The development of Minnan people and their contribution to early Macao

Macao was called Haojiang 'ao, Xiangshan 'ao, Haojiang and Jinghai in ancient times. More than 500 years ago, Xiangshan County was a remote and inferior county in Guangdong in the Ming Dynasty, while Macao was a remote territory of Xiangshan County, with a vast territory and few people. It was a group of Zhangzhou people who were unable to gain a foothold in Zhangzhou Yuegang in the early Ming Dynasty and engaged in armed smuggling trade at sea. It was they who came to Australia across the ocean, imitated the smuggling trade in the early days of Zhangzhou Yuegang, and gradually built Macau into one of the trade centers in the south of China in the Ming Dynasty.

In the early years of the Ming Dynasty, in order to prevent the harassment and destruction of the Japanese pirates, the court of the Ming Dynasty implemented the "sea ban policy" of closing its doors to the outside world. "Those who are offshore are forbidden to go out to sea privately", "Those who dare to have private contacts, hell to pay". It also implements the "first newspaper" system, which supervises and restricts each other through the village. In the sixteenth year of Hongwu (A.D. 1383), the "survey trade system" was implemented, and "survey" was the trade voucher. Foreign merchant ships are only allowed to trade if they hold the "ship inspection" issued by the Ming court. This kind of transaction has a long interval and a small transaction volume. Usually once a year or once every three years. For example, in the early years of Yongle, China and Japan agreed that every ten years, "two hundred people stopped and two ships stopped." This is actually a limited tribute trade, which is far from meeting the requirements of economic development and trade at home and abroad at that time. At that time, the enforcement of the "sea ban" in the Ming court was extremely limited, and weapons and ships were relatively backward, and remote places were often beyond reach. Because the profits of maritime trade are extremely rich and the risks are low, smuggling is popular.

Yan Qisheng, a native of Zhangzhou, and his followers may have been the first to go to Macao for development. According to the military affairs recorded in the third volume of Xiangshan County Records: "In July of the second year of Tianshun (1458), pirates attacked Yan Qisheng. First of all, Sheng Kai was doing nothing and was imprisoned in Zhangzhou. Prison break to collect disciples, go to sea as thieves, and enemies kill loyalists. Go to Guangdong to attract foreign ships and sail to the open sea at the end of Sha Yi. " Yan Qisheng and his followers were actually armed smuggling groups at sea in the Ming Dynasty, as well as businessmen and thieves. According to Liao Yang's paper "Research on Mazu Culture in Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan", "According to the existing materials, Yan Qisheng and his followers from Zhangzhou, Fujian Province may be the first people to develop Macao. Therefore, some researchers believe that Mazu Pavilion, the earliest Mazu Tempel in Macau, was built by Yan Qisheng, a native of Zhangzhou, Fujian, and his subordinates. " When Yan Qisheng arrived in Xiangshan County, there were no Portuguese in Macao. At that time, the so-called "model ships" were some merchant ships in Southeast Asia. Because the Ming dynasty limited the number of tribute ships, it traded in relatively remote coastal ports in Guangdong. These smuggling activities provided the necessary conditions for the development of Yan Qisheng Group in Macao, and also made isolated Macao gradually become one of the coastal trade centers in South China.

More than 400 years ago, when the Portuguese first came to Macao, it had been developed and built. At that time, the main residents were Minnan people, who also brought Mazu worship to the local area and built Mazu Pavilion. It is said that when the Portuguese first arrived in Australia, they landed at the Macau pier. They asked the local residents, what is the name of this place? The resident standing next to Mazu Pavilion didn't understand Portuguese, and according to his gestures, he mistakenly thought that he was referring to the name of the temple, so he replied "Mazu Pavilion" and the Portuguese pronunciation was translated into "Macau", which is the origin of the Portuguese name "Macau". Macau is also known as Port Ama.

The Macao Peninsula covers an area of about 9.3 square kilometers. This ancient Mazu Tempel is built along a cliff with mountains facing the sea. Local residents call it Ma Ge or Mazu Ge, which is located in the southeast of Macao. It is the oldest of the three major temples in Macao and the first temple recorded in Macao history books.

