Hand carved wood statue of Tudigong, Chinese. About 150 - 200 years old. Dimensions 5.5 x 12.5 x 4".
Tudigong or God of the Land, it literally means Lord of the Soil and the Ground, is a tutelary deity of natural locality in Chinese folk religion. Tudigong has been worshipped since ancient times to modernity. With his shrine or altar usually occupying the most “strategic” (in terms of feng shui) location in a place, whether in a mountain, in a village, inside a house, Tudigong plays the role of guardian for the land’s natural environment, animals, and plants, as well as humans.