In Taiwan, the Earth God is one of the most ubiquitous and commonly worshiped deities. Sometimes referred to as the Locality God, the God of Happiness, and myriad other titles, the Earth God is a guardian and protector of place, who can be found throughout Taiwan in fields and forest in the countryside as well as in buildings and businesses in the city.
Historically, offerings to the Earth God were made to the Spirits of the Soil and Grain. With Taiwan’s transformation from an agricultural society to a modern, industrial economy, people became less reliant on the forces of nature and more dependent on the forces of the market for food and survival. As a result, attention was increasingly directed from non-material to material values, and worship of the Earth God moved from celebrating the environment to the economy as an essential source of wealth.
Today, the Earth God remains paramount in Taiwanese religious culture. Faced with the growing threat of climate change to development and security, however, the value of nature and its services must again be protected for the prosperity and well-being of the community. To that end, it is important to remember that to propitiate the Earth God is to propitiate the earth.