At the entrance of Shuanghu Linhai Village, Dadeng Island, Xiamen City, there stands the majestic "Tianhou Mazu Palace". In front of the release pool, there is a five-meter-high stone statue of Mazu with kind eyebrows and kind eyes. dignified. Mazu's real name is Lin Moniang. She has chanted sutras and worshiped Buddha since she was a child, burned incense day and night, treated illnesses and saved people. When she was seventeen, she happened to encounter a ship capsized by a storm and threw grass and wood into it. She rescued people who fell into the water. People respected her as the "God of the Sea". Every year on March 22 of the lunar calendar , the villagers of Shuanghu will hold a major birthday commemoration for the empress.
Everyone knows that the birthday of Mazu all over the world is on the 23rd of the third lunar month, so why not in Dasheng Shuanghu? What about the exception? This has to start with the legend of "The Emperor and the Duke vs. Mazu" spread in Fujian and Taiwan.
There is a "Tianhou Temple" on the seaside of Yangtang Village, less than two kilometers away from Tianhou Temple. "Xianming Palace", the palace is dedicated to "Emperor Baosheng", also known as "Emperor Duke", "Da Daogong", "Wu Zhenren", whose real name is Wu Kui. During his lifetime, he collected medicines and made elixirs, helped the world and saved people, and was known as the "miracle doctor" Later, when he wanted to save the people from the epidemic, he unfortunately fell while climbing a cliff and returned to the west on a crane. The people in southern Fujian erected statues and built palaces for him and worshiped him all the time.
It is said that Mazu was always worshiped. The two families have been cousins ??for generations and have close ties. Their parents have made arrangements for them to be married since they were young. When they grew up, they both determined to save people in need and save all sentient beings, so their God-given marriage was later delayed. , both of them achieved enlightenment, were ranked among the immortals, and were worshiped by all the people, but they were friendly with each other and often joked with each other.
One year on the 15th day of the third lunar month, the Great Hall of Xianming Palace was full of people and incense. The sound of firecrackers can be heard endlessly. This day is the "Birthday of the Buddha" of Emperor Baosheng. The faithful men and women "carry the sacred chariot" to travel around the country, patrolling the sky to ensure the safety of the place, and pray sincerely as the incense smoke reaches the sky. . The emperor, who was living in heaven, suddenly felt an impulse, and he counted with his fingers, and realized that it was the faithful men and women who were calling him to come down to earth and enjoy the fireworks on earth. Immediately wearing a brocade robe, a silk scarf, and jade boots, he looked like a handsome young man. The emperor invited the Antarctic Immortal, the Barefoot Immortal, the Three Stars of Fortune, Luxury and Longevity, and the eight upper and lower caves to worship the gods, step on the auspicious clouds, ride on the fragrant wind, ride on the phoenix, and come to the human world together in a lively manner. Because he and Mazu lived just next to each other, the emperor thought that it would not be too late to meet his empress in the mortal world.
As the saying goes, "Nothing can be written by coincidence". It is said that on that day, Mazu was living in the Queen's Hall, and she heard the sound of fairy music in the air. Then all the immortals came to attend the emperor's birthday banquet. The empress moved onto the nine-phoenix fragrant chariot on lotus steps, helped a chair fly up, and asked the four gods to pick up the truth. She walked out of the palace door and looked up in the air. She saw the emperor and the great immortals smiling happily and slowly descending. She couldn't help but feel angry in her heart: What a stinky person, you are such a pompous person, but you didn't invite me, and you made a joke to make him look ugly.
It’s too late to say it, but it will be soon. The empress recited the mantra, and a moment ago the sky was blue and clear, the thunder suddenly came down, and the strong wind came in an instant, just like the angry princess of the iron fan, only blowing the gloomy clouds and the rising sun into dim dust. The wind howled, the universe rippled, and the thunder shook the mountains and rivers fiercely. This wind is really pushing the mountains, turning rocks and pines down, and this thunder is really destroying the dead trees and shaking the gods and ghosts. Before all the immortals could understand, this strong wind came straight towards the emperor, catching the emperor by surprise and causing the scholar's silk scarf to fall to the clouds and roll to the ground. When the immortals came back to their senses, they all laughed when they saw that the hair on the top of the emperor's head was sparse and turned out to be a "stinky head". Only then did the empress reveal her true form, and sang a song loudly (in Hokkien):
The emperor, the emperor, is in the water (beautiful), and his head is wrapped in a scholar's scarf.
The strong wind blew the armor and rolled it all over the ground, only to realize that it was (it turned out to be) a smelly headscarf.
Although the emperor knew that it was the "ghost" caused by the empress's methods, he could not get angry, so he could only laugh it off in embarrassment. To this day, there is still a popular saying in southern Fujian in the Fujian and Taiwan areas, "You only lift someone's turban when you know they have a bad reputation - a metaphor for deliberately exposing someone's shortcomings." It is said to have come from this.
In a blink of an eye, it is the 23rd day of the third lunar month - the birthday of Mazu, and people also hold a grand celebration ceremony for the empress. The people gathered on the shore were religious men and women holding incense and bowing in obeisance; the ones gathering in the sea were tumbling and jumping dolphins, large and small. These sea elves, called "Mazu pigs" by the local people, are astonishing to see, jumping around and worshiping. The noisy and lively scene alarmed the emperor of the Xianming Palace. He opened his eyes and saw into the world, and all the reality and reality were clear. Then a gust of fragrant wind came to the top of Tianhou Palace, and there were beautiful clouds, auspicious light lingering, and infinite auspicious mist in the sky. Soaring straight into the sky, the sky was full of fairy music, the sound of wearing rings was endless, and the fairies and Penglai flowers were everywhere. Magu and other immortals came to celebrate. I saw Empress Macu with her "phoenix crown and rosy robes in brilliant colors, her phoenix and phoenix belts exquisite, her pink makeup and light colored beards and flowers beautiful, and the queen's motherly appearance looked up to her from all directions." She is worthy of the title of "benefiting the common people, bringing peace and prosperity to the country, benefiting the sea, and rescuing people in need". "Our Lady of Heaven.
The emperor recalled the joke his empress made on him not long ago, and thought, 'Why not make her look embarrassed too? It also makes her dare not underestimate herself in the future. Then he pressed the falling cloud head and offered sacrifices to the treasure he carried with him - the medicine pestle and mortar. The copper pestle and mortar kept banging. In an instant, clouds gathered, fog gathered, and heavy rain poured down. This rain is really heavy: dense and heavy, confusing. Dense and heavy, like waves hanging upside down; confused and confused, like the Milky Way pouring out.
Just like the sea water flying thousands of feet of jade, just like the stream breaking through the waves with thousands of silver, the sudden heavy rain drenched Mazu from head to tail, only to end up with a crown of rosy clouds, slanting flowers on her hair, and all the pink makeup on her jade. Tolerate loss”. The emperor also composed a song and said with a smile (in Hokkien):
Mazu is swimming in water, wearing a phoenix crown on her head and applying powder on her face.
On a sunny day, there was thunder and heavy rain, and my head was wet and powdery.
So, this kind of joke goes on year after year. Every March 15th, there will be strong winds in Dasheng, which is commonly known as "masthead" by fishermen; every March 23rd, it will rain heavily. The faithful men and women were worried that the mother's pollen would be soaked by the rain and would be unsightly, so they moved Mazu's birthday one day forward, to the 22nd day of the third lunar month, in order to avoid the heavy rain caused by Emperor Jungong.