1. Introduction

In accordance with the theory of oceanic settlement(Zhang, 2023), this project proposes the concept of oceanic city. Taking Quanzhou during the Song and Yuan dynasties as the object of study. We tried to analyze, through several cases, in what geographic factors the oceanic character of Quanzhou was formed. And how it moderated the complex and pluralistic religions of Quanzhou.

Oceanicity implies both dependence on and belief in the ocean and passive acceptance of whatever the ocean brings. The instability makes it possible to solve problems only in a flexible way rather than in a violent way. Quanzhou is a standard oceanic city. Economically, Quanzhou's unique location made it one of the largest commercial port cities of his time. Thus, it also culturally brought with it a large number of foreign religions in addition to beliefs of indigenous maritime origin. Today we can see a large number of religious relics of different religious gathered in Quanzhou in the small city (Wang, 2017), so how did foreign religions and the local culture of Quanzhou resolve the contradictions brought about by the differences in the principles of faith in such a complex situation of beliefs in the Song and Yuan dynasties? What kind of cultural connotations do they represent?

Qingjing Temple is a Islam temple, located on Tumen Street features 99 pointed arches on its door frame, symbolizing Allah's 99 beautiful names (Baidubaike, n.d.). It operates to worship Allah and perform worship, with Quranic verses carved on the south wall windows and interior niches, reflecting believers' devotion. The first mosque is located in Mai, since they have to worship facing Mecca (south side) , they erected a row of date palm trunks on the south side to let followers pray under shadows (Cai, Y. L., 2017). They keep it as a tradition and a feature of Qingjing Temple which emphasizes Islam disciplinary, unity and attention to detail.

Buddhism and Induism（佛教与印度教)

There are many Buddhist temples in Quanzhou, the most famous of which is Kaiyuan Temple. The most representative buildings in Kaiyuan Temple are the two pagodas and Hindu stone pillars. The Zhenguo Pagoda is 48.27 meters high. From bottom to top, it gradually represents the five realms of Buddhist practice, including gods, generals, arhats, eminent monks, Bodhisattvas, and Buddhas. There are 40 carvings on the girdle of Xumi Zuo, 37 of which are pictures of Buddhist sutra stories. Buddhist sutra stories are a way used by monks to promote Buddhist ideas. The Renshou Pagoda is 45 meters high, and the carvings on it express the equality of all living beings. It is conceivable that Buddhism could organize a large social organization and have sufficient economic level in Quanzhou at that time. Both pagodas convey the characteristics of Mahayana Buddhism. There is also a corridor of special stone pillars in Kaiyuan Temple, which are Hindu stone pillars. It shows stories from Hinduism, mainly showing the power and magic of Hindu gods.

Church of the East in China/Nestorian Christianity (大秦景教) and Chinese Manichaeism (摩尼教)

In 1941, A Nestorian ChristianityTombstone written by Uyghur was founded in Quanzhou (Niu Ruji, 2003). It is inferred that the Nestorians in Quanzhou mainly come from the Uyghur people in the north. The "History of Yuan" indicates that many Uyghur people were re-employed by the Yuan government, with a significant number serving as officials in the southern regions. Which is believed in Nestorian Christianity. Nestorian Christianity won the emperor's favor in the early Tang Dynasty. Then Nestorian teachings transformed into Buddhism, which greatly pleased Empress Wu and allowed it to continue to develop.

During the Huichang period, Emperor Wuzong of the Tang Dynasty exterminated Buddhism. The Church of the East in China and Manichaeism was affected. Master Hulu of Manichaeism therefore fled to Fujian and preached in Quanzhou via Fuqing and Fuzhou.

Emperor Taizu of the Ming Dynasty banned Manichaeism, known as Mingjiao, because he believed the name of the country was too exalted for a religious having similar name. After That, The religious activities gradually became Buddhist, and the Mani Buddha statue in the Cao'an, considered by later worshipers to be a Buddhist temple, was once worshiped as a statue of Sakyamuni Buddha.

Folk Culture and Religion In Quanzhou

The local culture of Quanzhou comes from two sources, one is derived from marine culture and the other is traditional culture. The most representative are the Tianhou Palace and Tonghuai Guanyue Temple (通淮关岳庙). Tianhou Palace was built in 1196 near Deji Gate, the southern gate of Quanzhou's ancient city. The main deity is Mazu, who mainly protects the safety of people in the inner harbor and at sea. Tonghuai Guanyue Temple is next to Qingjing Temple. The main deities enshrined therein are Guan Yu and Yue Fei, both of which primarily represent justice and loyalty. Both are the most significant deities in traditional society, and also these two natures play an important role in commercial cities.

