A Study on Social-Cultural Faith Interaction in South China 第3页The status of Long Mu and Long Mu Temple has ascended significantly in Song Dynasty. In 1078 A.D. Long Mu was given the title of “Yong Ji Madam”, and styled “Ling Ji Chong Fu Saint Fei” . And her five Loongs and her sisters were also conferred titles of nobility. Thus, the Emperor bestowed a horizontal inscribed board of “Yong Ji” to Long Mu Temple and immediately appointed officers to renovate it. This is the only time of Long Mu Temple was bestowed a horizontal inscribed board in its development history, which demonstrates Long Mu Faith’s popular attention degree. The orthodox position of Long Mu and Long Mu Temple formally established at that time. Later, temporary imperial palaces was built in many places, so to speak, Long Mu Faith experienced the first peak of development in the Song Dynasty.
In Ming Dynasty, Long Mu Faith developed further. During the 8th and 9th years of Hong Wu Period, Long Mu was coffered upon the title of “Cheng Xi Long Mu Chong Fu Saint Fei” and “Hu Guo Tong Tian Hui Ji Xian De Long Mu Goddess” successively, and her five Loongs were also conferred higher titles of nobility. When to Long Mu birthday's festival, the emperor appointed officials to hold Long Mu sacrificial ceremony which came within state cult. All they done were to disseminate Long Mu achievement: guard the state and pacify the people. Long Mu temple was renovated in official disseminations, which expanded the buildings of the Temple. The rudiment of the Temple formed at that time.
Long Mu Faith experienced another peak of development in the Qing Dynasty. Long Mu was coffered “Zhao Xian”, “Pu You”, “Guang Yin” successively, besides that, the most outstanding event was the substantially rebuilding of Long Mu temple. In the 31st year of Guang Xu (1905), Shun De Dong Yu Tong raised capital for Long Mu temple’s reconstruction, which drew the most skillful craftsmen of Guang Dong and Guang Xi Provinces. The construction project was completed by craftsmen’s painstaking efforts after several years. At that time, Chen Ding Sang, a person from Shun De, invited the Number One Scholar—Luo Cheng Xiang to bear an inscription “Long Mu Ancestral Temple” on a plaque in red Kai calligraphy. And the plaque was hung in front of the Temple gate, thus it extended the Temple’s influence through the region. So, the ancestral temple name we called today is from that time. In addition, the decorated archway was also rebuilt with granite and born an inscription “Imperial Decree”, and it is in concert with the Temple, Which makes the scene more magnificent and more sacred.
According to the Temple Chronicles, large scale temple fair is held from Tang and Song Dynasties during the Long Mu Birthday's Festival. More than a hundred of thousands devotees and tourists from Guang Dong and Guang Xi Provinces, Hong Kong, Macao, Hunan, Jiang Xi, Fu Jian and Gui Zhou Provinces deluged with the Yue Cheng Long Mu Ancestral Temple. And also many civilian organizations came from different places by boat. The confluence of the Xi River and the Yue Cheng River was crowded with boats. Besides the celebration, other temporary imperial palaces also held all kinds of competitive activities. There seems to be an extraordinary number of people around for the day. The roar of firecracker reverberated and smell of gunpowder penetrated in Yue Cheng. In South China, like the Goddess Matsu of the Sea, the growth in popularity of Long Mu has been dynamic, which works marvels.
Because the thought of atheism, social politicalization spread all over the country during the latter revolutionary period (1949-1979), Long Mu Faith has been considered as ignorant and backward feudalistic superstition and have been criticized and even forbidden for a long time. The statuaries, sculptures, tribute desks and censers, etc. of the Temple were broken as the "four olds", the 500 square meter mural painting were blotted out with cement. The Long Mu Statue is said to be thrown into Yue Cheng River, and the Temple was converted into a granary.
Since 1980s, Long Mu Faith has had the upsurge of revival, which demonstrates its dogged vitality and great adaptability. A new development period of Long Mu Ancestral Temple comes again after the end of restoration. In the first reopening year, just over 10,000 people came to the Temple; later, the number of tourists has increased with years, from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands; nowadays, more than a million people visit Long Mu Ancestral Temple. Apart from the three important festival of the Spring Festival, Long Mu Birthday’s Festival, Long Mu Death Anniversary, the special days of the New Year's Day, National Day, May Day, Women's Day, Two-day weekend, Missed Date (the 1st and 15th days of each lunar month) are also the rumbling time of the year, which demonstrates that Long Mu faith and tourist recreation interacts and helps each other forward.
Through studying the History and Current Status of Long Mu Cultural Faith, the author considers that such Faith is a folk cultural tradition with a long history. Despite the Faith was gone around among folks, it exercises a strong influence that was a consequence of the establishment of its orthodoxy by the generous conferment of ancient feudal states. This influence still plays an important role today for the continuity of cultural tradition, and at the same time, it is more tempting for the people who could not get rid of the material and spiritual difficulties in a short time. But actually, today Long Mu Faith can not stand comparison with the past, people get more rational considerations when they attend irrational faith activities and also deal with the relation between human beings and God in tolerant and peaceful manner. The purpose of sacrifice is not only tied to blessings, but also endued with the modern recreation color. It is in this sense that we can regard the Long Mu Faith as a folk-custom in modern life.
2Community Meritorious Service Capacity of Long Mu Faith
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