Lushen Road God

Also known as the Travel God or Zu Shen (Ancestral God), Lushen was venerated by ancient peoples before embarking on long journeys—a ritual called zu dao (ancestral farewell) or zu jian (farewell banquet). References to such ancestral sacrifices appear already in the Classic of Poetry. During the Han dynasty, travelers would hold banquets beside roads and pour wine onto the ground to invoke divine protection for their journeys. When Jing Ke set out to assassinate the King of Qin, Crown Prince Dan and others dressed in white robes accompanied him to the Yi River—a ceremony imbued with the spirit of zu dao. In later eras, merchants, newly appointed officials traveling to their posts, and scholars journeying to the capital for imperial examinations all devoutly observed this custom: sacrificing to Lushen before departure and returning to make offerings of gratitude upon safe homecoming. Over time, folk practice also incorporated worship of the ‘Road-Head God’ (Lutou Shen), especially on the fifth day of the first lunar month—when households welcomed this deity to usher in prosperity—an observance that gradually intermingled with the older cult of the Travel God. Lushen embodies ancient reverence for the perils of travel and stands as the most steadfast guardian in China’s itinerant culture.