Confucian Characteristics

The Confucian buildings in Quanzhou were mainly constructed during the Song Dynasty, and the most representative one in Quanzhou is the Quanzhou Prefectural Temple of Literature. It was rebuilt during the Southern Song Dynasty in the pattern seen today, with large palace-like corridors and a main hall in which Confucius and his disciples were enshrined. This was due to the rise of Song and Ming ethics during the Southern Song Dynasty, coupled with the prevalence of the Song literati ethos. It made it a kind of cultural force of the Song officialdom.

Taoist (道教)

2. Conflict and Integration between religions

In Quanzhou's religious beliefs, the contradiction between religious beliefs and culture mainly exists between local and foreign cultures as well as between the original foreign culture and the backward foreign culture. In short, local culture is the cultural background of Quanzhou formed before the Tang Dynasty. After the Tang Dynasty, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Taoism took root in Quanzhou and formed its mainstream religion. After commerce became sufficiently developed from the end of the Tang to the Song Dynasty, Islam, Nestorianism, Manichaeism, and other foreign religions emerged once again when they entered with merchants, and traditional Confucianism, which had become Song and Ming ethics, took hold. The two examples discussed in this project are derived from historical records and can be reflected in actual cultural imprints. The first example is about indigenous culture and Buddhism. The second example is about the conflict and integration of Islam and Confucianism.

In the first example, at the end of the Northern Song Dynasty and the beginning of the Southern Song Dynasty, King Tong Yuan was the most popular local belief in Quanzhou, who was able to regulate the wind and rain and blessed those who sailed the sea. As a local belief, the “Tong Yuan Wang Ancestral Hall” often held festivals at the Yan Fu Temple, and it was popular to slaughter animals to sacrifice to the gods. In the first year of Shaoxing (1131), the abbot of Yan Fu Temple,Hui Sui Chan Shi, reformed the secularized Taoist rituals with Buddhist precepts. And constructed an additional suilu-an to reform the Tongyuanwang Shrine. As a result, a temple for the worship of local gods was opened in Yan Fu Temple, which had already been established in the Jin Dynasty. This is due to the fact that the indigenous religions of Quanzhou, which originated from the sea, were very complex and often consisted of only basic deity worship without specific religious ordinances. This phenomenon can be reflected in their misplaced functions and hierarchies of the various deities. (Gu, 1927) Thus it is possible to tolerate all kinds of religions and accept their transformation. Another point is the ideology of equality of all living beings and the strict Buddhist precepts represented by the Buddhists, and Buddhism at this time had the corresponding social power to interfere with the ritual behavior of other cultures. At the same time, such phenomena also happen in the relationship between the dominant religious power and the fine-stream religious power. This can be seen in the cultural imprints of the Hindu stone pillars in the Kaiyuan Temple and the Manichaean straw nunneries that changed the images of the gods into a combination of Buddhist and Taoist images.

The second example is during the Southern Song Dynasty, when Wang Dayou governed Quanzhou. A group of Arabs wanted to build a mosque in the city, but the building was so close to the nearby Confucian school that it would affect the Confucian students. Wang Dayu strictly forbade it and made it clear that no residence should be allowed to enter the urban area（Tuo, 1343) . In the Song Dynasty, a neighborhood of outsiders was formed outside the city, called “Fan Fang”(蕃坊）. In reality, however, the mixing of outsiders with local residents may have been a reality(Li, 2007). This shows that the government of Quanzhou in the Song and Yuan dynasties, while respecting religion, also had specific regulations and guidance for religious groups in terms of taxation and public order. This can also be seen in cultural imprints such as the inscriptions of Song dynasty Quanzhou government officials who assisted in the construction of a pagoda at the Buddhist Kaiyuan Temple, and the Yuan dynasty inscriptions that enthroned administrators of Islamic and Nestorian religions (Wang, 2019).

Quanzhou Historic Sites Geographic Information Map (Source: https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=1UWabahDFDiKGov6PeoyI5zB2XcFv6Xo&usp=sharing)

3. Conclusion

After the above analysis, we can see that there are certain differences and contradictions between different religions in Quanzhou. In the specific process of getting along together, the local culture as the belief of oceanic origin gradually becomes the carrier of Quanzhou culture, and becomes the base color and bonding vessel of any religion. Various religions were transforming the native culture while influencing each other. At the same time, the political forces in Quanzhou are not to be ignored. In the mutual influence of various forces, we can see that Quanzhou during the Song and Yuan dynasties embodied the inclusiveness of an oceanic city, which enabled all kinds of religions of the world to merge and develop together in Quanzhou.

References

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Cai, Y. L. (2017, January).Global collection: Islamic architectural art under the sky of Allah. Classic magazine. https://rhythmsmonthly.com/?p=31596

Baidubaike. (n.d.). Qingjingji Temple. https://baike.baidu.com/item/清净寺/222178

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Tuo, T..(1343) Song History. Beijing: Zhonghua Book Company.

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Ding, Y. L. (2019, August). Foreign religions in Quanzhou. Academy of Chinese Studies. https://chiculture.org.hk/tc/china-five-thousand-years/1875