Tudigong

Common card · No. 434039

A Tudigong (Chinese: 土地公; lit. 'Lord of the Land') is a kind of Chinese tutelary deity of a specific location. There are several Tudigongs corresponding to different geographical locations and sometimes multiple ones will be venerated together in certain regions. They are tutelary (i.e. guardian or patron) deities of locations and the human communities who inhabit it in Chinese folk religion, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism. They are portrayed as old men with long beards. The definitive characteristic of Tudigongs is that they are limited to their specific geographical locations. The Tudigong of one location is not the Tudigong of another location. They are considered to be among the lowest ranked divinities, just below City Gods and above dizhu shen. Often, a specific person who did a great service to their local community will be seen as becoming a Tudigong after their death. When people move from one location to another, they will say goodbye to their local Tudigong and worship that...

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