Recognize the Kitchen God among the Taoist deities

Every year during the Little New Year, people offer sacrifices to the Kitchen God, sending him to heaven to report on the good and bad in the human world. To pray for the Kitchen God to speak well of them, people place fruits, pastries, and other offerings in front of the stove and burn incense in worship. Behind this custom, what myths lie? Who exactly is the Kitchen God, and why can he oversee human hearths? Follow this article to explore the story of the Kitchen God.

The origin of the Kitchen God is very early, during the Xia Dynasty, people began to widely worship the Kitchen God. The birth of the Kitchen God is probably related to early humans' worship of fire. The Huainanzi states: "The Flame Emperor created fire and died as the Kitchen God." The original prototype of the Kitchen God came from the incarnation of the Flame Emperor.

Later, regarding the legends of the Kitchen God, there are various accounts. Currently, the Kitchen God worshipped by the people is mostly a man named Zhang Shan, with a black face and long beard. Zhang Shan was originally an ordinary civilian, his wife gave birth to a daughter for him, but they had no sons, and they separated after an argument. Zhang Shan quickly lost his wealth and became very destitute, wandering with his daughter. Meanwhile, his wife had good fortune and her life became prosperous.

One day, Zhang Shan wandered to his wife's doorstep. His wife secretly had him and his daughter brought into the kitchen for a meal. After finishing the meal, Zhang Shan learned from a servant that the mistress was actually his wife, and he was too ashamed to live, colliding with the stove on the spot. When the Jade Emperor learned of this, he enfeoffed him as the Kitchen God, mainly responsible as an overseer of the mortal world, supervising the good and bad words and actions of every household to determine rewards and punishments.

The common people hope the Kitchen God can "speak good things to heaven and protect peace on earth," gradually forming customs of sacrificing to and settling the Kitchen God to pray for his protection, wishing for the family to be auspicious and prosperous, and living in happiness and health.