At present, there are tens of thousands of Mazu Tempel believers in 45 countries and regions around the world, and more than 300 million people believe in Mazu. In 1980s, relevant UN agencies awarded Mazu the title of "Goddess of Peace".
On September 30th, 2009, Mazu belief custom was officially listed as the intangible cultural heritage of mankind by UNESCO, and became the first world heritage of China belief custom.
Mazu legend
Mazu legend is an organic part of Mazu belief and custom. Mazu belief is an important cultural carrier, which embodies Mazu's virtue, kindness and great love spirit. Selected as the fourth batch of provincial intangible cultural heritage list folk literature projects in Fujian Province. Like other legends of folk gods, the formation of Mazu legend was later than the time when Mazu belief came into being.
The book devoted to studying Mazu's miraculous deeds was only formed in the late Ming Dynasty, and the key is that the Ming government has conducted many large-scale overseas activities.
In the case of backward navigation conditions in ancient times, the legend of Mazu gave sailors spiritual strength and inspired people to overcome the harsh natural conditions. Since the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, a large number of Mazu legends have been recorded in literati notes and local chronicles.