Matsu Tianhou Temple Introduction
According to historical records, Mazu, whose birth name was Lin Moniang, sacrificed herself at the age of 16 to rescue her father and brother who encountered a storm while fishing at sea, and thus lost her life. It is said that her body drifted to Aokou in Matsu. Grateful for Lin Moniang's filial piety, the villagers of Matsu buried her with great honor at the sacred site of Mazu's temple, the Mazu Tianhou Temple in Magang Village. The most special aspect of the Mazu Tianhou Temple is that it contains Mazu's sacred site, referred to by locals as the "fleshly sacred site." This temple is renovated almost every 20 years, but it is said that Mazu repeatedly manifested to indicate that the stone coffin sacred site should not be altered in any way. Only in recent years, out of compassion for the many tourists, did Mazu manifest again to agree to reinforce the sacred site with strong glass and surround it with stone-carved dragons for protection.
