Myths and legends are the crystallization of the wisdom of ancient people. They are stories about ancient people’s interpretation and imagination of natural phenomena and culture. They are a kind of primitive, highly fantasy and unconscious artistic creation. They are the oldest of the artificial intelligence category. It expresses the ancient people's understanding of the universe and life. It is an explanation and question of the natural phenomena that the ancients had!
Entering the world of myths and legends, it is not difficult for us to realize human beings’ curiosity and worship of nature, their unyielding and struggle against disasters and hardships, their admiration and love for heroes, their yearning for a better life, and their hatred of evil people... …
In Meizhou Bay, Putian City, Fujian Province, there is a beautiful island called Meizhou Island. There is a majestic and resplendent temple on the island, dedicated to the world-famous "Poseidon" Mazu .
Mazu's original name was Lin Mo. She was born into a family of officials. She was the 22nd granddaughter of Lin Lu, Prince of Jin'an County, Fujian Province in the Jin Dynasty. His father, Lin Yuan, was the inspector of Ninghai Town. His mother, Chen, was the queen of a prominent local family. The two of them did many good deeds and accumulated great virtues.
One night, Mazu's mother, Chen, dreamed that Master Guanyin said kindly to her: "Your family has done good deeds and accumulated virtues. I will give you a pill. If you take it, you will receive a gift from Tzu Chi." So Chen became pregnant. One evening, when Mrs. Chen was about to give birth, she saw a red light shining into the room from the northwest. The brilliance was dazzling and the fragrance floated for a long time. Then I heard rumbling sounds all around, like the roar of spring thunder, and the ground turned purple. Chen felt a vibration in her belly, and Mazu was born. Because he was born strangely, he loved him very much. She never cried a word from birth to a full week old, so her father named her "Mo".
Mazu had one brother and five sisters. She was young and unique. When she was less than one year old and still in her infancy, she saw the statues of the gods and joined her hands as if she wanted to worship them. At the age of five, he was able to recite the Guanyin Sutra. When she was eight years old, she went to a private school and could quickly comprehend the articles taught by her teacher. When she was more than ten years old, she believed in Buddhism and chanted sutras morning and night. When she was thirteen years old, an old Taoist priest Xuantong often came to her home and said to her: "You have immortal nature and deserve to be able to save people." So he taught her the "Xuanwei Secret Technique". She practiced according to the law and was able to understand the gist.
When Mazu was sixteen years old, she played with a group of little girls and took care of herself in the well. Suddenly, she saw a god holding a pair of bronze talismans and walking up the well. Behind her, a group of immortals surrounded her and gave her the bronze talismans. The female companions were so frightened that they ran away, but Mazu accepted the gift generously, and soon she became enlightened. After that, although she was in the house, she could often wander around. When it comes to good or bad luck, there is no such thing as failure. Mazu can also fly across the sea on clouds, rescue shipwrecks, and often treat people's illnesses and eliminate disasters. People near and far were grateful to her and called her "Goddess" and "Dragon Girl".
In the autumn of the year when Mazu was sixteen, one day, her father and brother took a boat across the sea to go north. At that time, Mazu was weaving carefully in her boudoir. Suddenly she leaned over the loom and closed her eyes, her face suddenly changed. He grabbed the shuttle with one hand, supported it with the other, stepped firmly on the machine shaft with both feet, and struggled to support with all his strength, for fear of losing something. When her mother found out, she was very frightened and hurriedly woke her up. Mazu then accidentally dropped the shuttle on the ground. She opened her eyes, stamped her feet, and cried loudly, saying: "My father was saved, but my brother fell into the sea and died!" After hearing this, her mother Chen was very panicked and quickly sent someone to inquire about the news. Soon someone came to report that what Mazu said was indeed true. At that time, her father was in a rage and panicked. The boat was about to capsize several times, and it seemed that someone was secretly helping them stabilize the rudder of the boat. They got close to her brother's boat, but her brother's rudder had already capsized the boat. When Mazu closed her eyes, her feet were stepping on her father's boat, and her hands were holding on to her brother's rudder. Her mother woke her up, the shuttle crashed to the ground, and the rudder of her brother's boat capsized. Her father escaped and returned, but her brother was swallowed by the rough waves.
