Mazu temples in Indonesia.

Mazu culture has had a profound impact on Southeast Asia. Its widespread dissemination during the Qing Dynasty resulted from the combined influence of various factors. This study uses the number of Mazu temples in Southeast Asia during the Qing Dynasty as a quantitative indicator and employs Pearson, Spearman, and Kendall correlation analyses to reveal the central role of geographical environment in cultural diffusion. The data show that there is a threshold effect between the scale of immigration and the distribution of Mazu temples: when the immigrant population exceeds 100,000, the impact significantly weakens. The propagation of Mazu culture is significantly underpinned by a distinctive geo-economic environment, notably characterized by an extensive coastline and a high coastline-to-land ratio, which inherently fosters the development of a marine economy. The high concentration of Mazu temples in port cities highlights the role of the compatibility between the maritime economic network and geographical space in promoting the dissemination of the belief. Consequently, the dissemination and spatial distribution of Mazu culture during the Qing Dynasty were intrinsically linked to the distinctive geographical environment of Southeast Asia.

妈祖文化（Mazu culture）对东南亚影响深远。其在清代的广泛传播，系多种因素共同作用所致。本研究以清代东南亚妈祖庙的数量作为量化指标，采用皮尔逊（Pearson）、斯皮尔曼（Spearman）与肯德尔（Kendall）相关分析方法，揭示地理环境在文化传播中的核心作用。研究数据表明，移民规模与妈祖庙分布之间存在门槛效应：当移民人口突破10万时，其影响会显著减弱。妈祖文化的传播显著依托于独具特色的地理经济环境——该环境以绵长海岸线与较高岸陆比为核心特征，天生利于海洋经济发展。妈祖庙在港口城市的高度集聚，凸显了海洋经济网络与地理空间的适配性对该信仰传播的推动作用。综上，清代妈祖文化的传播与空间分布，本质上与东南亚独具特色的地理环境紧密关联。