When I think about the enduring myths of the earth, my mind always returns to Hou Tu—sometimes called Houtu or simply the Earth Empress. Her story has lingered in Chinese memory for thousands of years, quietly shaping how people relate to the ground beneath their feet. There’s something deeply reassuring about her presence. She stands for the unyielding strength of the soil and the cycles that sustain us, a symbol of both stability and renewal.

In the earliest tales, Hou Tu emerges alongside th