The Earth God, also known as the Earth Lord or Earth Ancestor, is of a low status in the pantheon of Taoist gods, but is extremely common in folk beliefs. He is the local protector in folk beliefs and is popular throughout the country. In the old days, wherever there were people living, there was the phenomenon of worshipping the Earth God.
The Earth God originated from the ancient “God of the Earth”, the god who manages a small piece of land. The commentary on the “Classic of Rites” says: “The God of the Earth is the master of the land.” Han Yingzhao's “Comprehensive History of Customs: Rituals” quotes the “Filial Piety Classic” as saying: “The God of the Earth is the master of the land. The land is vast and cannot be worshipped everywhere, so the earth is sealed with soil and worshipped to show gratitude.” Qing Zhai Hao's “Compilation of Treasures: Gods and Ghosts” says: “Nowadays, all gods of the earth are called the God of the Earth.” During the Shang Dynasty, worshipping the Earth God was worshipping the Earth, so the Earth God was more closely associated with nature. According to the Book of Rites: Sacrificial Methods, there were already different levels of worshipping the Earth God at the same time. The text says: “The king establishes a society for the group surnames and calls it the Great Society. The princes establish a society for the people and call it the National Society. The princes establish their own societies and call them the Marquis' Societies. The nobles and below establish societies in groups and call them the Summer Societies.” During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, “Houtu Huangdi” was worshipped as the supreme god in charge of the land, and local gods of the land were still worshipped in their respective places.
The earliest god of the land was Jiang Ziwen in the Han Dynasty. According to Volume 5 of “Sou Shen Ji”: “Jiang Ziwen was a native of Guangling. ... At the end of the Han Dynasty, he was the magistrate of Sui Ling, chasing bandits to the foot of Zhongshan Mountain. The bandits struck him on the forehead, injuring him. He was about to die when his captor untied him. A short while later, he died. At the beginning of the Wu Kingdom, his former subordinates saw Wen on the road, riding a white horse, holding a white feather, and surrounded by attendants as if he were alive. Those who saw him fled in shock. Wen chased after them, saying, 'I shall become the local god of this land and bless the people here. You may announce to the people that they should build a shrine for me. Otherwise, there will be great calamity.'... So he sent an emissary to make Feng Ziwen the Marquis of Zhongdu... and to build a temple and rename Zhongshan as Jiangshan.” Since then, the local gods of the land have gradually been appointed to those who have made meritorious contributions to the local area after their deaths, and there are local gods of the land everywhere. According to Zhao Yi's ‘Jieyu Congkao’ in the Qing Dynasty, Shen Yue was the god of the land at the Jing Temple in Niao Town, Huzhou, and Yue Fei was the god of the land at Taiyue, Lin'an. 　　In Ming Shanshi Zhi, Qing Dynasty writer Zhao Yi said that there were many different names for the Earth God, including the Garden God, the Green Seedling God, the God of Longevity (worshipped in family altars), the God of the Hollows, the God of Temples, etc.
The worship of the Earth God reached its peak in the Ming Dynasty. There were particularly many Earth God temples in the Ming Dynasty, and this was related to the emperor Zhu Yuanzhang. The Langya Manchao records that Zhu Yuanzhang was “born in the Earth God temple in Lingji Township, Xuyi County”. Thus, the small Earth God temples were revered in the Ming Dynasty. For example, Jinling Suoshi (Jinling Events) states that in the first month of the second year of the Jianwen reign (1400), when the iron pagoda in Nanjing was built by imperial decree, a special “Land God Hall” was built inside the pagoda to worship the Land God. Shuidong Diary also states that at that time, there were not only Land God Temples in villages and streets all over the country, but even “Land God Shrines in warehouses and pastures”.
The image of the Earth God is mostly simple-dressed, approachable, kind and affable, and is mostly an elderly man with completely white hair and beard. In general, in addition to the Earth God, his spouse, affectionately called the “Earth God's wife”, is also depicted in the Earth God temple. She shares the incense offerings with the Earth God and has no special duties. The Jade Emperor returns to the Heavenly Palace on the afternoon of his birthday. At this time, grand ceremonies are held in Taoist temples to celebrate the occasion.

  土地神又称土地公或土地爷，在道教神系中地位较低，但在民间信仰极为普遍，是民间信仰中的地方保护神，流行于全国各地，旧时凡有人群居住的地方就有祀奉土地神的现象存在。
土地神源于古代的“社神”，是管理一小块地面的神。《公羊传》注曰：“社者，土地之主也。”汉应昭《风俗通史·祀典》引《孝纬经》曰：“社者，土地之主，土地广博，不可遍敬，故封土为社而祀之，报功也。”清翟灏《通惜编·神鬼》：“今凡社神，俱呼土地。”般商时期，祭祀土地神即祭祀大地，因而土地神更多地带有自然属性。据《礼记·祭法》载，同时祭祀土地神已有等级之分，文称：“王为群姓立社曰大社，诸侯为百姓立社日国社，诸侯自立社曰侯社，大夫以下成群立社曰暑社。”汉武帝时将“后土皇地祗”奉为总司土地的最高神，各地仍祀本处土地神。
最早称为土地爷的是汉代蒋子文。据《搜神记》卷五曰：“蒋子文者，广陵人也。……汉末为秫陵尉，逐贼到钟山下，贼击伤额，因解缓缚之，有顷刻死，及吴先主之初，其故吏见文于道，乘白马，执白羽，侍从如平生。见者惊走。文追之，曰：‘我当为此土地神，以福尔下民。尔可宣告百姓，为我立祠。不尔，将有大咎。’……于是使使者封子文为中都侯，……为立庙堂转号钟山为蒋山。”此后，各地土地神渐自对当地有功者死后所任，且各地均有土地神，据清赵翼《陔余丛考》卷三五称沈约为湖州鸟镇昔静寺土地神，岳飞为临安太岳土地神。 　　清人赵懿在《名山县志》中称土地神不一，有多种名目，其中有花园土地，有青苗土地，还有长生土地(家堂所祀)，又有拦凹土地，庙神土地等。
土地神崇奉之盛，是由明代开始的。明代的土地庙特别多，这与皇帝朱元璋有关系。《琅讶漫抄》记载说，朱元璋“生于盱眙县灵迹乡土地庙”。因而小小的土地庙，在明代倍受崇敬。如《金陵锁事》称建文(1399-1403年)二年(1400年)正月，奉旨修造南京铁塔时，在塔内特地辟一“土地堂”，以供奉土地爷。又《水东日记》称当时不仅各地村落街巷处有土地庙，甚至“仓库、草场中皆有土地祠”。
土地神的形象大都衣着朴实，平易近人，慈祥可亲，多为须发全白的老者。一般土地庙中，除塑土地神外，尚塑其配偶，惜称“土地奶奶”，与土地神共受香火供奉，没有特殊职司。，玉皇在其诞辰日的下午回鸾返回天宫。是时道教宫观内均要举行隆重的庆贺科仪。