城隍

城隍 is the city-god institution discussed in 136. 春日明媚，聊聊鬼神. The episode describes a movement from city-wall or city-protection deity toward a god imagined as an underworld mayor: a local divine official who protects territory, receives reports, and participates in the administration of the dead.

The source also stresses how city-god posts could be filled by historical worthies. Suzhou’s Spring Lord, Hangzhou’s Wen Tianxiang, Han Yu as a Guozijian city god, and the Ming elevation of city-god ranks all show how the office borrows prestige from officialdom, moral reputation, education, and imperial classification. [[LiaozhaiZhiyi|《聊斋志异》]] then turns the role into story through underworld examinations and delayed appointment.

Connections

• 136. 春日明媚，聊聊鬼神 - source episode.
• Local Deity Governance - main concept for city gods as local divine administration.
• Underworld Bureaucracy - larger system where city gods report and manage souls.
• Afterlife Moral Accounting - city-god reports help determine judgment.
• [[Tudigong|土地]] - lower and more intimate local deity compared with the city god.
• [[LiaozhaiZhiyi|《聊斋志异》]] - literary source used for the “examining a city god” story.