Five short stories about who the Kitchen God is

Introduction: The most common folk images of the Kitchen God are a man and a woman, known as the Kitchen God and the Kitchen Goddess. But who is the Kitchen God? Many people are not aware of this. There is even a lot of controversy about whether the Kitchen God is male or female, old or young. The following are 5 stories compiled by the editor. Feng Shui stories have been circulating among the people. This is a symbol of folk wisdom. Let us take a look at the following Feng Shui legend.

1. Worship of the God of Fire

According to legend, because cooking is inseparable from fire, the God of Fire is worshipped at the stove after his death. There are several different opinions about the claim that the God of Fire is the Kitchen God.
Characters in mythological stories such as Emperor Xuanyuan, Shennong, and the God of Fire Zhurong were all revered as kitchen gods. Among them, the legend that Zhuanxu's son Zhurong was the Kitchen God is the most ancient.

2. Zhang Dan

According to ancient books, the Kitchen God's surname is Zhang Danli, also known as Wei, with the courtesy name Ziguo. He has a beautiful appearance, like a beautiful woman. It is said that he had six daughters, all named Chaqia.
My thoughts: Why do six daughters have the same name? It’s so weird. But I don’t know what this has to do with him being the Kitchen God?
But folk legends say this: After Zhang Dan became rich in business, he fell in love with a prostitute and divorced his original wife. Unexpectedly, his family's financial situation gradually declined, he became penniless, the prostitutes left him, and Zhang Dan had no choice but to wander around begging for food. On the 23rd day of the twelfth lunar month of that year, Zhang Dan went begging at the home of his divorced wife. When he was recognized, he was so ashamed that he dived into the stove and suffocated to death.
After Zhang Dan died, no big temples kept him, and no small temples accepted him, so his soul wandered everywhere. The Jade Emperor felt sorry for him and, because they had the same surname, he appointed him as Kitchen God.

3. Zhang Kui and Gao Lanying

In the Romance of the Investiture of the Gods, Zhang Kui and Gao Lanying, a couple who guarded the city of Mianchi in the Shang Dynasty, were loyal and righteous. After their death, they were named Kitchen God and Kitchen Goddess in the List of Gods by Jiang Taigong.
Most ordinary people agree with this statement. I don’t know whether it should be attributed to the popularity of “The Investiture of the Gods” or because people like the behavior of Zhang Kui and Gao Lanying?

4. Zhang Zhou

According to legend, there was a man named Zhang Zhou in ancient times. He spent all his family property on eating, drinking, whoring and gambling, and sold his wife to another man as a concubine. In the end he became a beggar himself.
One day, Zhang Zhou was begging and passed by the door of a rich family, who happened to be the family his wife was sold to. His wife felt sorry for him and called him in to give him some food. At this moment, the rich man came back. Zhang Zhou was afraid of causing misunderstanding by his master, so in order to save his wife's reputation, he jumped into the stove and burned to death (some say he died by hitting his head against a pillar).
His wife couldn't bear it, so she often set up an incense table by the stove to worship Zhang Zhou. In order to cover up the truth, she lied that she was worshipping the Kitchen God. After the news spread, people followed suit and the custom of worshiping the Kitchen God was formed.

5. Honest Official Su Jili

According to legend, Su Jili was an honest official. Before he took office in a certain place, the local powerful landlords dominated the country and the people were displaced. After Su Jili took office, he took drastic measures, showed kindness, attached importance to agriculture and sericulture, and implemented education. After careful governance, the local administration was clean, production developed, and the country was peaceful and stable.
After his death, the gods liked Sujili very much and granted him the position of God of the Kitchen.