After her brother drowned, Mazu accompanied her mother, sister-in-law and several villagers to sail a boat to the vast sea to find her brother's body. At that time, the sea water was turbulent, and they suddenly found a group of aquarium gathering on the sea, and everyone couldn't help but become scared. Mazu said, don’t be afraid, and told the Shui tribe that there was no need to greet them.Suddenly the water turned clear and her brother's body was floating on the surface. Only then did everyone realize that it was , the water god , who was escorting her brother's body. When her brother's body was finally brought back, the residents of Meizhou Island all praised Mazu for her filial piety and charity. From then on, whenever Mazu's birthday comes, swarms of big fish will appear in front of Meiyu Island in the middle of the night, as if they are worshiping and dancing to welcome them, and they will disperse at dawn.
Once, the general Pu Sankui of the Jin Kingdom led his troops to invade the Central Plains and was besieged by the Song Army in Badietan. Pu Sankui spent a lot of money to bribe a local rogue as a guide, and used the golden cicada's plan to escape from his shell, leading the remaining soldiers to defeat the generals and secretly escape from Badietan. Pu Sankui narrowly escaped death, but had no face to return to the Kingdom of Jin, so he gathered in the mountains and forests and occupied the mountains as bandits. They raped women, burned, killed, looted, and committed all kinds of evil. Within a radius of dozens of miles, ordinary people were tortured.
The scout horse of the army reported to the court, Song Ningzong immediately sent General Bi Zaiyu to lead the troops to annihilate them. The
army came to the foot of Jinshan Mountain. After met again, General ordered the soldiers to set up camp. He led several soldiers to the front of the mountain to inspect the terrain. But I saw the Jinshan Mountain with its towering peaks and lush trees. The cottage is built on the top of the main peak of Jinshan Mountain and is surrounded by cliffs. It is really easy to defend but difficult to attack. General Bi thought to himself: Jinshan is high and dangerous, and the mountain stronghold is strong. If we attack now, it will inevitably cause heavy casualties, but with the emperor's sacred mandate, how can we stand still? He had no choice but to order a full-scale attack on the bandits occupying the mountain stronghold. However, the Song army continued to attack for several days. Not only could they not get closer to the wall, but they also suffered many casualties. General Bi returned to the camp very sadly, thinking about it over and over again, but could do nothing.
Suddenly, the cry of the wounded came from the camp: "Mazu... bless..." The general's heart suddenly brightened, and he immediately walked outside the tent, knelt on the ground, facing the sky, silently praying for Mazu to appear and help him defeat Jin. invasion by soldiers.
At dawn the next day, I suddenly heard the soldiers calling from behind the camp, and there was a huge crowd. The general was taken aback, thinking that thieves were attacking the barracks, so he put on his sword and flew to the tent on Pegasus. I saw a group of soldiers standing around a giant mirror, giving directions and gestures. The general stepped forward to take a look and saw that the huge mirror was as big as a tabletop and as bright as the sun and moon. He yelled at the soldiers and asked about the whole story of Dajing.
A soldier reported to him that in the early morning, he suddenly heard a "buzzing" sound outside the tent. When everyone went out to take a look, they found that the giant mirror had been laid flat on the ground, and they didn't know where it came from. The general was also surprised. He touched the mirror with his hand and saw that it was made of copper. He ordered the soldiers to lift the giant mirror. As soon as it hit his face, a burst of fire suddenly came towards him. If the general hadn't dodged quickly, his eyebrows and beard would have been burned off. He looked at the giant mirror, and then at the bandits' stronghold, and the plan came to his mind... At nearly noon, General Bi took advantage of the slight slackness of the bandits in the stronghold, and ordered the soldiers to get ready to go. He ordered the army to press back, and he personally led hundreds of strong soldiers and ran towards Jinshan carrying the giant mirror.
When Song Jun carried the big mirror to the bottom of the mountain stronghold, the bandits' minions discovered it. They were about to release arrows and light cannons when suddenly, they saw a flash of fire under the village, and a fire dragon shot out from the giant mirror. Only a "bang" was heard, and the village gate immediately burst into flames. When the thieves saw this, they were horrified. At this time, a large group of Song troops took the opportunity to rush over and attack the mountain stronghold. In less than an hour, hundreds of bandit leaders and soldiers were captured, and more than a hundred war horses were captured. The Song army won a complete victory.
After Song Ningzong learned about Mazu Jinshan's miracle of helping the battle, he decreed that the title of "Xianwei" be added.
