Who is The Kitchen God 灶神 Lord of the Hearth

The Kitchen God, also known as "Zaojun" or "Lord of the Hearth" among other names, is a deity in Taoism who presides over food and drink. The worship of the Kitchen God dates back to ancient times. The Book of Rites·Records of Sacrifices states: "The king establishes seven sacrifices for all clans." Among these "seven sacrifices" is the "sacrifice to the kitchen".

The name and image of the Kitchen God have undergone several changes: During the Han Dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD), it was said that Yan Emperor Shennong, the god of fire, was enshrined in the kitchen after his death; there was also a belief that Zhu Rong, the official in charge of fire during the reign of Gaoxin, became the god of fire after death and was enshrined in the kitchen. After the Wei and Jin dynasties (220 - 420 AD), the Kitchen God was given a surname and name. Du Taiqing of the Sui Dynasty (581 - 618 AD) quoted The Book of the Kitchen in Yuzhu Baodian as saying, "The Kitchen God's surname is Su, his name is Jili, and his wife's name is Bojia." Li Xian of the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907 AD), in his annotations, cited Miscellaneous Books of Five Elements as stating, "The Kitchen God's name is Chan, styled Ziguo, wearing yellow clothes, with disheveled hair, emerging from the kitchen."

Initially, the Kitchen God was a female deity, sometimes described as an old woman, sometimes as a beautiful woman, with various sayings. The Complete Book of Respecting the Kitchen claims that the Kitchen Lord's surname is Zhang, his given name is Dan, and his courtesy name is Ziguo, belonging to a male deity. Nowadays, the paper images of the Kitchen Lord, the "East Kitchen Minister of Life and Determiner of Good Fortune" worshipped by the people, often depict an old couple sitting side by side, which are portraits of the Kitchen Lord and his wife.

The original duty of the Kitchen God was to oversee the preparation of food and drink in the human world. Around the Eastern Jin Dynasty (317 - 420 AD), the Kitchen God also took on the role of monitoring human sins and controlling the fortune and misfortune, as well as the lifespan of a family. The Complete Book of Respecting the Kitchen of the Qing Dynasty (1636 - 1912 AD) states that the Kitchen Lord receives the incense of a family, protects their health and peace, observes their good and evil deeds, and reports their merits and faults. Every Gengshen day (a day in the Chinese zodiac calendar), he reports to the Jade Emperor, and at the end of each month, he makes a summary. Those with more merits will be blessed with good fortune and longevity by heaven after three years; those with more faults will be afflicted with disasters by heaven after three years.

Every year on the 24th day of the twelfth lunar month, the Kitchen God ascends to heaven to report the merits and faults of the human world and determine people's fortunes. Therefore, both in the north and south of China, people offer sacrifices to the Kitchen God on the evening of the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month, burning incense to send him off.