Mazu Culture Network-People around Mazu

Interview with Gongmiao|Chairman Chen Luling dictates the history of Wenfeng Q&A

2025-01-19

Wenfeng Palace has gone through the long river of time, after the baptism of beacon fire and the changes of the times, it is still standing, quietly gazing at the changes of the world, witnessing the changes of history, and becoming the cultural coordinates and spiritual sustenance in the depths of the people's hearts.And Ms. Chen Luling, chairman of Wenfeng Palace, is like a faithful historian. From Ms. Chen Luling's growth to her integration into Mazu culture, the journey is full of piety. In the past, there were explorations of temples, and there were also ups and downs of Mazu culture with the times. Ms. Chen's dreams add a mystical touch to the Mazu culture......<img src="https://mazugw.jc-xm.com/uploads/uploads/image/2025/01/19/11909455a4b9cc40ac255b40d529976a." alt="图片" width="303" height="277" style="text-align: center; text-wrap-mode: wrap; width: 303px; height: 277px;"/> Chen LulingChairman of Wenfeng Palace-An overview of the interview-Early experiencesBonding StoriesDevelopment and changeCustomary activitiesSacrificial offeringsMiracle Stories -Attached at the end of the article-Timeline of the development of Wenfeng Palace Q: Can you briefly introduce yourself and talk about your early experiences? Wenfeng Palace Chen Luling: I was born in '52 and am now 73 years old. Before that, I was a junior high school graduate in the class of '67. At that time, the college entrance examination had not yet resumed, so I said that I was looking for something to do, but the old third class students could not do anything before, so they could only go to the mountains and go to the countryside. Later, my grandfather's factory recruited me, and I went over. In '72, I went to work in the factory. At the beginning, I followed an older generation of people in our factory to the temple, and I followed them to learn how to worship what I didn't understand before. It was also the earliest time when Buddhism was revived, I went to Meifeng Temple, Shimuroyan, and Guanghua Temple around us, we went to worship the Bodhisattva all the way to the Bodhisattva with the mentality of sightseeing and tourism, and learned about nature, cultivated our sentiments in the natural world, and worshiped the Bodhisattva of the temple with a natural mentality, and understood the Bodhisattva, what is enshrined in Buddhism, what are the teachings, and what are the canons. <img class="rich_pages wxw-img" data-imgfileid="100000942" data-ratio="0.6666666666666666" data-s="300,640" data-src="https://mmbiz.qpic.cn/sz_mmbiz_jpg/FOsJm6ySs0DGo8RUEnhaBFqxO3V6H6ZHBCTDKpZZSGSibMbQOKic7vTCDbAZxKbgZy5Ticx6X977gm795PQCRFCIQ/640?wx_fmt=jpeg&from=appmsg" data-type="jpeg" data-w="1080" data-original-style="vertical-align: middle;width: 100%;" data-index="4" src="https://mazugw.jc-xm.com/uploads/uploads/image/2025/01/19/e2645e2e7f073f612adae442b5c1e54b." _width="100%" __sec_open_place_holder__="true" crossorigin="anonymous" alt="图片" data-fail="0" style="text-align: center; text-wrap-mode: wrap; vertical-align: middle; width: 586px !important; height: auto !important; visibility: visible !important;"/>Chen LulingChairman of Wenfeng Palace If I was involved in Mazu-related matters, it started after 80 years, and I first went to worship in the Mazu Tianhou Temple in Qingfengling, with the elderly. In 83 years, our wave of people was in the Dongshan Wenfeng Palace Mazu Palace, when the Shengtianlou was built, when we needed young people, we went to pick cement and carry stones. At that time, I was not yet retired, so I went to participate in activities, participated in Mazu's affairs, and used my own personal experience to feel and experience Mazu's spiritual blessing. By the time I was in '93, I was assisting the Literature Residents Association in managing its finances, assisting them in reimbursement, and sending the finances and accounts to our neighborhood committee for summarization. [Note] ❶ Old three students: 1966, 1967, 1968 when China's "Cultural Revolution" broke out. Due to the impact of the Cultural Revolution, they were stranded in schools, forming a backlog of people, causing a serious employment crisis, and they did not meet the recruitment conditions and were not favored by the recruiting units.