Triadic Interactions and Exchanges: Cross-Strait Mazu Worship and Tourism in Post-handover Macau, China

Kwok Shing Chan*

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

    Abstract

    In recent decades, the cult of Mazu, a popular Chinese sea goddess, has been a focal point of China's religious united front work. This article explores how the Chinese Mainland has expanded its approach from a Mainland-Taiwan focus to a triadic framework involving the Mainland, Macau, and Taiwan. Since its return to China in 1999, Macau has been incorporated into the religious united front work as a new platform, serving as a distinct space outside the Mainland to facilitate cross-Strait exchanges. This article highlights Macau's success in promoting cross-Strait Mazu worship and celebrations since the 2000s. Within this united front work, the Fujian ethnic group plays a leading role, advancing both the geo-political aims of the central government and the economic interests of local authorities by developing Mazu tourism. This new form of worship and tourism festival has transformed Macau's previously confined and localized Mazu networks into shared-cultural, trans-boundary, diasporic, and de-territorialized ones. These changes have given rise to a new and distinctive Mazu belief sphere or worship circle connects the Chinese Mainland, Macau, and Taiwan.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)121-150
    Number of pages30
    JournalChina Review
    Volume24
    Issue number4
    Publication statusPublished - Nov 2024

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