Chenghuang

City God

Guardian deity of each city who judges the dead and rewards virtue and vice.

The City God, Chenghuang, grew from the ancient cult of the city moat into the guardian of every walled town. Governing both the living and the dead within his jurisdiction, he keeps registers of souls and punishes evil after death. Famous officials and generals are enshrined as local city gods, and his temple doubles as a court of popular morality.