Who is The Earth God 土地公 Earth Grandpa

The Earth God, also known as "Earth Grandpa" or "Earth Lord", is a deity in Taoism who governs a specific region of land. The worship of the Earth God originated from the ancient "God of the Soil and Grain (She Shen)". The annotation to Gongyang Zhuan states: "She is the master of the land." In Fengsu Tongyi·Sidian (Customs and Rituals·Sacrificial Records), it quotes Xiaojing (The Classic of Filial Piety) as saying: "She is the master of the land. Since the land is vast and extensive, it is impossible to pay homage to every part of it. Therefore, a mound of earth is built as the She altar to offer sacrifices, in return for its meritorious deeds." Qing Dynasty scholar Zhai Hao wrote in Tongsu Bian·Shen Gui (Popular Compilations·Gods and Ghosts): "Nowadays, all She gods are called Earth Gods."

The earliest figure referred to as the Earth God was Jiang Ziwen in the Han Dynasty. According to Sou Shen Ji (Records of Searching for Spirits): "Jiang Ziwen was a native of Guangling... In the late Han Dynasty, he served as the magistrate of Moling. While chasing bandits to the foot of Zhongshan, he was hit by the bandits and injured his forehead. He untied his official seal ribbon to bind the wound but died shortly after. In the early years of the reign of Sun Quan, the first ruler of the Wu Kingdom, his former subordinates saw Jiang Ziwen on the road. He was riding a white horse, holding a white feather fan, with attendants just like in his lifetime. Those who saw him fled in alarm. Jiang Ziwen chased after them and said: 'I shall be the Earth God here to bless the people. You can announce to the common people to build a temple for me. Otherwise, there will be great misfortune.'"

Since then, the Earth Gods in various regions gradually came to be held by those who had made contributions to the local area after their death, and every region had its own Earth God. The prosperity of worshipping the Earth God began in the Ming Dynasty. There were particularly many Earth God temples during the Ming Dynasty, which was related to Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang. Langya Manchao (Casual Notes from Langya) records that Zhu Yuanzhang "was born in the Earth God Temple of Lingji Township, Xuyi County". Therefore, the small Earth God temples were highly revered in the Ming Dynasty.

The image of the Earth God is mostly depicted as plainly dressed, approachable, kind, and amiable, often an old man with full white hair and beard. In ordinary Earth God temples, besides the statue of the Earth God, there is usually a statue of his spouse, called "Earth Grandma", who shares the incense offerings with the Earth God but has no specific duties. Folk people regard the second day of the second lunar month as the birthday of the Earth God, and hold sacrificial activities on that day.