The Origin of Houtu Niangniang Temple

The third great god born after Pangu is called Houtu. It is now a very famous local emperor, also known as the Empress of Been Earth. She masters Yin and Yang and nurtures everything, so she is called the mother of the earth. Is the earliest king on earth.

Empress Chengtian imitates the earth, which is the fourth god among the "Four Emperors" in Taoism. Matching the Jade Emperor who presided over the celestial world, there are many records about Hou Di, mostly concentrated in Zuo Zhuan, Book of Rites, Shan Hai Jing and Huai Nan Zi, which roughly means that Hou Di is the son of Gong Shi and the god of the central government. For example:

"Twenty-nine Years of Zuo Zhuan Gong": "Therefore, the official has five elements, which refer to five senses, namely, wood is for Zhu Rong, fire is for Admiralty, water is for mystery, and soil is for thick soil. Zhuan Xu's son, Li, is Zhu Rong. * * * There is a saying in the Gong family that "dragon" means "changed". After that, it is the soil of society.

"The Book of Rites Sacrifice Law": "The * * * government is the master of Kyushu, and its son Hou Tu is able to ping Kyushu, so it is worshipped as a society.

"Book of Rites and Moon Order": "The central soil, its emperor Huangdi, its god is behind the soil." (Zheng Note: King Yuzhu, the god of local officials, is also the son of Zhuan Xu and a local official. )

"Shan Mei Neijing": "* * * workers are born in the afterlife, the afterlife is born in choking, and choking is born in ten years." Guo Pu's Note: Twelve children were born, all named after the age of, so they are called clouds. Yuan Ke's full translation of Shan Mei Jing: In ancient mythology, it was said that choke was born at the age of twelve or at the age of one in December.

"Shan Mei Jing Ye Xijing": "Li (Houtu) is stuck in the ground, and in the west pole, he can travel to the sun, the moon and the stars." This choke is the god of time. )

Shan Mei Jing Ye Bei Jing: "In the wild, there is a mountain called Chengdu Zaitian. Some people named two yellow snakes Kuafu. After being born locally, Xin was born in Kuafu. " Note: Houtu, son of Gong, Gou, see Zuo Zhuan, Nineteen Years of Zhao and Jing.

"Shan Mei Neijing": "* * * workers are born in the back." Yuan Ke's "Complete Translation of Shan Mei Jing" case: "Mandarin Lu Yu" says: "* * * Gong's overlord has nine, and his son's name is Houtu, who can level nine." That is, this is the history of "* * * workers were born in the past".

"Evocation of Chu Ci": "Yuan Jun is more secluded here." Wang Yi's Note: Especially all of them are underground soil governance. Underground ghost, so it's called moderation.

"Huainanzi Astronomical Training": "China is also its emperor Huangdi, and its auxiliary soil is also."

The above records about Hou Di, some appear as immortals, some as ordinary people, and some record official names, all of which are men. However, in the ancient tradition of China, the sky is sunny and the ground is cloudy. In Oracle Bone Inscriptions and Jin Wen, the word "Hou" is the shape of a woman. As for "earth", the explanation of the name and Heaven said: "Earth, spit it, can spit everything.