Tudigong

Tudigongs go by a variety of names, including Tudigong () or Tudishen (), also known simply as Tudi () and translated as Lord of the Earth, • 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 associated with the soil. The character 社 is now primarily associated with Society, being present in such compounds as socialism () and sociology (社会学, Shèhuì xué) and social media (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 The character 社 alone historically referred to such deities. 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 who was appointed as a god of the soil by Zhuanxu. 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 Houtu ("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. Some scholars speculate that this change came because of an imperial edict, because it is reported that the Hongwu Emperor 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 trees. ==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. 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. ==Temples==

, Hong Kong. Tudigong temples are common across China, Tibet, Taiwan, Macau and Hong Kong. , a walled village of 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 dizhu shen or a Tudigong. A notable example in Nuannuan District has two Tudigong temples next to each other for different Tudigongs. Existing Temples • Checheng Fu'an Temple • Zhushan Zinan Temple • Mun San Fook Tuck Chee temple ==Gallery==

File:Quanshan Tudi Gong Gong - furnace - DSCF8527.JPG|A Tudigong temple in Quanzhou, Fujian. File:四結福德廟 20141206.jpg|A temple dedicated to Fude in Wujie, Yilan, Taiwan. File:沂水县郭庄附近的小庙.jpg|A Tudimiao in Guo Village, Yishui, Shandong 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, Sarawak, Malaysia. File:HongKongSpiritSeat.jpg|A doorway spirit tablet dedicated to Tudigong in Hong Kong. It invokes Tudigong to bring blessings. File:Altar Tho Ti Kong di Pattaya.jpg|A small altar in a private house, Pattaya, Thailand. File:福德正神香火神位.jpg|A roadside shrine to Tudigong in Miaoli, Taiwan ==See also==