As early as before the arrival of the grape people, Zhangzhou people had built Mazu Pavilion. Mazu Pavilion in Macau is a temple that began in the early Ming Dynasty. Matteo Ricci, who came to China at that time, said, "After arriving in the coastal areas of Guangdong, the grape people kept in contact with China people for several years, until the doubts and fears of China people gradually disappeared, so they designated a piece of land near the island as a trading point for visiting businessmen. There is an idol named Ama. Today, we can still see that this place is called Macao, in the port of Ama. It can be seen from Matteo Ricci's records that Mazu Pavilion in Macao was built before the Portuguese came to China, which is one of the witnesses of Zhangzhou people's development of Macao.

After the grape people first came to China to harass Guangdong, Guangdong imposed a sea ban, so "Annan, full of thorns, countless ships, and companies tried their best to stop them, all went to the waters of Zhangzhou, Fujian to do business privately, so the benefits were all in Fujian, and the streets of Guangzhou were bleak." Guangdong banned the sea and Fujian couldn't help it, which made Zhangzhou and others more active in various undertakings in Macao. Many people in Zhangzhou, Fujian do business in Macao, and there are many documents to prove it. Pang, a famous minister in the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty, wrote in "Xu Lu": "There are many affairs in Macao, such as Zhang, Quan, Ning, Shao, Dongguan and Xinhui." This is a famous document about the history of Macao. It shows that at the beginning of Macao's opening, people from Zhangzhou, Fujian, Quanzhou, Zhejiang, Ningbo and Shaoxing were very active in Macao, and most of them were from southern Fujian. They are dressed in foreigners' clothes different from those in the mainland, so they can negotiate business with grape people in Fanyu.

Zheng Mengxing's book Minnan Maritime Merchants and Mazu in Macau says on page 180 of Scholars on both sides of the Taiwan Strait (edited by Taiwan Province Surname Origin Society) that many maritime merchants live and do business in Macau, so eight Tian Fei temples have been built in Macau. Among them, Tianfei Palace in Peng Feng, Princess Palace in Shi Tian in Majiao and March 8th Temple are famous for their large buildings. Most of these temples in Tian Fei were built by villagers living in Macau from all over the country, and they were used as meeting places for fellow villagers' associations. For example, the Tianfei Palace in Majiaoshi was built by fellow villagers in Zhangzhou, as a club of Zhang Xingtang, a branch of Zhangzhou. It shows that Zhangzhou people have built more than one Mazu Tempel in Macau.

The belief in Mazu in Macao spread with the arrival of Fujian immigrants. Because their hometown, as the carrier of Mazu culture, they may become disseminators who actively introduce Mazu incense to Macao. According to "A Brief Introduction to Macau", "According to legend, during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, the Fujian-Jiaxing ship was badly hit by a hurricane. I saw the goddess standing on the hillside, a boat was safe, and a temple was set up to worship heaven, named Niang Majiao. Mom, mom, Tian Fei also speaks Minnan. " . 5 Qing Daoguang's "Xiangshan County Records" contains: "The Yueshan Ancient Temple in this county was built between Huangjiao Mountain and Song Xianchun to worship the Queen Mother." six

Since the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Mazu belief has taken root and sprouted in Xiangshan County, Macao, and developed rapidly, becoming the belief of local people, especially coastal residents. "Xiangshan County Records" contains: "Tian Fei is like an official shipyard, preparing for the berthing of Japanese official ships in the bay. Sheng Shaode established a thousand households in Yande, which was later abandoned. In the twenty-fourth year of Jiajing, he directed the reconstruction of Ni Tian. "

After Mazu belief was introduced into Macao, it gradually became the main belief of local people, especially fishermen. Mazu Pavilion is the oldest temple in Macao. It was built in the first year of Hongzhi (1488), which has a history of more than 500 years. Some researchers believe that it was built by Yan Qisheng, a native of Zhangzhou, and his subordinates.

