Jumang, the Wood God: The Ancient Spring God Who Governs the Growth of Plants and Trees

Jumang, the Wood God, is the deity in ancient Chinese mythology who governs the growth of plants and trees, and is also what people commonly call the Spring God. According to ancient texts such as the Classic of Mountains and Seas, his form is that of a human face on a bird's body, riding two dragons, positioned in the east, and closely associated with the sprouting of all things in spring.

In the concept of the Five Elements, the east belongs to wood, whose color is green, so Jumang is regarded as the god of the virtue of wood and is often paired with Taihao, the Emperor of the East. The "mang" in his name refers to the fine bristles on the tips of buds when plants first sprout, while "ju" carries the meaning of bending and curving; together they symbolize the posture of plants breaking through the soil, sprouting, and growing upward.

Because he governs spring and the growth of crops, Jumang has been closely tied to agricultural activities since ancient times. In ancient times, officials and common people held spring-welcoming sacrifices around the Beginning of Spring, praying for favorable weather and abundant harvests. Later popular spring-welcoming customs such as whipping the spring ox were also often linked to the worship of Jumang. There were also folk sayings about divining the year's harvest and climate through the image and attire of the Goumang deity, which shows the weight of this deity in traditional farming life.

As the Wood God and Spring God, Jumang embodies the agricultural society's observation of and reverence for the seasons and natural cycles. People used this mythological figure to express their hopes for a bountiful harvest, and Jumang thus became a representative symbol in ancient Chinese agricultural culture, still seen today in various New Year pictures and folk scenes with spring-welcoming themes.