❷ Revival of Buddhism: In the late 1970s and early 1980s, religious policies were broadened, and Buddhism entered a stage of "revival". Q: Can you share with us the story of your relationship with Mazu? Wenfeng Palace Chen Luling: I was originally born in the Xing'an Hall in Xiamen, and the building where I lived supported Mazu. I was born seven or eight months later, and then I went back to Putian, and my grandparents, uncles and aunts took me to grow up. Since childhood, he has grown up healthy and safe under the protection of Buddhism, Bodhisattva, and Mazu, and has slowly become acquainted. I came here to do things and had two dreams related to Mazu. The first dream was, I was walking on the ancient street, and I saw Mazu in the car stepping on the street, and after stepping on the street, I saw that when she came down to the temple, she walked into Wenfeng Palace like a person, and I remembered that many offerings were placed on the table, which was very beautiful. Then Mazu slowly walked towards me, and I stepped back, and she kept holding my hand. Now that I think about it, it means "she needs me to do things for her". The second dream is that in the past, there were potted flowers on the floor bar in front of us, which was a three-story flower platform, and I dreamed that Mazu was wearing fine floral clothes and making flowers here. Later, when someone behaves uncivilly over there, I will warn everyone not to spit or other uncivilized behaviors over there. We people in Putian City didn't call Mazu before, we called Niang Ma ❶. Like girls walking and twisting, everyone will say that you walk like your mother. The area around Tianjin is called "Niangniang Temple", so it is different. The real Mazu has been said since 2000, and in order to unify the name, the unified name is "Mazu". [Note]❶ "Ma": The highest honorific title for female elders or highly respected women in Hokkien language, similar to "aunt and mother". Q: How did Mazu inherit and develop step by step in Wenfeng Palace? Wenfeng Palace Chen Luling: After the liberation, the Mazu of Wenfeng Palace was hidden at home by everyone, and the residents of the original Dongda Road area transferred Mazu to Dongshan again, and there are a lot of fruit groves in Dongshan, where several families live, so they dare to put it in this place. Dongshan was the first Chen's Academy, and later sold to the Lin family, renamed the Scales Academy❶, he enshrined in the Ancestor of Lu, that is, Lu Dongbin in the Eight Immortals, at that time, Master Lu Zu was on it, and Emperor Wenchang, bless the reader. The main thing is that these two main gods are in it. At that time, the golden body was in a private home. The first Mazu on the other side of Dongshan started at Ah Hui's house, and at that time he played three holy grails before he was invited out and put there as a display, and then he was not invited home, and now he is on the other side of Dongshan. At that time, there were five households in Tibet, and there were five guarantees ❷ said that Mazu was put in a dry well, and there was no water in the well for some reason, and when it was taken out, the feet and legs were broken, and it was picked up and repaired again and offered in Dongshan. Including this Mazu in our Wenfeng Palace, it is a black-faced Mazu collected by Lin Chou Mei ❸ of Dongshan. Since 83, please come out over there (Dongshan Wenfeng Mazu Palace). In 85 years, we built Mazu's Shengtian Tower. In 86, Xiang Nan, secretary of our provincial party committee, raised the matter of Mazu. Putian had not yet established a city at that time, and Lin Wenhao, chairman of the Putian County CPPCC, was responsible for taking the lead in holding the first Mazu Strait Forum. At that time, it was necessary to show the golden body of Mazu, that is, in the east mountain of Wenfeng Palace, first on the side of the Lu Ancestor Temple, and when it was displayed, it was placed in the middle. In 93 he went to Taiwan to exhibit and returned in 94. ❹ His original name was Dongshan Wenfeng Mazu Palace, this Dongshan represents the place name, and the plaque is the same as the current one of our Wenfeng Palace, which is erected. On June 25, 94, he returned and changed it to Dongshan Meizhou Mazu Palace. <img class="rich_pages wxw-img" data-imgfileid="100000949" data-ratio="1.5" data-s="300,640" data-src="https://mmbiz.qpic.cn/sz_mmbiz_jpg/FOsJm6ySs0DGo8RUEnhaBFqxO3V6H6ZHpqTEaJ0V6OnxwXb8jWUZGART3ibvUrgmUcIJibVzlv44ludolIWpnpqQ/640?wx_fmt=jpeg&from=appmsg" data-type="jpeg" data-w="1080" data-original-style="vertical-align: middle;width: 