Pun Tao Kong (;

pinyin Hanyu Pinyin (), often shortened to just pinyin, is the official romanization system for Standard Chinese, Standard Mandarin Chinese in China, and to some extent, in Singapore and Malaysia. It is often used to teach Mandarin, normally writte ...

: ''Běn tóu gōng'') or Lao Pun Tao Kong (;

: ''Lǎo běn tóu gōng''; literally: "traditional senior chief") is a deity who is highly respected and broadly regarded by overseas Chinese, but do not exist in China. He is related and similar to

Tudigong Tudigong ( "Lord of the Soil and the Ground") or Tudishen ( "God of the Soil and the Ground"), also known simply as Tudi ( "Soil-Ground") is a tutelary deity of a locality and the human communities who inhabit it in Chinese folk religion and Tao ...

. Pun Tao Kong beliefs and shrines exist in some countries such as

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailan ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

. There are many myths that tell of his origins, for example, it is believed that he was a frontline warrior of commander

Zheng He Zheng He (; 1371–1433 or 1435) was a Chinese mariner, explorer, diplomat, fleet admiral, and court eunuch during China's early Ming dynasty. He was originally born as Ma He in a Muslim family and later adopted the surname Zheng conferr ...

, then he traveled to

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical south-eastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of mainlan ...

with Zheng He. While some stories said that he moved to

Luzon island Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, ...

, some records mentioned that he died there, while some did not mention about that. It is possible that he was a symbol or representative of the first Chinese immigrants to Southeast Asia. The Chinese immigrants likely chose to worship a deity close to them as a

tutelar A tutelary () (also tutelar) is a deity or a 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 safety an ...

. In Thailand, there are shrines of Pun Tao Kong spread throughout the capital

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...

, and in various cities such as

Khon Kaen Khon Kaen ( th, ขอนแก่น, ) is one of the four major cities of Isan, Thailand, also known as the "big four of Isan", the others being Udon Thani, Nakhon Ratchasima, and Ubon Ratchathani. It is the capital of Khon Kaen province and ...

Samut Sakhon Samut Sakhon ( th, สมุทรสาคร, Pronunciation is a City in Thailand, capital of Samut Sakhon province. It is a stop on the Maeklong Railway. Samut Sakhon is 48 km from Bangkok. It is part of the Bangkok Metropolitan Region ...

. His idols often wore military uniforms or were old men. While some shrines may use the image of

Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" withi ...

as Pun Tao Kong. Pun Tao Kong is usually worshiped among the

Teochew people The Teochew people or Chaoshan people (rendered Têo-Swa in romanized Teoswa and Chaoshan in Standard Chinese also known as Teo-Swa in mainland China due to a change in place names) is anyone native to the historical Chaoshan region in south ...

, there are some in the Hoklo. While the Hainanese and

Hakka people The Hakka (), sometimes also referred to as Hakka Han, or Hakka Chinese, or Hakkas are a Han Chinese subgroup whose ancestral homes are chiefly in the Hakka-speaking provincial areas of Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Sichuan, Hunan, Zhej ...

do not have this belief at all. And it is said that he is the Chinese god with the largest number of shrines in Bangkok. According to Somchai Kwangthongpanich, an expert on

Sinology Sinology, or Chinese studies, is an academic discipline that focuses on the study of China primarily through Chinese philosophy, language, literature, culture and history and often refers to Western scholarship. Its origin "may be traced to th ...

. Evidence of the oldest Pun Thao Kong shrine in Thailand, it has existed since the Ayutthaya period (more than 250 years). In those days, there were many Pun Tao Kong shrines in Ayutthaya in Chinese communities like Yan Nai Kai Market or Pak Nam Mae Bia (present-day in Ho Rattanachai Sub-District,

Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya District Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya ( th, พระนครศรีอยุธยา, ) is the capital district (''amphoe Mueang'') of Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya province, central Thailand. Its former name as the capital city of Ayutthaya Kingdom was "Krun ...

). However, the largest and one of the oldest shrines of him is on Song Wat Road in Chinatown area. In the olden days, when people began to build Pun Tao Gong shrines at other places, they would ask for

incense Incense is aromatic biotic material that releases fragrant smoke when burnt. The term is used for either the material or the aroma. Incense is used for aesthetic reasons, religious worship, aromatherapy, meditation, and ceremony. It may also b ...

from here. Sometimes Pun Tao Kong is known as Pun Tao Ma (;

: ''Běn tóu mā'') a tutelar goddess. The shrines of Pun Tao Ma also spread in different places like Pun Tao Kong, sometimes both of them were worshiped together.

References

{{reflist category:Chinese gods category:Tutelary deities category:Chinese diaspora in Thailand Chinese diaspora in Southeast Asia category:Chinese-Thai culture

See also

References