Fu De Zheng Shen

Fu De Zheng Shen (Hanzi=福德正神; pinyin=Fúdé zhèngshén; Hokkien:Hok Tek Ceng Sin[1]) is a god of prosperity in Chinese mythology. He is often considered the same as Tu Di Gong or the name was considered as an official title of the later, but actually both of them are different beings. As one of the oldest god by age, he is often considered as Hou Tu.[2]

Cult

Fu De Zheng Shen is depicted as a friendly, sitting old man with happy face and long white beard. Some Chinese temples do not distinguish him from Tu Di Gong, while the others clearly have different altars for them. The altar of Fu De Zheng Shen is always high above the ground while Tu Di Gong's just parallel to the floor. He is also depicted wearing more luxurious clothes than the later. While Tu Di Gong usually have altar on the grave, accompanied with his wife (Tu Di Po) and Hu Jiang Jun, he usually depicted alone and never have an altar on the graveyard. Furthermore, Tu Di Gong is a title for so many local cthonic deities that oversee a region, while there is one and only Fu De Zheng Shen.

References

  1. ↑ Keith G. Stevens, Chinese Mythological Gods, Oxford University Press, USA, (November 8, 2001), pages 60, 68, 70, ISBN 978-0195919905
  2. ↑ Yayasan kelenteng sam po kong semarang. Dewa-Dewi Kelenteng.
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