100%;" data-index="5" src="https://mazugw.jc-xm.com/uploads/uploads/image/2025/01/19/017f51cfc1c316200702348ae410e69a." _width="100%" __sec_open_place_holder__="true" crossorigin="anonymous" alt="图片" data-fail="0" style="text-align: center; text-wrap-mode: wrap; vertical-align: middle; width: 586px !important; height: auto !important; visibility: visible !important;"/>The current Dongshan Meizhou Mazu Palace <img class="rich_pages wxw-img" data-imgfileid="100000950" data-ratio="1.5022271714922049" data-s="300,640" data-src="https://mmbiz.qpic.cn/sz_mmbiz_png/FOsJm6ySs0DGo8RUEnhaBFqxO3V6H6ZH2t1ibFDgC1lQBdSqFibuccpGwGdHbeN1w6mKJVyOicMJGWrwV1YuVs0oQ/640?wx_fmt=png&from=appmsg" data-type="png" data-w="898" data-original-style="vertical-align: middle;width: 100%;" data-index="6" src="https://mazugw.jc-xm.com/uploads/uploads/image/2025/01/19/ee4166a290aa25796df24b84df900929." _width="100%" __sec_open_place_holder__="true" crossorigin="anonymous" alt="图片" data-fail="0" style="text-align: right; text-wrap-mode: wrap; vertical-align: middle; width: 279px !important; height: auto !important; visibility: visible !important;"/> <img class="rich_pages wxw-img" data-imgfileid="100000948" data-ratio="1.5024061597690086" data-s="300,640" data-src="https://mmbiz.qpic.cn/sz_mmbiz_jpg/FOsJm6ySs0DGo8RUEnhaBFqxO3V6H6ZHsrSms64FH1DhWsKeibCSt5nESC8wtRy4kEDlSAJUh99vVaGVFiaB1Jdw/640?wx_fmt=jpeg&from=appmsg" data-type="jpeg" data-w="1039" data-original-style="vertical-align: middle;width: 100%;" data-index="7" src="https://mazugw.jc-xm.com/uploads/uploads/image/2025/01/19/0e322bec285d728aef4efca70ccfb1ed." _width="100%" __sec_open_place_holder__="true" crossorigin="anonymous" alt="图片" data-fail="0" style="text-align: right; text-wrap-mode: wrap; vertical-align: middle; width: 279px !important; height: auto !important; visibility: visible !important;"/> [Note] ❶ Scales Academy: It was originally the "Dongshan Qiaoshe" founded by Lin Longjiang's grandfather Lin Fu, and later became the academy. Lin Longjiang once studied, lectured and disseminated the Trinity teachings here. After his death, the disciples rebuilt the academy into the Linshan Ancestral Temple (i.e., the Dongshan Ancestral Temple), which was dedicated to Lin Longjiang.❷ Five-Guarantee Households: Five-Guarantee Households refer to the elderly, disabled and minors in rural areas who have no ability to work, no source of livelihood, no legal obligation to support, raise or support, or those who have legal support obligations but have no ability to support them. They enjoy the benefits of the five guarantees in rural areas, including basic living security, medical security and housing security.❸ In 1999, Mr. Lin Guohua dedicated the wooden statue of Mazu in the Southern Song Dynasty of the former Baihu Shunji Temple that his mother Lin Choumei secretly stored at home, which is very precious.❹ More than 800 years ago, the Southern Song Dynasty woodcarved Mazu statue toured Taiwan twice in 1994 and 2005, which played a positive role in promoting the cultural exchange of Mazu on both sides of the Taiwan Strait. Q: In the depths of your memory, what major changes have Wenfeng Palace experienced? Wenfeng Palace Chen Luling: After the liberation, the trading company came to Wenfeng Palace, and in 53 years, the front of Wenfeng Palace was demolished❶, and the front was transformed into a Soviet style, and the Wenfeng Palace Department Store was established. <img class="rich_pages wxw-img" data-imgfileid="100000945" data-ratio="1.47" data-s="300,640" data-src="https://mmbiz.qpic.cn/sz_mmbiz_jpg/FOsJm6ySs0DGo8RUEnhaBFqxO3V6H6ZHfMQLMeVhGX5QuJU0a6UJU1tzOZvTsj8zW4z4bEedu3SLbdynt2nARg/640?wx_fmt=jpeg&from=appmsg" data-type="jpeg" data-w="500" data-original-style="vertical-align: middle;width: 572px;height: 841px;" data-index="8" src="https://mazugw.jc-xm.com/uploads/uploads/image/2025/01/19/9278e9f936769ee0f819be484365b160." _width="572px" __sec_open_place_holder__="true" crossorigin="anonymous" alt="图片" data-fail="0" style="text-align: center; text-wrap-mode: wrap; vertical-align: middle; width: 572px !important; height: auto !important; visibility: visible !important;"/><img class="rich_pages wxw-img" data-imgfileid="100000946" data-ratio="1.2246543778801844" data-s="300,640" data-src="https://mmbiz.qpic.cn/sz_mmbiz_jpg/FOsJm6ySs0DGo8RUEnhaBFqxO3V6H6ZHp1OY77QRBxODickqfHbkMCjg3XPeSStZj2h2DCMGIeIsKXvujp2g4yA/640?wx_fmt=jpeg&from=appmsg" data-type="jpeg" data-w="868" data-original-style="vertical-align: middle;width: 