Song Taizong In the fourth year of Yongxi reign, Mazu was twenty-eight years old. On the day before the Double Ninth Festival, Mazu said to her family: "My heart is so pure that I don't want to live in this mundane world and be with ordinary people. Tomorrow is the Double Ninth Festival, and I want to climb mountains. I want to say goodbye to you in advance." Everyone thought that She wanted to climb high and look far away, not knowing that she was about to transform into an immortal.The next morning, Mazu burned incense, recited sutras, and said to many brothers and sisters: "Today I am going to climb a mountain and travel far to realize my wish, but the road is difficult and far away, and you are not allowed to go with me." Zhu sisters laughed He comforted her and said, "You can just swim if you want to. There's no need to worry about it!" Then Mazu said goodbye to her sisters and went straight to the highest point of Meifeng. At this time, I saw thick clouds gathering on the top of Meifeng Peak, and a white air rushed into the sky. It was as if I could hear the fairy music played by silk and bamboo strings in the sky, reaching straight into the sky and reflecting the rainbow. Mazu rides on the wind and clouds, soaring in the sky and daylight, looking down at the world, looming. Suddenly the colorful clouds gathered together and could not be seen again. When the people of Meizhou looked at it from a distance, they all drew their attention and exclaimed in amazement.
One day, Mazu accompanied Guanyin Bodhisattva to inspect the southeastern coast of China. They drove the auspicious clouds to the sky above Xinghua . Mazu was concerned about her hometown. She knew something was going on in her hometown and was about to report it, but Guanyin Bodhisattva already knew about it. She said to Mazu: "Saving one life is better than building a seven-level pagoda. Go back quickly!"
It turns out that Lu De, the bodyguard of Xinghua Prefecture , was ordered to lead troops to the sea to guard the border and quell the chaos at sea. Unexpectedly, on the way to his appointment, he unfortunately fell seriously ill. Although he sought medical treatment from many sources, his condition not only did not improve, but worsened day by day. In the end, he was terminally ill and in critical condition.
Although Lu De was too sick to move and speak, his mind was still clear. At the critical moment of his life, he still couldn't forget the war at sea. He thought: He was ordered to suppress the bandits, but he failed to win, he was seriously ill, and the three armies were leaderless, so there was no way he could remain unruly... At this time, he thought of Mazu, and silently prayed to her in his heart. After praying, I felt much more relaxed, and the pain in my body seemed to have eased a lot. He closed his eyes, fell asleep slowly, and had a dream... In the dream, Lu De seemed to see a very luxurious girl walking in from the door. She walked to the hospital bed, took his wrist, and pressed it gently. After a while, the maid was called into the room again. The maid, who was very delicate, hurriedly came in from the door with a small plate in her hand and said, "God's concubine, here are the pills." God's concubine? Isn’t this Mazu coming? Lu De woke up at this moment. He was surprised and happy. He opened his eyes and saw Mazu standing quietly in front of the bed. She was rubbing the pills in her hands. I saw that the meatball was like crystal, like agate, sparkling. The concubine asked the maid to open Lu De's lips and gently put the pill into his mouth. Before Lu De could swallow it, the pill slid down his throat. Lu De felt that his mouth was full of fragrance, which lingered for a long time. Not long after taking the medicine, I felt chest tightness abdominal distension, my stomach was turning over and over, and the pain was unbearable. Suddenly, his throat felt hot, and he spit out two blood clots with a "wow" sound. After vomiting, Lu De suddenly felt refreshed and comfortable all over.
The next day, Lu De was able to get out of bed and walk around, and he was eating and drinking as usual. After a few days, the patient fully recovered. Lu De couldn't care less about rest, so he ordered his officers and soldiers to set up camp and set off towards the sea. The battle was settled and the chaos at sea was quickly quelled. After returning to Xinghua Mansion, Lu De prepared to recommend Mazu's merits to the court. One night, he saw Mazu in his dream and told her his thoughts. After hearing this, Mazu shook her head and said: "General, you must not do this. The act of giving medicine to cure diseases is what Guanyin Bodhisattva instructed me to do. You should respect Guanyin Master!"
After that, Mazu often appeared, and villagers She can often be seen beside the rock caves, sitting cross-legged among colorful clouds and mist, or flying in red clothes on the sea. Mazu often appears in dreams to show her holiness, save people in emergencies, and protect the country and its people. So the people in the village built a temple in Meifeng to worship Mazu devoutly. Later generations come to worship in an endless stream.
Myths and legends are the precious spiritual wealth of a nation and country and play an important role in the history of literature. In particular, its rich and unrestrained, colorful imagination and visual understanding of natural things are directly related to the artistic fiction of later generations of writers and the formation of romantic creative methods. It provides rich themes for later generations of creation.It has rich aesthetic value and historical value and is closely related to ancient life and history. It is an important document for studying the marriage and family system , primitive religion , customs and habits of early human society.
