Godly Seasoned Woman


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Godly Seasoned Woman

Godly Seasoned Woman

His Role at the Chinese New Year

The Kitchen God is very important in every Chinese household, for he could determine the fate of the family in the coming year. The Kitchen God’s image is customarily hung in the kitchen above the stove. Traditionally the hearth was considered the heart of the household and was considered the perfect place for the Kitchen God (Zao Jun) to oversee the household throughout the year. He would travel to the domain of the Jade Emperor (Yu Huang) just prior to the New Year to make his report. Just before the end of the old year his image is smeared with honey to sweeten his tongue to ensure a good report. His image is removed and burned to send his spirit to the heavens. And at the New Year a new image replaces the old and the cycle starts anew.

A Mortal Becomes the Kitchen God

The Kitchen God was not always a God but a mortal, and a foolish one at that. His name was Zhang and he was a very wealthy farmer whose crops were always abundant, fish continuously filled his streams, and livestock constantly flourished. He became very comfortable in his affluence. He began to mistreat his wife and eventually took a mistress and together they drove his loyal wife away.

This couple was greedy and indulged in every want. They soon exhausted Zhang’s wealth. His farm failed and in time he became penniless and poor. His mistress left him for another and Zhang became a beggar and roamed the countryside seeking food and shelter.

One day he was so weak from starvation that he could barely walk and knew that soon he must die. He came upon a farm and found its kitchen welcoming of anyone who was hungry. The kitchen girl fed Zhang and when his strength returned to him he begged to be allowed to thank the kind mistress of the house.

At that moment, the woman entered the kitchen and Zhang recognized her as his wife, for whom he had shown only disdain when he was selfish and rich. In his shame he jumped into the kitchen fire and was instantly burned up, his ashes rising to the heavens despite his wife’s attempts to douse the fire.