Lord Huang Cheng is a Taoist god, a grass-roots cadre in the underworld, and his position is equivalent to that of the county grandfather on the earth, so there are different Huang Cheng in different places.
Lord Huang Cheng originated in the Zhou Dynasty, flourished in the Tang Dynasty, personified in the Song Dynasty and institutionalized in the Ming Dynasty. Since the Song Dynasty, many city gods have been named after celebrities who died of noble sentiments or loyalty to the liver and righteousness. In the Ming dynasty, the title and function of the city god were specified in detail.
Extended data:
City God is a natural god. Where there is a city, there is a city god temple.
The earliest City God Temple was found in Wuhu City God Temple, which was founded in the second year of Wu Chiwu in the Three Kingdoms (239). In history, there are records of people in the Tang Dynasty offering sacrifices to the God of the Town God, such as Li Deyu, Li and Du Mu. Fuzhou City God Temple was built in Taikang of Jin Dynasty for three years (282), only 43 years apart, so Fuzhou City God Temple is the second earliest temple in China, with a history of 1700 years.
After the Song Dynasty, the city god began to be personified, and most of them were regarded as the city god by heroes or famous officials after their death. For example, Huang Xie, the goddess of spring in Suzhou during the Warring States Period, Qin Yubo in Shanghai, Yang Jiao in Beijing, Zhou Xin and Wen Tianxiang in Hangzhou, Pang Wang in Huiji, Su Mi in Nanning and Guilin, etc.
In the late Tang Dynasty, in the first year of Qing Dynasty (934), the city god was made king. In the first year of Hongwu, Ming Taizu (1368), the imperial edict made the city gods of Kaifeng, Lin Hao, Shuhe and Pingchu kings, and their status was just the same as that of a surname, a teacher and Taibao, which influenced the prime minister, and the city gods of various prefectures, states and counties also served as officials and princes.