100%;" data-index="9" src="https://mazugw.jc-xm.com/uploads/uploads/image/2025/01/19/3f79c674c5ff2b8b30ea018018c3bf7f." _width="100%" __sec_open_place_holder__="true" crossorigin="anonymous" alt="图片" data-fail="0" style="text-align: center; text-wrap-mode: wrap; vertical-align: middle; width: 586px !important; height: auto !important; visibility: visible !important;"/>Wenfeng Palace was once the largest state-owned department store in Putian(Source: Wenfeng Palace official website) In the 80s, from 85 to 86, Wenfeng Palace was really built and implemented in Dongshan in 93 years, when it was Dongshan Wenfeng Mazu Palace. There are two that have a relationship with our Wenfeng Palace, one is Huating Palace Liwenfeng Palace, and the other is Xianyou Shanwei Wenfeng Palace, which was built along the stream. Behind the ancient Wenfeng Palace were all places where residents lived, and the road was not open at that time. At that time, the whole street was filled with worshippers. Later, it was said that this side was going to be demolished, and everyone went back again. '85 was in Dongshan for a few years, and he only came back here in '92. The temple was demolished in 53, and the restoration was in 85 or 86, so our wave of people began to raise funds in 92, 93, and 94, first renting here, and then raising funds, collecting 50,000 yuan to open a room, and collecting 50,000 yuan to open a room, so the Mazu of Wenfeng Palace also appeared, and the people and people from all walks of life in society were also willing to participate in support. <img class="rich_pages wxw-img" data-imgfileid="100000953" data-ratio="0.6666666666666666" data-s="300,640" data-src="https://mmbiz.qpic.cn/sz_mmbiz_jpg/FOsJm6ySs0DGo8RUEnhaBFqxO3V6H6ZHl1hnsJPLiad444bsr9tLJyaiaE5kICRsd0gHIVicibzNEmA7AoMKkBdTOw/640?wx_fmt=jpeg&from=appmsg" data-type="jpeg" data-w="1080" data-original-style="vertical-align: middle;width: 578px;height: 385px;" data-index="10" src="https://mazugw.jc-xm.com/uploads/uploads/image/2025/01/19/8c285d4ff8239e23219a012b8bc86476." _width="578px" __sec_open_place_holder__="true" crossorigin="anonymous" alt="图片" data-fail="0" style="text-align: center; text-wrap-mode: wrap; vertical-align: middle; width: 578px !important; height: auto !important; visibility: visible !important;"/>The current Wenfeng Palace [Note] ❶ In 1952, the Yuan Dynasty of Wenfeng Palace was demolished and rebuilt into a sales mall, and all the statues of the gods of the Song Dynasty were secretly hidden by the believers until 1985, when the two statues of Mazu in the Song Dynasty participated in the "Mazu Historical Site Exhibition" held by the Cultural Center of Chengxiang District. After the exhibition, it will be temporarily stored in Dongyan Mountain Scales Academy for worship. It was not until 1993 that Wenfeng Palace was restored and rebuilt. Q: When was the new temple built on the other side? Wenfeng Palace Chen Luling: In the new hall opposite, we were doing a Mazu puja in '09, which is the Obon festival in Buddhism. Because we haven't done this for more than 100 years, we at Wenfeng Palace started by making a Bon festival for Mazu to purify all sentient beings. After the completion of the construction of the new hall opposite in 2010. Of course, this is thanks to the support of the local government. Now that is to say, the overall building will be built into the current scale after 2010, a new hall and an old temple. In the past, the orientation of the building was to sit east and face west, but now it sits north and faces south, and the two buildings form the layout of the central axis.<img class="rich_pages wxw-img" data-imgfileid="100000955" data-ratio="0.6666666666666666" data-s="300,640" data-src="https://mmbiz.qpic.cn/sz_mmbiz_jpg/FOsJm6ySs0DGo8RUEnhaBFqxO3V6H6ZHicTHhe6OEiaxnv5icWlqs5taPJZjsn4Oic9LnY6paoh1iauwDhic9uQ8qcdw/640?wx_fmt=jpeg&from=appmsg" data-type="jpeg" data-w="1080" data-original-style="vertical-align: middle;width: 100%;" data-index="11" src="https://mazugw.jc-xm.com/uploads/uploads/image/2025/01/19/1d8409c771090886a963d12d1f7ffd43." _width="100%" __sec_open_place_holder__="true" crossorigin="anonymous" alt="图片" data-fail="0" style="text-align: center; text-wrap-mode: wrap; vertical-align: middle; width: 586px !important; height: auto !important; visibility: visible !important;"/>The interior of the three generations of Wenfeng Palace<img class="rich_pages