Haizhou (Lower)

Of course, the greatest influence that Matthew could exert was to leave behind a management system that integrated politics and faith, and brought the entire Fish-Man Clan into this system! After three years of edification, many people in the Fish-Man Clan gradually developed Taoist beliefs!

In the realm of faith, Matthew exerted absolute control, forcefully expelled the traditional beliefs that had sprouted from the original Fish-Man race, abolished the previous religious rituals, and exerted strong brainwashing on the important believers of the original faith, ensuring that the competitors of Taoism were nipped in the bud!

In addition, Matthew designed many huge religious ceremonies with the participation of the whole people, including worshipping the heavens, worshipping ancestors, praying for blessings, and so on.

Religious rituals, generally speaking, are the externalized manifestations of religious concepts and religious feelings, and are a standardized religious behavior. It is usually manifested in the reproduction of sacred events in myths, legends, or religious ceremonies following a fixed process.

Religious ritual is a kind of boundary, on the one hand, it is a sign of the transition from the mundane to the sacred, and on the other hand, it also represents the sublimation and transformation of the participants' own identity!

To take the simplest example, in the Chinese society of the previous life, Taoism as a religious belief, the relatively complete preservation of consciousness is the funeral!

In the early days, Taoist sects were mainly active in the people, so participating in folk funerals was almost a natural part of the title. For example, the removal of the tomb door (a magic ritual held for the tomb of the deceased, intended to separate people and ghosts, and also includes the function of calming the tomb), and the lifting of the reconnection (so that the bad luck and bad luck that cause death do not interfere with the living) are all regular activities. In the later development, the connotation of the funeral gradually highlighted the theme of filial piety. It is emphasized that through the practice of Taoist priests, the deceased can ascend to heaven as soon as possible, and the deceased ancestors can be freed from the suffering of the underworld as soon as possible. This kind of activity has long been a common custom among the people.

The funeral of the Daomen has a fairly complete ceremony, but in the folk practice, many folk elements have infiltrated into it. The content of the Daomen Lent Ritual is extremely rich. Just looking at the Song Dynasty's recompiled "Supreme Yellow Urn Lent Establishment Ceremony" and various spiritual treasure Dafa, the perfection of its funeral rites and the fullness of the ceremony make people jaw-dropping.

Taoism believes that chanting sutras has great merit, and reciting sutras to the deceased can help them get rid of the suffering of the underworld as soon as possible. In funerals, the classics often recited include "The Book of Grants", "The Book of the Jade Emperor", "The Book of Three Officials" and so on.

At the funeral ceremony, according to religious tradition, confession is also performed, that is, a ceremony is held before the gods to express repentance of sins and ask for forgiveness. The confession used for funeral rites is to ask for forgiveness for the mistakes of the deceased in life, and to ascend to heaven or die well.

In addition, in Taoist ceremonies, water lanterns are often attached to funerals. Legend has it that after death, a person has to pass through the River Styx, and in order to avoid falling into it, he should light a lamp on the River Styx, that is, put a paper lamp into the river or lake as a symbol. Generally, paper lamps are made in the shape of a boat or a lotus, with a clay pot or wooden board as the base, a candle is burned inside, and a mantra is cast and then put into the water. It is generally believed that the longer Krathong floats in the water without tipping over, the higher the mage's skills and the greater the blessing of the undead!

In the previous world, Taoism, which had been inherited for a long time, had long since declined, and only some marginal connotations were integrated into folklore and morality to be retained, and the true pure faith had long been weakened to the extreme, which was also the most painful thing for Matthew.

And in this world, Matthew rekindled the fire of Taoism, a fire of faith, and began to bloom here with a faint light!

At this time, in the marine world, in the urban area of this fish-man tribe, a grand religious ceremony is being held: the ceremony of sacrificing to the sky! This is the most solemn and solemn sacrificial ceremony of the Chinese nation, which originated in ancient times and was carried forward under the cultivation of Taoist culture!

Since ancient times, the Chinese nation has the belief of "respecting heaven and ancestors", and in the eyes of the Chinese ancestors, heaven and earth nurture all living beings and are the highest gods. The personification of heaven is "Haotian God" (also known as "Huangtian God", and the opposite earth is "Houtu"). The ritual of worshiping the heavens is a form of communication between man and the sky, and the altar of worship to the heavens is generally circular (called "mound"), which means that the sky is round and the place is round. During the ceremony, the prayers were recited, music was played, and sacrifices were burned to show that people had contributed the fruits of their labor to the heavens as a way of repaying them for nourishing all things.

At this time, the fish people, adhering to this tradition, went out to participate in the grand ceremony of worshipping the heavens!

As the ritual progresses, Matthew unleashes one magic after another, releasing different effects in the sky, including ice, fireballs, hurricanes, and thunder and lightning!

The ignorant fish people, attracted by this supernatural power, rose from the bottom of their hearts to worship, and their faith was purified and sublimated in this ritual after ceremony!

After completing the sacrifice, Matthew turned his attention to the fishmen to another meaning of today's ritual!

After three years of hard work, the living area of the Fishman has been greatly improved, and the Fishman is full of pride in their home!

In order to correctly guide this sentiment and enhance their cohesion and sense of identity, Ma Xian took advantage of this ceremony to worship the heavens, in which the order to build the city was announced!

From today on, Matthew's current location is the core of the sea world, where the kingdom of the fish people was established, and the holy land of Taoism stands here.