The Queen of the Earth 地母娘娘 Chengtian Xiaofa Houtu Huang Dizhi

Queen of the Earth, also known as "Chengtian Xiaofa Houtu Huang Dizhi", "Houtu Niangniang", "Houtu" and so on, is one of the "Six Imperial Gods". The worship of Queen of the Earth originates from the ancient Chinese worship of the land. The Book of Rites states: "The earth bears all things, and the heaven displays phenomena. We take materials from the earth and models from the heaven, therefore we respect the heaven and cherish the earth.

 Hence, we teach the people to offer beautiful rewards." In ancient times, people's lives depended on the earth, so they "cherished the earth" and offered "beautiful rewards" and "sacrifices", thus giving rise to the worship of "Houtu". There are many records about "Houtu", mostly concentrated in Zuo Zhuan, The Book of Rites, Classic of Mountains and Seas, and Huainanzi. After the Tang and Song dynasties, many Taoist temples set up "Houtu Hall", and folk also built "Houtu Niangniang" temples to worship this goddess in charge of reproduction, the earth, and beauty. The functions of the Mother of the Earth are: to assist the Jade Emperor in managing yin and yang reproduction, the growth of all things, and the beauty of the earth's mountains and rivers, and to be the female god who dominates the earth's mountains and rivers. The birthday of Queen of the Earth is the 18th day of the third lunar month.