wxw-img" data-imgfileid="100000954" data-ratio="0.6666666666666666" data-s="300,640" data-src="https://mmbiz.qpic.cn/sz_mmbiz_jpg/FOsJm6ySs0DGo8RUEnhaBFqxO3V6H6ZH3Ym79ksc0wodrEAP8JBzIkIaf6urMDkdf7WZRUEU6KXxhS7kRdUVEw/640?wx_fmt=jpeg&from=appmsg" data-type="jpeg" data-w="1080" data-original-style="vertical-align: middle;width: 100%;" data-index="12" src="https://mazugw.jc-xm.com/uploads/uploads/image/2025/01/19/c9f996a952142f7a8a542900adeac352." _width="100%" __sec_open_place_holder__="true" crossorigin="anonymous" alt="图片" data-fail="0" style="text-align: center; text-wrap-mode: wrap; vertical-align: middle; width: 586px !important; height: auto !important; visibility: visible !important;"/>Interior view of the new hall of Wenfeng Palace Q: Can you tell us about the customs and activities of Wenfeng Palace? Wenfeng Palace Chen Luling: In 92, we resumed the activities of going to Meizhou and Xianlianggang to make incense. In '93, the custom of each temple was to have percussion and singing ten-tone eight music, and a drum corps based on cymbals and drums, which were beaten. The place of Wenfeng Palace here is relatively small, and the people from the Taoist priest and the Jingshi side come over, including the mages who are monks. At that time, Wenfeng Palace was relatively small, that is, one person, invited the Jingshi to invite the gods and chant the scriptures, and the Dharma at that time was relatively simple. In 03, the sacrificial ceremony began to be resumed, and there were singers, dancers, and honor guards, and the scale was even larger. As far as the memory is concerned, Wenfeng Palace has been a small ritual performed by three people, one drumming and two blowing, and then gradually entering five people, one drumming and two blowing. If a person is a person, he can only sit down and ask God to recite the sutra. If you start with five people, it can be said that you can do a prayer dojo, a worship dojo, or a dojo to repay your kindness, ❶ five people can start to count one. One drum and two blows can be regarded as a real dojo. <img class="rich_pages wxw-img" data-imgfileid="100000951" data-ratio="0.7524271844660194" data-s="300,640" data-src="https://mmbiz.qpic.cn/sz_mmbiz_jpg/FOsJm6ySs0DGo8RUEnhaBFqxO3V6H6ZH87L59wiaUCvr6c10HXsUvicK6HmemibaQDns19JfqvMdskObmPY16eM8w/640?wx_fmt=jpeg&from=appmsg" data-type="jpeg" data-w="206" data-original-style="vertical-align: middle;width: 100%;" data-index="13" src="https://mazugw.jc-xm.com/uploads/uploads/image/2025/01/19/e8af0a90e44d4ba3ab1ab77e1b4f1fd9." _width="100%" __sec_open_place_holder__="true" crossorigin="anonymous" alt="图片" data-fail="0" style="text-align: center; text-wrap-mode: wrap; vertical-align: middle; width: 586px !important; height: auto !important; visibility: visible !important;"/>Mazu Dojo(Source: Wenfeng Palace official website) [Note] ❶ Mazu Dojo: Worship Mazu is a traditional and standardized religious ceremony, which is an organic part of Mazu beliefs and customs. Mazu Dojo originated from Taoist culture, and in the process of long-term development, it also absorbs and gathers the essence of Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism, aiming to pray for Mazu to protect the land and the people. Q: Is there any particular attention to the selection and placement of offerings in the Mazu sacrifice? Wenfeng Palace Chen Luling: In 2003 I took over the beginning. I planned, for example, the resumption of the Lantern Festival, as well as New Year's prayer activities, spring and autumn festivals. We have characteristics in the New Year, which are different from others, and we have more cultural connotations in the choice of offerings. The activity starts on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, and lasts for the fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth days of the Lunar New Year. In the morning, it usually starts at 9 o'clock. For example, on the first day of the fifth day of the first month, the fifth day of the first month is ten offerings, the second day is five offerings, and on the tenth day of the first month, it is the Jade Emperor, and it is ten offerings. This offering is divided into ten, five, seven, five, and ten. This difference is not the same, the things in the row are different. According to Taoism, we are incense, flowers, fruit boxes, food boxes, longevity peaches, noodles and rice, five fruits, six lents, tea, wine, and ten incense. If it is the five offerings, it will be different, brown sugar, flowers, red wine, green vegetables and pearls will be different. Then to the fifteenth Lantern