A Tudigong ( zh, s=土地公, l=Lord of the Land) is a kind of Chinese

tutelary deity A tutelary (; also tutelar) is a deity or a Nature spirit, spirit who is a guardian, patron, or protector of a particular place, geographic feature, person, lineage, nation, culture, or occupation. The etymology of "tutelary" expresses the concept ...

of a specific location. There are several Tudigongs corresponding to different geographical locations and sometimes multiple ones will be venerated together in certain regions. They are tutelary (i.e. guardian or patron)

deities A deity or god is a supernatural being considered to be sacred and worthy of worship due to having authority over some aspect of the universe and/or life. The ''Oxford Dictionary of English'' defines ''deity'' as a God (male deity), god or god ...

of locations and the human communities who inhabit it in

Chinese folk religion Chinese folk religion comprises a range of traditional religious practices of Han Chinese, including the Chinese diaspora. This includes the veneration of ''Shen (Chinese folk religion), shen'' ('spirits') and Chinese ancestor worship, ances ...

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

Confucianism Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China, and is variously described as a tradition, philosophy, Religious Confucianism, religion, theory of government, or way of li ...

, and

Taoism Taoism or Daoism (, ) is a diverse philosophical and religious tradition indigenous to China, emphasizing harmony with the Tao ( zh, p=dào, w=tao4). With a range of meaning in Chinese philosophy, translations of Tao include 'way', 'road', ' ...

.The Encyclopedia of Malaysia, vol. Religions & Beliefs, edited by Prof. Dr M. Kamal Hassan & Dr. Ghazali bin Basri. They are portrayed as old men with long beards. The definitive characteristic of Tudigongs is that they are limited to their specific geographical locations. The Tudigong of one location is not the Tudigong of another location. They are considered to be among the lowest ranked divinities, just below City Gods ("God of Local City"), and above landlord gods. Often, a specific person who did a great service to their local community will be seen as becoming a Tudigong after their death. When people move from one location to another, they will say goodbye to their local Tudigong and worship that of the new location. The deities are considered to have a kind of appointed position like an

alderman An alderman is a member of a Municipal government, municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law with similar officials existing in the Netherlands (wethouder) and Belgium (schepen). The term may be titular, denotin ...

, with different deities being appointed to different areas.

Houtu Hòutǔ () or Hòutǔshén (), also known as Hòutǔ Niángniáng (in Chinese either or ), otherwise called Dimǔ () or Dimǔ Niángniáng (), is the deity of all land and earth in Chinese religion and mythology. Houtu is the overlord of all t ...

is the overlord of all the Tudigongs ("Lord of Local Land"),

Sheji __NOTOC__ Soil and grain was a common Chinese political term in the Sinosphere for the state. Shejitan, the altars of soil and grain, were constructed alongside ancestral altars. Chinese monarchs of the Ming and Qing dynasties performed ceremon ...

("the State"), Shan Shen ("God of Mountains"), City Gods ("God of Local City"), and landlord gods worldwide.

Names

Tudigongs go by a variety of names, including Tudigong ( zh, s=土地公, l=Lord of the Land) or Tudishen ( zh, s=土地神, l=God of the Land, labels=no), also known simply as Tudi ( zh, t=土地, l=land, soil, labels=no) and translated as Lord of the Earth, Other names of the god include: * Tugong ( "Lord of the Soil"); * Tudiye ( "Soil-Ground Father"); * Dabogong ( "Great Elder Lord") or Bogong ( "Elder Lord"); ** Tua Pek Kong ( Tâi-lô: ''Tuā-peh-kong'') is used extensively as a replacement of Tudigong by the Chinese population across South East Asia, although they refer to the same deity. * Sheshen ( "God of the Soil") or Shegong ( "Lord of the Soil"); ** This word may be confusing as 社 is often used to refer to society or shrines, but the original etymology was linked to soil. * Tudijun ( "Ruler God of the Soil"). Extended titles of the god include: * Tudihuofushen ( "God who May Bless the Soil"); * Fudezhengshen ( "Right God of Blessing and Virtue") or Fudegong ( "Lord of Blessing and Virtue"). Commoners often call their local Tudigong "grandfather" (''yeye''), which reflects the close relationship with the common people.

