Tudi Gong, Antique Chinese deity. Hand-carved and painted wood. Dimensions 4.5 x 9.75 x 3.5".
Tudi Gong is the “Earth God” who is guardian of local villages and communities, one of the most-widely worshipped earth deities among the Chinese. Differing forms of the Earth God were not seen as manifestations of a single Earth God in Heaven; rather, they were thought of as individualized deities who actively lived amongst and interacted with human beings in the communities they protected for help in times of crisis, including drought or famine; who protected small villages; and who controlled the prosperity and fortune of common people.