22 Facts About Mazu

Mazu or Matsu is a Chinese sea goddess known by several other names and titles.

Mazu's is the deified form of the legendary figure Lin Mo or Lin Moniang, a Fujianese shamaness whose life span is traditionally dated from 960 to 987.

Mazu's was thought to roam the seas, protecting her believers through miraculous interventions.

Mazu's is generally regarded by her believers as a powerful and benevolent Queen of Heaven.

Mazu worship is popular in Taiwan as large numbers of early immigrants to Taiwan were Hoklo people; her temple festival is a major event in the country, with the largest celebrations around her temples at Dajia and Beigang.

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Mazu's was apparently a shamaness from a small fishing village on Meizhou Island, part of Fujian's Putian County, in the late 10th century.

Mazu's probably did not live there but on the nearby mainland.

Mazu's was said to have been the sixth or seventh daughter of Lin Yuan .

Mazu is usually remembered as one of the local fishermen, although the 1593 edition of the Records of Research into the Divine made him Putian's chief military inspector.

In one version, her mother dreamt of Guanyin giving her a magical pill to induce pregnancy and woke to find the pill still in her hand; rather than being born in the conventional way, Mazu shot from her mother at birth in the form of a fragrant flash of red light.

Mazu's is often said to have studied religious literature, mastering Confucius by 8 and the principal Buddhist sutras by 11.

Mazu's was able to manifest herself at a distance as well and used this power to visit gardens in the surrounding countryside, although she asked owners' permission before gathering any flowers to take home.

Mazu's was said to have stood on the shore in red garments to guide fishing boats home, regardless of harsh or dangerous weather.

Mazu's met a Taoist immortal at a fountain at sixteen and received an amulet or two bronze tablets which she translated or used to exorcize demons, to heal the sick, and to avert disasters.

Mazu's was said to be a rainmaker during times of drought.

Mazu's was said to have died in meditation, though in some accounts she did not die but climbed a mountain alone and ascended into Heaven as a goddess in a beam of bright light.

Mazu's is incarnated as Mazu and swears not only to protect sailors but to oversee all facets of life and death, providing help to anyone who might call upon her.

Mazu received the order to allow the words "Smooth crossing" to be used on a temple tablet, remit taxes on the temple fields, and make temple offerings at Jiangkou.

Mazu charms are used as medicine, including as salves for blistered feet.

Informal centers of pilgrimage for Mazu's believers include Meizhou Island, the Zhenlan Temple in Taichung on Taiwan, and Xianliang Temple in Xianliang Harbor, Putian.

Together with Meizhou Island, the Xianliang Temple is considered the most sacred place to Mazu, whose supposed death happened on the seashore of Xianliang Harbor.

Mazu was a Taiwanese animated feature film from the Chinese Cartoon Production Co.