本文考察出現在福建閩南的四個海神。其中有三個出現於宋朝：顯惠侯、昭惠公、以及媽祖，在宋代亦稱湄洲神女。第四個則是蘇王爺，出現在幾個世紀後的明清交替期。文章從兩個方面對此進行考察：第一是每個神明所能提供的保護範圍；第二則是各神明之間的相互關係。第一點是文章的重點，本文指出神明的保護功能反映了信仰者的需求。三個宋代海神無疑都不只保護航海者，祂們更攸關沿海居民的收成、疾病等更廣泛的福祉。但祂們又各自有所不同：顯惠侯源自莆田一個內陸鄉村，只保護遠距離貿易商人；昭惠公源自安海的海岸鄉村，主要保護當地漁民；媽祖源自海洋交通線上的小島，由於這些區域參與海上交通帶來的機會，媽祖在十二世紀成為東南海岸最有勢力的神明。相比之下，顯惠侯和昭惠公卻只局限在孤立的鄉村。最後，幾個世紀後的蘇王爺，成了王爺信仰現象的典型。祂是村落水平的神明，當媽祖顯得太邈遠時，於是祂應沿海居民之需求而起。

This paper explores the cults to four maritime deities that emerged in the Minnan area of southern Fujian. Three deities emerged in the Song dynasty: the Duke of Auspicious Response (Xianhui hou), the Lord of Illumined Response (Zhaohui gong), and the Maternal Ancestress (Mazu), also known and the Divine Woman of Meizhou (Meizhou shennü).
The cult of the fourth, Prince Su (Su wangye), emerged several centuries
later in the context of the Ming-Qing transition. The paper has two lines
of inquiry: first, the range of protections offered by the deities;second,
the relationships between the several cults. The first is the primary focus.
The paper regards the protections offered to be a reflection of the needs
of cult devotees. The three Song deities most certainly were not only turned to for protection of the seas, but reflect the broader interests of
coastal villagers such as harvest and disease. But neither were they all alike. The Duke came from an inland village in Putian and only protected long-distance merchants. The Lord came from a village on the coast of Anhai Bay, and focused on protecting local fishermen. Mazu came from a
small island that sat athwart the coastal sea lanes. Because this location
offered the opportunity to join coastal traders, by the 12th century Mazu
had become the most important deity; the Duke and the Lord, in contrast,
remained the patron deities of isolated villages. Later, Prince Su became
emblematic of the Wangye phenomenon. He was the deity of a coastal village
whose cult emerged because his devotees felt that Mazu had become too remote to meet their needs.