My intention had been to post an article titled Cross-Strait Exchanges To Promote Arts And Crafts Industry Speed The Development Of Putian, which was supposed to be an examination of how China’s southeast coastal city Putian (in China’s Fujian Province) has prospered and benefited from its proximity to Taiwan (which is an island group located nearby in the Pacific Ocean).

These two maps from Wikipedia that have been placed side-by-side below show the proximity of Putian and Taiwan — Taiwan is the rather large unidentified island mass just off into the Ocean from Putian in the first map; and of course, Taiwan is shown in red in the second map:

Unfortunately, the article named above that I had intended to publish here turned out to be utter gibberish, and I cannot understand how the author of the piece can not stand ashamed to have it spread abroad on the Web. But you can find it at sites such as here and here — it has been modified to appear different one from the other, but I beg you to access it and attempt to make any sense of its content. It is such nonsense, I could not even begin to rewrite the mess.

To my mind, both pieces are an abhorrent tragedy and have no place being published on the Internet as information.

So instead of re-publishing such corruption, I am offering the following:

An Embarrassment of Riches: Putian

By WU MEILING

PUTIAN is an economically and culturally prosperous city on the southeast coast of China in Fujian Province, facing Taiwan across the sea. It is blessed with fertile land and was and is inhabited by a clever people. The ancestors of the locals had a literate civilization more than 2,000 years ago and encoded their stories in “celestial-seal” and “tadpole” scripts carved on rocks with astrological and divination purposes that still await decoding by their modern offspring.

Goddess of the Sea

Meizhou Island of Putian City is an eyebrow-shaped island embraced by the beautiful sunshine and gentle waves of the Meizhou Bay, a natural deepwater harbor that is rarely seen in China, or anywhere else in the world. The island is the home of Mazu, the Chinese sea goddess and protector of those who live in maritime country. With the inevitable migration of coastal residents to other parts of the world, for centuries her cult has been spread across the globe. Today overseas Chinese still worship Mazu, and many visit Meizhou Island as their mecca to join the locals paying homage to their goddess at the time of her birthday.

According to historical records, a millennium ago a bright and well informed meteorologic and medical specialist named Lin Mo lived on Meizhou Island. The young woman was respected for her knowledge of maritime conditions, and her kindhearted assistance to those needing rescue or recovery from the sea’s perils. For the latter she was revered and worshipped by her people. Locals built her a memorial on the island, the world’s first Mazu Temple, which has been duplicated around the country and the world to serve her growing number of worshippers.

Golden Triad

The island, with its soothing enchanting seascape, has more than the birthplace of a cult to offer. Sun, sand and sea form the golden triad of the island. Meizhou has a typically mild subtropical marine monsoon climate, with an annual mean temperature of 20 degrees Centigrade. Along its 30-kilometer coastline there are 13 high-quality fine sand beaches and five kilometers of rocky shores. Grotesque rocks, mountains, the sea and the sky are juxtaposed and blended to compose diversified natural spectacles. Among the famous scenic spots are those called “Tidal Music,” “Golden Beach,” “Goose Tail Mountain,” “Solar Vein Pit,” and “Oxen Head and Tail.”

The whole island is the haven of holidaymakers, but the magnificent Golden Beach is worth a particular mention. Its vast and lustrous surface resembles the ripples of the calm sea and slopes gently into the waters, providing an ideal site for sunbathers and water sports fans. Those who want to stay away from the burning sun can enjoy the whispers of the waves under the shades of the green woods on shore. In the evening, they can take a walk along the shore and chase the glow of the setting sun. The sun stages a natural spectacle morning and evening as it dramatically rises above or sinks below the horizon. Spreading or withdrawing its glow over reefs, rocks, beach and wood, it leaves behind a picture perfect landscape for the magic touches of an artist’s brush.

The South Shaolin

The Shaolin Temple and Shaolin Kungfu in northern China’s Henan Province are famous worldwide for martial arts demonstrations. The South Shaolin Temple in Putian is also a Buddhist martial art must-see. The Chinese distinguish the two temples by adding “South” or “North” and identify the two Kungfu schools as the “Fist of the South” and the “Kick of the North.” The South Shaolin is a cultural heritage of the Zen Sect of Buddhism and the birthplace of Shaolin boxing.

The temple was first built in 557, during the Southern Dynasties, as the Linquan Yuan (Forest and Spring Yard). After Li Shimin (599-649) ascended the imperial throne in the early Tang Dynasty, a group of rebels led by Lu Decai fled to the southeast coast. They fell to pirating and ravaged fishing villages, reputedly descending quickly on a target and dispersing in no time at all, so the rumor spread that catching them was impossible. Li Shimin knew that if he sent an army to wipe them out, it would be as futile as punching fleas with a fist. So the emperor entrusted the mission to Monk Tanzong, abbot of the Shaolin Temple (Henan). The emperor had conferred on this man the title “Great General” in recognition of and gratitude for rescuing him from a dangerous situation. The lauded abbot dispatched 500 martial monks led by Master Daoguang, one of the 13 cudgel-stick gurus of the Shaolin. After the pirates were handily wiped out, Li Shimin ordered the construction of a branch Shaolin Temple in Putian as another commendation.

In the early Qing Dynasty (1644-1911), anti-Manchu forces and martial artists amassed at the South Shaolin, where they practiced Kungfu and prepared to stage a campaign to drive out the Manchus and restore the Ming Dynasty of the Han people. In the end they were betrayed, and the Qing army destroyed the temple and killed the monks and rebels. In August 1992 the Fujian provincial government approved the reconstruction of the temple on the site of its ruins. The plaque, “South Shaolin Temple,” was written by Zhao Puchu, late chairman of the Buddhist Association of China.

City of Arts and Crafts

Arts and crafts are not just one of Putian’s pillar industries; it has seen the fastest growth of any arts and crafts sector in the country. In recent years the local government has propelled development in this sector from family workshops into modern, thriving, industrialized operations.

Putian’s arts and crafts are diversified and of high quality. They include eight categories and more than 2,000 varieties, for which the city has been honored by the China National Light Industry Council and China National Arts and Crafts Society. Putian is also known as the “City of Wood Carvings,” the “City of Classic Furniture,” the “Hometown of Silver Ornaments,” the “Capital of Ancient Artistic Furniture,” and the “Industrial Base of Gem and Jade.”

Currently arts and crafts are leading the city’s industrial development and helping it set new records in economic growth rates.

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