Festival, we have different seats, one is the pig's head, the pig's tail has four feet in the middle, the large intestine and small intestine inside, leaking a piece to hold a small pig, as well as sheep, chickens, ducks, and fish. This is this, and it can be offered in five ways over there. There are 12 plates of seafood on the left, including shrimp, crab, squid, snails, clams, and carp. In the middle is a vegetarian dish and an offering for fasting. The Lantern Festival of the eleventh is now changed to the fifteenth and put together, otherwise there are too many. There is also Chen Jinggu's birthday, including the Holy Parents, who are concentrated on the fifteenth.<img class="rich_pages wxw-img" data-imgfileid="100000952" data-ratio="1.1215469613259668" data-s="300,640" data-src="https://mmbiz.qpic.cn/sz_mmbiz_png/FOsJm6ySs0DGo8RUEnhaBFqxO3V6H6ZHllJRpWQvicIoUlpfIMsM3ia7iaiaJn83ucqh4h6UIyeicZbC8LHetoB25vA/640?wx_fmt=png&from=appmsg" data-type="png" data-w="362" data-original-style="vertical-align: middle;width: 100%;" data-index="14" src="https://mazugw.jc-xm.com/uploads/uploads/image/2025/01/19/7bea31e515823bd617c3980cd055dda6." _width="100%" __sec_open_place_holder__="true" crossorigin="anonymous" alt="图片" data-fail="0" style="text-align: center; text-wrap-mode: wrap; vertical-align: middle; width: 586px !important; height: auto !important; visibility: visible !important;"/>Mazu offerings(Source: Wenfeng Palace official website) [Note] ❶ Mazu offerings: Wenfeng Tianhou Temple Mazu offerings are "one of the great Chinese unique activities", which is a traditional folk devotional food decorative art, commonly known as "Mazu feast table", usually on the birthday of the god Mazu and the anniversary of the ascension, as well as traditional festivals. The banquet table is also divided into a literary feast and a martial feast. Q: What do you think is special about the customs of Wenfeng Palace? Wenfeng Palace Chen Luling: Mazu's Lantern Festival tail lantern ❶, at 9 a.m., the sacrifice and prayer began, that is, there are seven Taoist priests doing it, seven Taoist priests, one standing in the middle to lead the singing, three on the left, three on the right. One drum and two blows. After chanting sutras and praying for the peace of the country and the people, we began to "light the mother" and insert candles on the layers of candlesticks. We design according to the occasion, what to hang here and what to hang there. Our oldest candle is one layer at a time, five layers of candles, and then we conceived to make modern ones, such as sailboats and wishful wishes, and then to arrange candles according to the shape. Especially the flickering of the candlelight at night makes me feel like a fire tree and a silver flower that never sleeps. The candles can not be burned all, leave the candle feet for the believers to please go back on the first day of the second month and continue to light it, this is called "please fire mother", which is also a meaning, in order to show that the aura of Mazu blesses the peace of the family and the country.<img class="rich_pages wxw-img" data-imgfileid="100000956" data-ratio="0.6666666666666666" data-s="300,640" data-src="https://mmbiz.qpic.cn/sz_mmbiz_jpg/FOsJm6ySs0DGo8RUEnhaBFqxO3V6H6ZHvMt6HHVBWFFKMJwtXtpEaJHia0I3FY7Nv87wbngCnvIn0JMlcJ5CZNA/640?wx_fmt=jpeg&from=appmsg" data-type="jpeg" data-w="600" data-original-style="vertical-align: middle;width: 100%;" data-index="15" src="https://mazugw.jc-xm.com/uploads/uploads/image/2025/01/19/a60f614460fd6a83cfaf4d765962d7fe." _width="100%" __sec_open_place_holder__="true" crossorigin="anonymous" alt="图片" data-fail="0" style="text-align: center; text-wrap-mode: wrap; vertical-align: middle; width: 586px !important; height: auto !important; visibility: visible !important;"/>Wenfeng Palace "Lantern Festival Candle Mountain"(Source: Wenfeng Palace official website) [Note]❶ Tail Lantern: Wenfeng Palace holds Jiao feast, lighting lanterns, lantern viewing and other activities on the last day of the first lunar month.