Etymology

Tudigongs are believed to have originally developed out of the Sheshen belief system. Sheshen (社神), also known as Tudigongs, are

Chinese deities Chinese gods and immortals are beings in various Chinese religions seen in a variety of ways and mythological contexts. Many are worshiped as deities because traditional Chinese religion is polytheistic, stemming from a pantheistic view that ...

associated with the soil. The character 社 is now primarily associated with Society, being present in such compounds as

socialism Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...

() and

sociology Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of Interpersonal ties, social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociol ...

(社会学, Shèhuì xué) and

social media Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...

(社群媒體, Shè qún méitǐ). However, originally the character 社 meant soil, and had a connotation of divinity; see the diagram on the right for more info on its relationship with the

Oracle bone script Oracle bone script is the oldest attested form of written Chinese, dating to the late 2nd millennium BC. Inscriptions were made by carving characters into oracle bones, usually either the shoulder bones of oxen or the plastrons of turtl ...

The character 社 alone historically referred to such deities. It is a combination of deity (示) and soil (土), meaning "god of the land". Sheshen are associated with soil and grain (shèjì, 社稷), with both sometimes being personified as husband and wife. Tudigong means Tu (earth), Di, Gong (grandfather/duke). Sacrifices to Sheshen transitioned to sacrifices to Tudigong.

History

The earliest known sheshen was , a son of

Gonggong Gonggong () is a Chinese water god who is depicted in Chinese mythology and folktales as having a copper human head with an iron forehead, red hair, and the body of a serpent, or sometimes the head and torso are human, with the tail of a serpen ...

who was appointed as a god of the soil by

Zhuanxu Zhuanxu (), also known as Gaoyang (), was a mythological emperor of ancient China. In the traditional account recorded by Sima Qian, Zhuanxu was a grandson of the Yellow Emperor. Association with Four Barbarians At the age of ten with Shao ...

. Tudigongs developed from land worship. Before Chenghuangshen ("City Gods") became more prominent in China, land worship had a hierarchy of deities conforming strictly to social structure, in which the emperor, kings, dukes, officials, and common people were allowed to worship only the land gods within their command; the highest land deity was the

("Queen of the Earth"). Ranked beneath City Gods, the Tudigongs have been very popular among villagers as the grassroot deities since the 14th century during the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...

. Some scholars speculate that this change came because of an imperial edict, because it is reported that the

Hongwu Emperor The Hongwu Emperor (21 October 1328– 24 June 1398), also known by his temple name as the Emperor Taizu of Ming, personal name Zhu Yuanzhang, courtesy name Guorui, was the List of emperors of the Ming dynasty, founding emperor of the Ming dyna ...

of the Ming dynasty was born in a Tudigong shrine. The image of a Tudigong is that of a simply clothed, smiling, white-bearded man. His wife, the Grandmother of the Village, ''Tǔdìpó'', looks like a normal old lady. In later generations, they became associated with

Wish tree A wish tree (or wishing tree) is a tree, usually distinguished by species, location or appearance, which is used as an object of wishes and offerings. Such trees are identified as possessing a special religious or spiritual value. Postulants ma ...

Variants

Tudipo

In the countryside, they are sometimes given wives, ''Tǔdìpó'' ( "Grandmother of the Soil and the Ground"), placed next to them on the altar. They may be seen as just and benevolent deities on the same rank as their husbands, or as grudging old women holding back their husband's benedictions, which explains why one does not always receive fair retribution for good behavior. Another story says that Tudipo is supposed to be a young lady. After Tudigong received a heavenly rank, he gave everything that the people asked for. When one of the Deities went down to Earth to do inspections, he saw that Tudigong was distributing blessings unnecessarily. Soon after that, the Deity went to the Celestial Palace and reported to the

Jade Emperor In the Chinese mythology, myths and Chinese folk religion, folk religion of Chinese culture, the Jade Emperor or Yudi is one of the representations of the Primordial Divinity (Tai Di), primordial god. In Taoist theology, he is the assistant of ...

. After the Jade Emperor knew this, he found out that there was a lady that was going to be killed, but she was not guilty. Thus, the Jade Emperor told a Deity to go down to Earth and bring the lady to heaven. When the lady was brought to the Celestial Palace, the Jade Emperor bestowed her to Tudigong as his wife. She was ordered to look after how many blessings Tudigong distributes and that they not be unnecessarily distributed. This is why many people do not want to pay respect to Tudipo, because they are afraid that she will not let Tudigong give much wealth to them.

