Hanlu Temple · A temple you can walk into
Earth God Shrine
East of Mazu Hall, in a hall with a loft above it. The Earth God is the most local deity in the pantheon — and the one you are most likely to meet.
In the hall
A short, stout figure in a scholar's cap, leaning on a staff, with a smile that is closer to a neighbour's than a god's.
The hall is small and the loft above it is empty. In a real village this would be the building everyone passes without noticing.
Who is this
Tudi Gong, also called Fude Zhengshen, is the god of one specific patch of ground: a village, a street, a building site, a grave. He handles nothing grand.
That is exactly why he is everywhere. A stone by the road, a niche in a wall, a shelf behind a shop counter — all of them count.
In a real temple
His birthday is the second day of the second lunar month. Before sweeping a grave, breaking ground or opening a shop, people greet him first, because he is the one who knows the ground.
Offerings are sticky rice cakes and peanut candy — sweet, and sticky, so that good words about the household stick in his mouth when he reports.
Written in English for readers outside China; the Chinese version is longer. All eight lots of this hall are in the lot library.