One of the most popular food for Chinese New Year is the nian gao (年糕). Chinese of the Taoist faith would use this cake as an offering to the kitchen god with the hope that its sweetness would coax a good report from the particular god when he reports about the happenings of the household in Heaven. Taoist households would offer the nian gao to the kitchen god on the 23rd day of the 12th lunar month to send him off on his annual trip back to Heaven. That means that the kitchen god is already not on duty as guardian of the household now as he left on Wednesday for his conference in the sky. He will only return on the first day of the Chinese New Year to resume his duty after a week of absence.
Who is this kitchen god? What did he do to get such a position? According to Chinese folk religion, the Kitchen God, named Zao Jun (Chinese: 灶君; pinyin: Zào Jūn; literally "stove master") or Zao Shen (Chinese: 灶神; pinyin: Zào Shén; literally "stove god"), is the most important of a plethora of Chinese domestic gods (gods of courtyards, wells, doorways, etc.). It is believed that on the twenty third day of the twelfth lunar month, just before Chinese New Year he returns to Heaven to report the activities of every household over the past year to the Jade Emperor (Yu Huang) who rewards or punishes each household accordingly.
THE STORY OF ZAO JUN
Zao Jun has been worshiped as a god in China since at least the 2nd century BC. There are several stories as to how he became a god, the most popular being that he was once a mortal man named Zhang Dan (張單) (also known as Zhang Ziguo 張子郭) and was married to a virtuous woman. However Zhang Dan fell in love with a young girl and left his wife for her. From that day on he was plagued with bad luck to punish him for his betrayal. He was struck blind, the young girl left him and he had to resort to begging.
One day, while begging for alms, he happened across the house of his former wife. Being blind, he did not recognize her. Despite his shoddy treatment of her, she took pity on him, and invited him in. She cooked him a fabulous meal and tended to him lovingly, he then related his story to her. He began to cry, and as he cried his eyesight was miraculously restored. Recognizing his benefactress as his former wife, he was overcome with shame and threw himself into the kitchen hearth not realizing that it was lit.
His wife tried to save him but he was consumed by the fire and all that was left of him was a leg (to this day in China a fire poker is sometimes called Zhang Dan's Leg). His wife lovingly created a shrine to him above the fireplace where he died, this began Zao Jun's association with the stove in Chinese homes.
Alternatively Zao Jun was a man so poor he was forced to sell his wife. Years later he unwittingly became a servant in the house of her new husband. Taking pity on him she baked him some cakes into which she had hidden money, but he failed to notice this and sold the cakes for a pittance. When he realized what he had done he took his own life in despair. In both stories Heaven takes pity on Zhang Dan's tragic story and instead of becoming a vampirish Jiang Shi, the usual fate of suicides he was made the god of the Kitchen, and was reunited with his wife.
One day, while begging for alms, he happened across the house of his former wife. Being blind, he did not recognize her. Despite his shoddy treatment of her, she took pity on him, and invited him in. She cooked him a fabulous meal and tended to him lovingly, he then related his story to her. He began to cry, and as he cried his eyesight was miraculously restored. Recognizing his benefactress as his former wife, he was overcome with shame and threw himself into the kitchen hearth not realizing that it was lit.
His wife tried to save him but he was consumed by the fire and all that was left of him was a leg (to this day in China a fire poker is sometimes called Zhang Dan's Leg). His wife lovingly created a shrine to him above the fireplace where he died, this began Zao Jun's association with the stove in Chinese homes.
Alternatively Zao Jun was a man so poor he was forced to sell his wife. Years later he unwittingly became a servant in the house of her new husband. Taking pity on him she baked him some cakes into which she had hidden money, but he failed to notice this and sold the cakes for a pittance. When he realized what he had done he took his own life in despair. In both stories Heaven takes pity on Zhang Dan's tragic story and instead of becoming a vampirish Jiang Shi, the usual fate of suicides he was made the god of the Kitchen, and was reunited with his wife.
Given his important task, images of the Kitchen God portray him as a rather imposing figure (SEE ABOVE IMAGE). Zao Jun is a rather large sized man. He is often depicted as seated in regal splendour, holding a quill in one hand, a tablet in the other.
If you wish to have the recipe for making the nian gao, please visit:
http://www.chiff.com/recipe/pages/10125.htm
http://www.chiff.com/recipe/pages/10125.htm
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