❷ Shangyuan: Shangyuan Festival is the Lantern Festival, and the Mazu Lantern Festival Dojo is Shangyuan Prayer. Q: How was the display of Mazu and other gods arranged during the street stampede event? Wenfeng Palace Chen Luling: I started to step on the street at 7 o'clock in the evening, and I used to ask children to dress up, such as Mulan, as well as Liang Shanbo and Zhu Yingtai, and there are many stories I heard when I was a child. In 2019, it also said that under the prompting of Liu Jingjie, director of our Bureau of Culture and Tourism, we said that we would become stronger and bigger, and then we consulted Mazu. Now it is necessary to dress up the female gods, for example, the Queen Mother, the Earth Mother, Doumu, the Queen Mother of the West, and the old mother of Lishan, the old mother of Taishan, and the Nine Heavens Xuannu, this one is dressed up for him. The first car is the Song Dynasty Mazu (soft birth Mazu) on the second floor. The first three years were the Mazu of the Song Dynasty, and the statue of Mrs. Linghui came down, and this statue was relatively small, and everyone would not be able to see it clearly when they went out. In the third year, it was replaced by a soft birth Mazu.<img src="https://mazugw.jc-xm.com/uploads/uploads/image/2025/01/19/8c0ecd779a543ad781527852e6a396e9." alt="图片" width="607" height="376" style="text-align: center; text-wrap-mode: wrap; width: 607px; height: 376px;"/>Wenfeng Palace soft body Mazu That Mazu is in the first car, the second part may be the Queen Mother, the Earth Mother, and the Queen Mother of the West, followed by Doumu, Lishan Old Mother, Taishan Old Mother, this is the third and fourth floats, starting from the beginning of this year (2024), it is to be the Nine Heavens Xuanmu, and she is also coming.<img class="rich_pages wxw-img" data-imgfileid="100000957" data-ratio="1.2537537537537538" data-s="300,640" data-src="https://mmbiz.qpic.cn/sz_mmbiz_jpg/FOsJm6ySs0DGo8RUEnhaBFqxO3V6H6ZHxFIdDnPhTgWCYd3yhibDYWIFicqyYtmia5GMVAhZZIJkeia3bRUoWpFYHA/640?wx_fmt=jpeg&from=appmsg" data-type="jpeg" data-w="666" data-original-style="vertical-align: middle;width: 100%;" data-index="17" src="https://mazugw.jc-xm.com/uploads/uploads/image/2025/01/19/7536157d9810272544134649c0ce0367." _width="100%" __sec_open_place_holder__="true" crossorigin="anonymous" alt="图片" data-fail="0" style="text-align: center; text-wrap-mode: wrap; vertical-align: middle; width: 586px !important; height: auto !important; visibility: visible !important;"/>Wenfeng Palace, the twenty-ninth month of the first month, the tail of Mazu, the lantern festival(Source: Wenfeng Palace official website) [Note] ❶ Soft Mazu: The soft Mazu uses wooden strips as the skeleton, and the wood is carved into its head, and it is dressed in specific clothing. During some important religious festivals or celebrations, soft-bodied Mazu statues are often used in parades. Due to its soft body, it is easy to lift and move during the cruise. Q: You have been involved in the affairs of Wenfeng Palace, in your opinion, where is the magic of Wenfeng Palace? Wenfeng Palace Chen Luling: I feel that the reason why Wenfeng Palace is so effective depends on the admiration of the common people and the continuous incense, as well as continuous chanting and prayers. During the 45-year Anti-Japanese War, the poem was drawn by lot, "Pu people are blessed with Pu people to cultivate, and the crazy two saints are planning early, although they are suffering from wind and fire, the people of Puyang will never worry." So don't worry, Mazu is already planning, and this is also the manifestation of Mazu. There have been two fires in Wenfeng Palace in the past, one may be relatively small, and one is when it was 46 years, the fire was very large, flying from the front of Wenfeng Palace to the other side, and it did not burn Wenfeng Palace. Also, at the end of 2019 and during the epidemic in early 2020, I saw Mazu shed tears when I was grooming, so I called the Holy Grail to ask her. The first question was to ask her if she was really crying? Grail. Second, is there any catastrophe for her? Grail. Thirdly, ask her if she will kill a lot of people, you are very sad? Grail. The fourth question is whether you want to pray for the health of the world? She said yes. When we started praying for blessings, we discussed with Mazu to pray for blessings for a day, and we organized some people to chant sutras and pray for blessings over there, praying for God's protection. In the fifth question, Mazu still gave a response of "although suffering from wind and fire, the people of Puyang will never have to worry". This also reflects the miracle of Mazu's unpredictable prophet. [Note]❶ Signing poems, also known as signing cards, also known as holy signs, spiritual signs. "Two things to step into the temple gate, burn incense and draw lots to ask about your heart." Draw lots to ask for divination, point out the maze, solve the misfortune, and pray for the future.