Zigu: the Purple Maiden

In this final episode of Chthonia, we look at a Chinese toilet goddess called Zigu. Her backstory makes her an abused concubine murdered in the toilet, though toilet gods and goddesses exist throughout China and Japan. She is consulted in divination for the silk harvest, and in later dynasties she was connected to creating works of literature through automatic writing. We look at the attributes of Zigu, including her epithet of "Purple Maiden", and what these might tell us about the paradox of an exalted goddess of royal integrity being associated with the most humble of places, the latrine.

You can listen to Zigu: the Purple Maiden online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Zigu: the Purple Maiden is an episode from Chthonia by Brigid Burke.

This episode is 39:24 long.

This episode was published on Dec 22, 2025.

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