Matsu Temple in Tianjin

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Matsu is a famous goddess in China. She is mainly worshiped by seamen and business men, as well as their family members. There are about 4,000 Matsu temples all over the world. In 1980s, the United Nations conferred Matsu as the title of “Peace Goddess”.

Matsu is the protector of the people on the sea. In the past, the sailor must hold a ceremony to this goddess before they bear in the sea. They thought worshiping Matsu will guarantee their life and their treasure on the boats. She was a real person in the history and was born in 960 A.D.. She was not cry when she was a baby and got the name of “silence girl”. When she grow up, she was keen in act of charity and also can predict the weather on the sea. It was said she sacrificed during a shipwreck when she was 28. After that seamen always see her, in red dress, fly over the sea and rescue the people in danger. Her temples were gradually built since that time.

The emperors conferred her various titles in Song, Yuan and Ming Dynasty. The Emperor Kang Xi in Qing Dynasty conferred her the title of “Queen of Heaven”, the highest rank in the history. Matsu enjoyed state cult by emperors, her status is as majestic as Yellow Emperor and Confucius in China. At present, her worshipper had spread to the world with the migration of overseas Chinese.

Unlike Bixia Yuanjun’s temple, Matsu’s temple are always located in coastal cities. However, her temple can also be found in some mountain area, such as GuizhouProvince in the southwest of China. Such believe was brought by business men.

Business men stayed in Beijing also established small temples of Matsu in the capital, but they are too small to maintain. Tianjin, a port 100 km southeast of Beijing, has a famous MatsuTemple in the center of the city. This temple is also the palace of numerous god and goddess, but with the name of “The Palace of Queen of Heaven”.

In the history, seamen often contribute the model of their ships. They wish the goddess would recognize these boats and bless their safe. Hundreds of ship models were stored in MatsuTemple, but almost be destroyed during the Great Culture Revolution in 1960s. One can still find some models of sailing ships in Tianjin’s temple, but they maybe just toys for display.

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