Festivals

In Taiwan, festivals dedicated to Tudigong typically take place on the second day of the second month and the 15th day of the eighth month on the Chinese lunar calendar. The second day of the second month is said to be Tudigong's birthday. Today these deities are associated with Ritual opera.参见《〈辞海〉1999年索引本（音序）》第1480页。

Temples

Tudigong temples are common across China, Tibet, Taiwan, Macau and Hong Kong. In Chinese, Spirit houses are called 土地神屋 or Tudigong House, representing a link between the concept and the concept of a Tudigong temple dedicated to a landlord deity or a Tudigong. A notable example in Nuannuan District has two Tudigong temples next to each other for different Tudigongs. Many temples house small shrines with the image of Tudigong, commonly located under the main altar, or below the house door. Many worshippers supplicate with the intention of gaining wealth or maintaining their physical health. They are also traditionally worshipped before the burial of deceased persons to thank him for using his land to return their bodies to the earth. It is reported that the

of the Ming dynasty was born in a Tudigong shrine. During the

cultural revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a Social movement, sociopolitical movement in the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). It was launched by Mao Zedong in 1966 and lasted until his de ...

, many Tudigong shrines were destroyed. However, many were recently rebuilt.Wen-yu Chang & Wei-ping Lin, “A Fairy-like Woman, Taiwanese Businessmen, and Temple Managers: A New Age Temple of Earth God in Xiamen” (in Chinese), ''Journal of Archaeology and Anthropology'' 82 (2015): 27–60.

Existing Temples

Checheng Fu'an Temple The Checheng Fu'an Temple () is a temple in Checheng Township, Pingtung County, Taiwan. History The temple was originally built as the Jinsheng Pavilion in 1662 to worship Tudigong during the Qing Dynasty under Kangxi Emperor to accommodate mi ...

* Zhushan Zinan Temple * Mun San Fook Tuck Chee temple

Gallery

File:Quanshan Tudi Gong Gong - furnace - DSCF8527.JPG, A Tudigong temple in

Quanzhou Quanzhou is a prefecture-level city, prefecture-level port city on the north bank of the Jin River, beside the Taiwan Strait in southern Fujian, China, People's Republic of China. It is Fujian's largest most populous metropolitan region, wi ...

Fujian Fujian is a provinces of China, province in East China, southeastern China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capital is Fuzhou and its largest prefe ...

. File:四結福德廟 20141206.jpg, A temple dedicated to Fude in

Wujie, Yilan Wujie Township () is a Township (Taiwan), rural township in the eastern part of Yilan County, Taiwan, Yilan County, Taiwan. Geography * Area: 38.87 km2 * Population: 40,984 people (September 2023) Administrative divisions The township comprise ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

. File:Tu Di Gong shrine.jpg, A small altar for Tudi, part of a Chinese tomb, Indonesia. File:Pagoda of Tua Pek Kong Temple.JPG, Tower of the Temple of Dabogong (locally ''Tua Pek Kong'') in

Sibu Sibu is a landlocked city located in the central region of Sarawak, Malaysia. It serves as the capital of Sibu District within Sibu Division and is situated on the island of Borneo. Covering an area of , the city is positioned at the conf ...

Sarawak Sarawak ( , ) is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia. It is the largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia. Sarawak is located in East Malaysia in northwest Borneo, and is ...

Malaysia Malaysia is a country in Southeast Asia. Featuring the Tanjung Piai, southernmost point of continental Eurasia, it is a federation, federal constitutional monarchy consisting of States and federal territories of Malaysia, 13 states and thre ...

. File:HongKongSpiritSeat.jpg, A doorway

spirit tablet A spirit tablet, memorial tablet, or ancestral tablet is a placard that people used to designate the seat of a deity or past ancestor as well as to enclose it. The name of the deity or the past ancestor is usually inscribed onto the tablet. Wit ...

dedicated to Tudigong in

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

. It invokes Tudigong to bring blessings. File:Altar Tho Ti Kong di Pattaya.jpg, A small altar in a private house,

Pattaya Pattaya is a city in Eastern Thailand, the second-largest city in Chonburi province and the List of municipalities in Thailand, eighth-largest city in Thailand. It is on the east coast of the Gulf of Thailand, about southeast of Bangkok, and h ...

, Thailand. File:福德正神香火神位.jpg, A roadside shrine to Tudigong in Miaoli, Taiwan

References

{{Religious Confucianism Chinese gods Fortune gods Earth gods Tutelary deities Journey to the West characters Regional deities Chthonic beings Chinese folk religion Earth deities East Asian traditional religion