ability to protect and inherit intangible cultural heritage must be fully utilized.
First, give full play to the inheritance capabilities of representative inheritors of intangible cultural heritage projects.
The "Aba Uprising" of Lin Congzhi, the first generation inheritor, revitalized the ancestral temple and promoted the revival of Mazu's beliefs and customs.
Lin Jinbang, the second-generation inheritor, started working at Mazu Ancestral Temple in Meizhou on September 13, 1997 and served as chairman.
He stepped down in 2018.
The current chairman is Lin Jinzan.
The mutual visits and exchanges between inheritors and various palaces and temples are important practical behaviors of inheritance.
The so-called "Matsu marriage, palaces and temples marriage, and people also marriage." Lin Congzhi was respectfully called "Living Mazu" by his followers and became sworn brothers and sisters with the chairmen and palace lords of various palaces in Taiwan.
Taiwanese people wanted to take photos with Lin Congzhi to show his legitimacy.
Lin Jinzan also participated in the laying ceremony of the Mazu stone statue in Chaotian Palace in Beigang.
In July 2017, Zumiao went to Southeast Asia to carry out the very influential "Mazu's Journey to Southeast Asia and Revisiting the Sea and Silk Road" activity, consolidating and strengthening the ethnic pedigree of Mazu's beliefs and customs.
In recent years, the board of directors of the ancestral temple centered on the inheritors has made great efforts in arranging the Mazu Festival, building a new temple complex for the pilgrimage landscape, and Tianhou Square.
For example, the music, dance, costumes, sacrifices, sacrificial vessels, ceremonial procedures and other contents in the festival have been redesigned on the basis of tradition, and dancers, singers, musicians, honor guards, as well as main sacrifices, accompanying sacrifices and sacrificial personnel have been trained, embodying the sacrificial nature of the Mazu Festival., artistic and ornamental nature.
It constitutes a major link in the pilgrimage.
Inheritors are the holders of intangible cultural heritage resources, and are also the protectors, disseminators and inheritors of intangible cultural heritage resources.
Intangible cultural heritage protection must first rely on the active actions of the inheritors to improve their inheritance capabilities.
Second, give full play to the inheritance role of communities and groups related to intangible cultural heritage resources.
The pilgrimage activities in the ancestral temple are mainly concentrated in five large-scale activities every year: first, the New Year prayer activities from the third day of the first month to the 15th day of the first month.
The ancestral temple will refer to the ceremony of the Hall of Prayer for New Year at the Temple of Heaven in Beijing and pray for Mazu believers around the world during the New Year.
Peace; second, on the birthday of Mazu on the 23rd month of the third month of the lunar calendar, various palaces and temple fairs on Meizhou Island form folk teams, becoming the highlight of the pilgrimage activities in the ancestral temple; Third, during the Straits Forum·Mazu Cultural Activity Week in June every year, more than 1000 palaces and temples at home and abroad gather on Meizhou Island for a big friendship party; fourth, the sea sacrifice ceremony is held on the 9th of September on the Ascension Day; fifth, the World Mazu Cultural Forum and Mazu Cultural Tourism Festival are held every year during November.
Among them, the Straits Forum, the World Mazu Culture Forum, and the Mazu Culture Tourism Festival are sponsored by the government and implemented in cooperation with the ancestral temple.
The government invites official guests, and the ancestral temple invites private guests and representatives of Mazu palaces and temples around the world.
In addition, the ancestral temple is also responsible for organizing many daily cultural exchange activities.
These pilgrimage activities are major events for the ancestral temple.
The 14 palaces and temples on the island have always adhered to the "four-armored rotation" system and assumed corresponding responsibilities during the pilgrimage activities in the ancestral temple.
Mazu's beliefs and customs are cultural heritage belonging to all mankind.
The communities, palaces and temples and people on Meizhou Island are direct witnesses, participants and carriers.
They must improve their identification and awareness of their own regional culture and actively participate in the pilgrimage activities of ancestral temples, jointly welcome pilgrims from various regions and palaces and temples as hosts, strengthen interactions and exchanges between believers and ethnic groups, further condense the ethnic pedigree, and promote the living inheritance of Mazu's beliefs and customs.
3) Carry out pilgrimage tourism as an "identity economy"
Pilgrimage and tourism are closely related."Pilgrimage tourism" is a type of modern tourism."It is the process of traditional folk culture centered on social beliefs being utilized, processed and reconstructed into tourism resources in the contemporary era, thereby realizing 'tourism'.
process." Pilgrimage tourism is a productive protection of intangible cultural heritage resources, that is,"a protection method that transforms intangible cultural heritage resources into cultural products through production, circulation, sales and other means." Tian Zhaoyuan positioned productive protection as an "identity economy." Wang Ning also emphasized the nature of identity in economic behavior.
