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 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 a ...

of a locality and the human communities who inhabit it in

Chinese folk religion Chinese folk religion, also known as Chinese popular religion comprehends a range of traditional religious practices of Han Chinese, including the Chinese diaspora. Vivienne Wee described it as "an empty bowl, which can variously be filled ...

and

Taoism Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the '' Ta ...

.The Encyclopedia of Malaysia, vol. Religions & Beliefs, edited by Prof. Dr M. Kamal Hassan & Dr. Ghazali bin Basri.

Names

Other names of the god include: * Tugong ( "Lord of the Soil"); * Tudiye ( "Soil-Ground Father"); * Dabogong ( "Great Elder Lord") or Bogong ( "Elder Lord"); * Sheshen ( "God of the Soil") or Shegong ( "Lord of the 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 Tudigong "grandfather" (''yeye''), which reflects his close relationship with the common people.

Variants

Tudipo

In the countryside, he is sometimes given a wife, ''Tǔdìpó'' ( "Grandmother of the Soil and the Ground"), placed next to him on the altar. She may be seen as a just and benevolent Deity on the same rank as her husband, or as a grudging old woman holding back her 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 The Jade Emperor or Yudi ( or , ') in Chinese culture, traditional religions and myth is one of the representations of the first god ( '). In Daoist theology he is the assistant of Yuanshi Tianzun, who is one of the Three Pure Ones, the th ...

. 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.

Dizhushen

The Landlord God () is a deity worshipped in Chinese folk beliefs who is analogous but is not to be confused with Tudigong. The tablet for the Landlord God is typically inscribed with two rows: On the left: (in Singapore and Malaysia) “The Landlord Wealth God of the Overseas

Tang Tang or TANG most often refers to: * Tang dynasty * Tang (drink mix) Tang or TANG may also refer to: Chinese states and dynasties * Jin (Chinese state) (11th century – 376 BC), a state during the Spring and Autumn period, called Tang (唐) ...

People” () or (in Hong Kong and Chinese diaspora elsewhere) “The Landlord Wealth God from Front to Back” () On the right: The Dragon God of the Five Directions and Five Lands (; fengshui). The names are accompanied by a side couplet of various wordings that praise the virtues of the Landlord God. It is believed that the Landlord God has powers to help gather wealth, and the position of the tablet must be placed properly according to the laws of fengshui.

Village Gods

The Village God has developed from land worship. Before Chenghuangshen ("City God") 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

Houtu Hòutǔ () or Hòutǔshén (), also Hòutǔ Niángniáng (in Chinese either or ), otherwise called Dimǔ () or Dimǔ Niángniáng (), is the deity of deep earth and soil in Chinese religion and mythology. Houtu is the overlord of all the Tu Di ...

("Queen of the Earth"). Ranked beneath City Gods, the Village Gods 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 in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

. 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), personal name Zhu Yuanzhang (), courtesy name Guorui (), was the founding emperor of the Ming dynasty of China, reigning from 1368 to 1398. As famine, plagues and peasant revolts i ...

of the Ming dynasty was born in a Village God shrine. The image of the Village God is that of a simply clothed, smiling, white-bearded man. His wife, the Grandmother of the Village, looks like a normal old lady.

Ông Địa and Thần Tài

Vietnam and Cambodia also observe the tradition of enshrining the Earth God at home and in businesses, with the addition of the images of Ông Địa (the earth god who bears a similar appearance to Budai, Hotei, Or Maitreya Of

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

as Adaptation.), and Thần Tài (the wealth god who is in fact

Caishen Caishen () is the mythological figure worshipped in the Chinese folk religion and Taoism. He has been identified with many historical figures, viewed as his embodied forms, among whom Zhao Gongming (, Wade–Giles: ''Chao Kung-ming''; also known a ...

). In Vietnam, Ông Địa takes the role of the earth god in a similar fashion to both Tudigong and Dizhushen, with Thần Tài serving as his partner or assistant.

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.

Gallery

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

Quanzhou Quanzhou, alternatively known as Chinchew, is a prefecture-level port city on the north bank of the Jin River, beside the Taiwan Strait in southern Fujian, China. It is Fujian's largest metropolitan region, with an area of and a popul ...

Fujian Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of 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 ...

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

Wujie, Yilan Wujie Township () is a rural township in the eastern part of Yilan County, Taiwan. Geography * Area: 38.87 km2 * Population: 39,378 people (2014) Administrative divisions The township comprises 15 villages: Chengxing, Daji, Erjie, Fuxing, Ji ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the no ...

. 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 (; Hokchew Romanized: ''Sĭ-bŭ'') is a landlocked city in the central region of Sarawak. It is the capital of Sibu District in Sibu Division, Sarawak, Malaysia. The city is located on the island of Borneo and covers an area of . It i ...

Sarawak Sarawak (; ) is a state of Malaysia. The largest among the 13 states, with an area almost equal to that of Peninsular Malaysia, Sarawak is located in northwest Borneo Island, and is bordered by the Malaysian state of Sabah to the northeast, ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...

. File:HongKongSpiritSeat.jpg, A doorway

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

dedicated to Tudigong in

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a List of cities in China, city and Special administrative regions of China, special ...

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

Pattaya Pattaya ( th, พัทยา, , ) is a city in Thailand. It is on the east coast of the Gulf of Thailand, about southeast of Bangkok, within, but not part of, Bang Lamung district in the province of Chonburi. Pattaya City ( th, เมือ� ...

, Thailand.

References

{{reflist Chinese gods Fortune gods Earth gods Tutelary deities Journey to the West characters