Mazuge Temple consists of the main hall, the Stone Hall, the Hong Ren Hall and the Guanyin Pavilion. It is an ancient architectural complex with the national characteristics of China, with the gate of Shishi Town, flying over the eaves and climbing over the walls, which is full of China folk art characteristics. Among them, the Hong Ren Hall carved from grottoes has the longest history. Later, due to the growing incense, a stone hall and a hall of great heroes were built successively, all of which were dedicated to Mazu, the queen of heaven. Guanyin Pavilion is located at the highest place in the temple, dedicated to Master Guanyin. People pass the temple gate and granite archway, see the three gold-lettered plaques of Mazu Pavilion, walk into the courtyard, follow the stone steps at the foot of the mountain, and climb the stairs, then they can reach Hong Ren Hall, which is built in the rock boulder and chiseled from the grottoes. There are siren generals carved on the four walls of the temple, which are mottled and refuted, and the Tianhou Palace is enshrined in the middle, which is the oldest building in Mazu Pavilion.

The biggest building in Mazu Pavilion is the hall on the right after entering the door, carved with beams and painted with buildings, resplendent and magnificent. In the ninth year of Daoguang reign (1829), Mazu Pavilion added a hall corridor, a monastery, a gate square, a ramp and a stone inscription. During the Guangxu period, an exquisite and elegant Huagetang was built.

Stone carvings, woodcuts, steles and couplets in Mazu Pavilion in Macao can be seen everywhere, with a total number exceeding 100, many of which are historical witnesses of the blood relationship between Fujian and Macao. For example:

The 36-day victory in Meizhou Mountain has achieved remarkable results.

Liu Fang Yuedong Temple has been brilliant for millions of years. -Main hall

The stems of the South China Sea fragrant lotus are in Australia.

The performance of Toyo is a mirror of Fujian. -Zhengjue Zen Forest

Mazu Pavilion was built beside the cliff, along the circuitous path at the foot of the mountain and up the stairs. There are many poems and stone carvings on the edge of the cliff, and the bodies are all ready. In addition, there is a stone relief of a Chinese sailboat in the yard. It is said that Mazu once set off from his hometown on this sailboat, experienced typhoon waves and arrived safely in Australia.

During the Spring Festival and Mazu's birthday on March 23rd of the lunar calendar, the incense in Mazu Pavilion is in full swing. From midnight on New Year's Eve, there was an endless stream of good men and women who went to pray for Mazu. In the fashion of wearing suits, boots and short skirts, men and women also pay homage to Mazu, and the scene is lively and the Mazu drama is staged.

"Every year, they hold activities such as' Mazu going back to her mother's house' and going on a pilgrimage to Meizhou, which is called offering sacrifices to Mazu, but it is actually an activity of returning home to find roots." .

Every year (Lunar New Year), a ceremony to celebrate Mazu's birthday is held in Mazu Pavilion on March 23rd ... A grand banquet is held at four or five o'clock in the afternoon ... The funds in this respect come from collecting money from fishermen, and the neighborhood, shipyard and fishing fence also pay for it, so * * * will hold this activity together. Troupe is also invited to perform, and the funds for this are raised by the Mazuge Land and Water Performance Festival, which is composed of fishermen and land residents. Most of the leaders of Mazu Pavilion in Macao are from Zhangzhou, Macao.

Mamiao Pavilion and Mazu culture have a far-reaching influence in Macao, and Mazu culture plays a great role in the psychological identity of Chinese at home and abroad in Macao. It is conducive to enhancing the cohesion of the Chinese world. Enhance their feelings for the traditional culture of China. To some extent, we seek our own "roots" in the Chinese nation by recognizing Mazu worship as a religious culture. This "root-seeking" belief endows Mazu belief with strong vitality and makes it last for a long time. In this way, commercial exchanges will further develop, and at the same time, it will in turn promote the prosperity of Macao folk culture. This close relationship between culture and business is well explained.

The history of Mazu Pavilion witnessed the blood relationship between Minnan and Macao, and also witnessed the struggle of Minnan people in Macao.