He regarded consumption as a "dialectic" of social life: "It causes something such as a commodity) to disappear, and at the same time it causes other things such as self and social identity) to emerge." Identity is the cornerstone of pedigree and pilgrimage behavior, and it is also the soul and purpose of pilgrimage tourism.
Mazu's pilgrimage tourism believes in customs carries out productive protection through the behavior of pilgrimage pilgrimage, related tourism products, Mazu banquet dishes and other food culture.
You Hongxia said: "Pilgrims buy fragrance, candles, as well as alms, donations, and other behaviors in the Holy Land can be regarded as economic behaviors based on the nature of folk identity.
They are consumption of belief in sacred symbols.
They are more about gaining spiritual comfort and satisfaction.
It can also be said to be an emotional economy."
Wang Ning divided consumption customs into daily consumption customs and ritual consumption customs."Ritual consumption is the unity of ritual and consumption" and has the characteristics of "collective, symbolic, universal, grand, traditional, cyclical and normative".
According to this, it can be analyzed that pilgrimage tourism is a kind of "ritual consumption." Pilgrims can use this "ritual consumption" behavior to reflect their identification with the customs and their holy places, and then spread it through multiple platforms, further strengthening their identification and attracting more pilgrims.
As a result, pilgrimage tourism can promote the sustainable development of Shenzu and its holy places, and then become a productive way to protect Shenzu intangible cultural heritage resources.
Every year, Meizhou Island holds pilgrimage activities such as Mazu's birthday and ascension day, Mazu Cultural Tourism Festival, cross-strait sea festivals to Mazu, and Straits Forum.
It is positioned as a "pilgrimage island, ecological island, and resort island" and has the reputation of "World Festival Activities City" and "World International Festival City".
Meizhou Island has also posted a travel advertisement on CCTV, with the slogan "Mazu Holy Land, Holiday Paradise, Meizhou Island welcomes you!" We can vigorously carry out pilgrimage tourism around the intangible cultural heritage resources of Mazu's beliefs and customs, with the ancestral temple as the center and the entire island as the destination.
Zumiao has established an Overseas Tourism Department to directly serve Taiwanese believers.
Lin Jinzan, the current chairman and inheritor of Mazu's beliefs and customs, established Poseidon International Travel Agency to actively develop tourism products.
Meizhou Island strives to do a good job in night scenery projects to retain guests.
It also studies pilgrimage norms such as the "Three Gifts" and plans a series of brand activities.
Overall, the current pilgrimage tourism on Meizhou Island is not perfect enough and has not yet formed a large-scale development trend.
Many pilgrims stay for a short time and rarely spend the night on the island, resulting in a large number of hotels, restaurants and other tourist facilities being vacant.
This requires the entire island to establish the concept of "all-region tourism", develop pilgrimage tourism in all aspects such as food, accommodation, travel, entertainment and shopping, and establish a sense of creativity and innovation, actively develop tourism, cultural and creative products, and realize the creative transformation of Mazu's beliefs and customs.
Innovative development.
In line with what has been said above, pilgrimage is an expression of pedigree and a practical way to protect and inherit intangible cultural heritage resources.
It is necessary to build cultural identity during pilgrimage, give full play to the inheritance capabilities of relevant groups, and carry out productive protection methods for pilgrimage tourism.
4.
Conclusion
The pedigree concept believes that intangible cultural heritage is an interactive, comprehensive identification, orderly and holistic cultural system, which is consistent with the spirit of the Convention and is a reasonable perspective for studying intangible cultural heritage protection issues.
Pilgrimage is an exchange and mutual learning behavior based on the pedigree of faith and custom.
It can spread beliefs and activate the pedigree of faith and custom.
The pilgrimage picture expresses the relationship between various cultural elements, condenses the ethnic pedigree of believers, constructs the cultural identity of belief in customs, and highlights the interaction and integrity of intangible cultural heritage resources.
Pilgrimage is a necessary condition for maintaining the pedigree of faith and customs.
The prosperity of pilgrimage directly reflects the survival, development and inheritance of intangible cultural heritage resources of faith and customs.
When pilgrimage thrives, intangible cultural heritage thrives; when pilgrimage declines, intangible cultural heritage declines.
Therefore, pilgrimage is a practical way to protect and inherit Mazu's beliefs and customs.
It is necessary to use pilgrimage as the carrier and build the identity of intangible cultural heritage resources as the foundation to improve the inheritance capabilities of relevant communities and groups, and embody the basic concept of "seeing people, seeing things, and seeing life".
In addition, the productive protection of intangible cultural heritage resources should be promoted by carrying out "identity economy" behaviors such as pilgrimage tourism.
(This article was published in "Research on Mazu Culture", No.
2, 2019.
The annotations are omitted.
See the original issue for details)