Earth god morphs into god of wealth
An old saying goes, “with land comes wealth.” As our society has transformed, so too has the Earth God. In earlier times the Earth God was an agricultural deity, but he has now become a god of wealth to whom people pray in hopes of becoming rich. On the second and sixteenth days of every lunar month, businesspeople pray to the Earth God. It is said that they do so because on the day after the traditional settlement day for transactions, they want to thank the Earth God for enabling their businesses to prosper.
The Earth God’s association with wealth has come to influence what he is portrayed as holding in his hands. Li says that the Earth God in times past generally carried a staff or a ruyi scepter, but in modern times he more often holds a gold ingot.
Some Earth God temples have become famous nationwide for the multitudes who go there to pray for riches. Especially well known is Nanshan Fude Temple in New Taipei City’s Zhonghe District. Businesspeople have long gone there in large numbers to pray for wealth, and in 1996 the temple built a giant statue of the Earth God standing over 100 feet tall, which is now a noted landmark.
At Zinan Temple in Nantou County, visitors can ask the Earth God for a small loan. A loan seeker throws a pair of divining blocks, and if they come to rest with one block face up and the other face down, the temple will lend the person NT$600, to be repaid later.
At Fu’an Temple in Checheng, Pingtung County, which towers six stories high and is the largest Earth God temple in Taiwan, visitors can also ask for a small loan, and this temple has become a big tourist destination.
Mr. Wang, a farmer, uses a hammer to drive an Earth God staff into the soil.