媽祖信仰在清代發展到前所未有的高峰，官方的推波助瀾起了重大的作用，媽祖的封賜由「天妃」升格為「天后」正在此時。不過，有關「媽祖升天后」的說法，以往我們都認為是康熙23（1684）年時，施琅平定臺灣期間因獲媽祖之神祐，遂奏請康熙同意封為天后。這一說法成為定見，雖有少數學者持疑，但缺乏史料印證，直到前年（2003），北京第一歷史檔案館整理刊佈了相關直接檔案文獻，得知康熙皇帝當年僅同意致祭媽祖，卻否決了封「天后」之議，這才有效地推翻舊說，釐清歷史事實。媽祖真正的升為天后是在乾隆2年（1737）時，臺灣守備陳元美在海上遇風，經祈禱媽祖後，船上一行人俱獲安全，於是福建總督郝玉麟奏請加封，廷議後欽定「福佑群生」四字，使媽祖封號為「護國庇民妙靈昭應弘仁普濟福佑群生天后」，經由這次的加封，媽祖才名符其實的升格為「天后」。

The development of Mazu Belief came to an unprecedented peak in the Qing Dynasty. Official endorsement played a major part in the rising of this folk religion. It was this time Mazu was re-conferred with the title "Empress of the Heaven", elevating her status from "Princess-consort of the Heaven". However, there were still different opinions regarding the story of Mazu's elevation to this status. It was commonly recognized that in the Twenty-third Year of the Kangxi Period, Qing Dynasty (1684), Mazu aided Shi Lang in his quest to subjugate Taiwan. After the battle was won, Shi Lang recommended to the Emperor for a commendation; the Emperor agreed and conferred the Mazu with the title "Empress of the Heaven". This legend became the mainstream theory; however, a few scholars still have reservations towards this theory. Lacking in historical evidences, differences in opinions had never been resolved until 2003. In 2003, the No. 1 Historical Archives in Beijing made a series of historical scripts available to the public; from the documents, we came know that, at the time, Emperor Kangxi only agreed to enshrine Mazu but dismissed the suggestion to confer the title "Empress of the Heaven". With this direct evidence, the old legend was effectively overthrown and the truth returned to the history at last. The actual conferment of the title of "Empress of the Heaven" took place in the Second Year of the Qianlong Period, Qing Dynasty (1737). At the time, the Defense General to Taiwan, Chen Yuan-Mei, and his troops met with a storm on the sea. After he prayed to Mazu for blessings, the General and his troops safely arrived. Thus, Governor of Taiwan, Hao Yu-Lin, made recommendation to the Emperor for a conferment. After an evaluation was finalized at the imperial court, the Emperor officially conferred Mazu with the commendation - "Guardian of the People (福佑群生)", which added to Mazu's title as "Guardian of the Nation, All Mighty Empathetic, Guardian of the People, Empress of the Heaven (護國庇民妙靈昭應弘仁普濟福佑群生天后)". This conferment officially elevated Mazu to the status of "Empress of the Heaven".