❷ In 1920, there was a fire in Dingdadu (north of Liuqiao Lane), and Wenfeng Palace was not affected and survived safely. In 1946, on the third day of the first lunar month, the "Hongquan" Qingguo store on Wenfeng Gongqian Street (located at the mouth of Dingwu Lane) caught fire, and the shops on both sides of the street were burned down, and only Wenfeng Tianhou Temple was intact and stood alone. Mazu Lingying, the people of the time were surprised. After the above two fires, the road from Wenfeng Palace to the front of the ancient building was only widened to more than 12 meters when the shop was rebuilt. <img class="rich_pages wxw-img" data-imgfileid="100000958" data-ratio="0.6666666666666666" data-s="300,640" data-src="https://mmbiz.qpic.cn/sz_mmbiz_jpg/FOsJm6ySs0DGo8RUEnhaBFqxO3V6H6ZHTVF4QjlRzCKaxzhxh2kdNWS7n7NagFhqlNRdf0vllThUvpdcLtWlEg/640?wx_fmt=jpeg&from=appmsg" data-type="jpeg" data-w="1080" data-original-style="vertical-align: middle;width: 100%;" data-index="18" src="https://mazugw.jc-xm.com/uploads/uploads/image/2025/01/19/1e1ae76ec118b05f590f717e8ef6c9af." _width="100%" __sec_open_place_holder__="true" crossorigin="anonymous" alt="图片" data-fail="0" style="text-align: center; text-wrap-mode: wrap; vertical-align: middle; width: 586px !important; height: auto !important; visibility: visible !important;"/> <img class="rich_pages wxw-img" data-imgfileid="100000959" data-ratio="0.7129629629629629" data-s="300,640" data-src="https://mmbiz.qpic.cn/sz_mmbiz_jpg/FOsJm6ySs0DGo8RUEnhaBFqxO3V6H6ZHGcib7DnOicfezHhtZdxnEu0wqYM2YWJR3NLNXrZXH0FE1Ciaamib9Sm85Q/640?wx_fmt=jpeg&from=appmsg" data-type="jpeg" data-w="1080" data-original-style="vertical-align: middle;width: 100%;" data-index="19" src="https://mazugw.jc-xm.com/uploads/uploads/image/2025/01/19/d2c77abfc696b7bb9e563babe7353dc3." _width="100%" __sec_open_place_holder__="true" crossorigin="anonymous" alt="图片" data-fail="0" style="text-align: center; text-wrap-mode: wrap; vertical-align: middle; width: 586px !important; height: auto !important; visibility: visible !important;"/>Nearby residents who come to Wenfeng Palace to worship Timeline of the development of Wenfeng PalaceSouthern song dynasty• Twenty-five years of Shaoxing (1159 AD): The first construction of the Baihu Shunji Temple. Yuan Dynasty• In the 14th year of Zhizheng (1354 AD): Moved to the mountain gate of the original water and land courtyard in the city, and was renamed Wenfeng Palace because of the west facing Wenfeng Ridge, becoming the "place of spring and autumn sacrifices in the county".• (Note: 2024 marks the 670th anniversary of the relocation of Wenfeng Palace.) ） Ming dynasty• The first year of Wanli (1573 AD): Chen Yingkui, then deputy envoy of Ancha, rebuilt it. Qing Dynasty• 21st year of Qianlong (1756 AD): Gong Zhaolin, the prefect of Xinghua Prefecture, presided over the expansion of the main hall.• In the 8th year of Jiaqing (1803 AD): Ma Ma, the prefect of Xinghua Prefecture, changed the "Baogong Ancestral Hall" in the North Hall to the "Three Generations Ancestral Hall".• The 23rd year of Jiaqing (1818): Xu Qingchao of Xiezhen, Xinghua Prefecture, and his palace soldiers donated money to expand the "Three Generations Ancestral Hall". Republic of China period• 1929 AD: The petition of the Lin clan in Putian was approved, and the Wenfeng Tianhou Temple was renamed the "Lin Xiaonu Temple" for protection.• 1936: A Mazu dressing house was added. After the founding of the People's Republic of China• In the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China: listed as a key protected place of religious activity.• After 1953: It was once used as a department store.• Late '80s: Renewed.• June 1993: The Putian Municipal People's Government listed the "Three Generations Ancestral Hall" and the "Dressing Building" as the third batch of municipal-level cultural relics protection units.• November 2009: The Fujian Provincial People's Government listed it as the seventh batch of provincial-level cultural relics protection units.• September 3, 2011: The new expansion of the hall was completed. For this note, please refer to:[1] Wenfeng Palace official website https://www.wenfenggong.com/[2] Lin Guoliang, "Putian Mazu Belief and Customs", Haifeng Publishing House, 2014 Orchestration | Cailing; JulesAudit | Wen Yu

Return to the special column

Special Column

Interview with Gongmiao|Chairman Chen Luling dictates the history of Wenfeng Q&A