동아시아 海洋文化 媽祖의 전파

Abstract

The Mazu belief in China which represents the maritime culture in East Asia, first originated in the Song Dynasty period at the PuTian MeiZhou island of the Fujian Province. The personal name of MaZu is IinMo. She was born to protect the fishermen and merchants who met with the disaster at sea. During the Ming Dynasty period, ZhengHe made a worldwide voyage under the order of the Emperor YongLe. Along with his long journey, the MaZu belief had a momentum to be widely spread. Where the Chinese emigrants established their communities, especially in the South East Asian countries, a monument in honor of MaZu has been erected as a main prop of the community members far away from their homeland. The MaZu belief in Korea was first introduced in the era of Goryeo Kingdom and continued during the time of Joseon Dynasty. The proofs are commonly shown at the Travelling Records through the Sea Routes and at other lyric verses. Also we find it at the Chronicle of Joseon Dynasty. The Chinese residents settled down in Incheon and Busan, they also have erected monuments dedicated to MaZu as a proof of their belief, but was not so prospered as in other countries. The most prosperous area for the MaZu belief will be Taiwan, where a good number of MinNan People moved into the island together with this new belief. According to the recent survey, a 70% of the population is the followers of the MaZu and in the southern area one may easily find the historical MaZu monuments. The most important ceremonies are held each year on the anniversary of birth of MaZu, the anniversary of Her Death, and the Chinese New Year. The names of Hong Kong and Macao have much to do with the legends of MaZu, where MaZu monuments are established with the popular devotion. The MaZu belief transmitted to LiuQiu and Japan is also gradually assimilated with its own sea protecting deities to be worshipped by the people. The expansion of MaZu belief to the East Asia believed to be the time of the Ming Dynasty. MaZu was, at first, a goddess of sea, but in due course, in search of the public good and benefit tended to be transformed to the almighty god. MaZu was registered on 30 September 2009, at the UNESCO as Intangible Cultural Assets.