The Interactive Relationship and Influence Between Kitchen God Beliefs and Stoves in the Han Dynasty (202 BCE–220 AD)

Abstract

The Kitchen God has always been regarded as the protector of Chinese families and one of the most common and far-reaching gods in Chinese folk beliefs. The emergence and development of the Kitchen God are inseparable from the material carrier of the stove. The Han Dynasty was a critical period for the development and integration of stoves and the Kitchen God belief. Based on archaeological discoveries of cultural relics, characters and images, as well as relevant historical documents and records, this paper focuses on the interactive and symbiotic relationship between the spiritual belief in the Kitchen God and the material culture of kitchen stoves and its influence during the Han Dynasty. The Han Dynasty combined stoves with high cooking benches, large stove chambers, multiple burners, and functional designs that incorporated images of the Kitchen God, making them both practical and spiritual. The Kitchen God’s identity and functions were transformed from ancestor to household god, from giving food to monitoring merits and demerits, along with the renewal of stoves. These developments laid the foundation for the Chinese people’s earnest hope for a prosperous life and a peaceful and harmonious family.

1. Introduction

The Kitchen God (Zaoshen 竈神), also known as “Kitchen Lord” (Zaowangye 竈王爺), “The Kitchen God of Destiny” (Siming zaojun 司命竈君) and “Heavenly Lord of House Guarding” (Huzhai tianzun 護宅天尊), is one of the most common gods in Chinese traditional folk beliefs. Even currently, the Kitchen God still has extensive influence (Figure 1). Regarded as the family god in charge of the peace and good fortune of a household, the Kitchen God is entrusted with driving away disasters and evil spirits (Quzai bixie 驅災辟邪), welcoming good fortune and auspicious blessings (Yingxiang nafu 迎祥納福). The emergence and popularity of such a belief system reflects the pivotal role of kitchen stoves in daily family life on the one hand, and also embodies the spiritual needs of people after realizing their material needs on the other. Stoves, specialized devices used to heat and cook food by providing a direct source of heat, are usually set up in kitchens. In Ancient China, stoves were mostly made of adobe, masonry or other materials. The invention and use of stoves not only continuously provided cooked food, but also provided certain lighting and heating functions for human living environments. The importance of stoves in the human living environment has been continuously increased, with the Kitchen God, which is closely related to stoves, appearing at a cultural level. It is generally believed among Chinese people that the Kitchen God, which lives in the stove, is in charge of the kitchen fire and delicious food in the family. Each household expresses its respect and gratitude to the Kitchen God by offering sacrifices. Today, traditional stoves have mostly been replaced by natural gas or electric stoves, but the Kitchen God belief remains an important spiritual bond that connects every Chinese family.

The Kitchen God beliefs are prevalent in several cultures around the world, such as Hestia in Greek mythology, Vesta in Roman mythology, and koblod in German folk beliefs. These Kitchen Gods generally govern the hearth and fire in the home, embodying the sacred connection between fire and the home and reflecting the deep human concern for the stability and prosperity of the family. The Kitchen God in China and the West share many commonalities, but also have obvious differences in identity, function, sacrificial ritual, and material carrier. For example, Hestia and Vesta are both goddesses in human form. The burning sacred flame is guarded by virgins for a long time. It is the core symbol of maintaining national stability and unity. The koblod in German folk beliefs is mostly a little boy who is eager to help with kitchen chores but must be satisfied with an offering of bread and milk. Otherwise, he will cause mischief or take revenge (Heinrich 1985, pp. 139–42). The identity of the Chinese Kitchen God evolved from an amphibian or some illustrious ancestor to a God who approximated an ordinary human being and started a family. The secularized Chinese Kitchen God shifted from giving food and drink to focusing more on moral supervision and behavioral norms within the family, emphasizing good and evil retribution and family harmony, with less direct connection to the state. This dual characterization of good and evil is highly similar to the German koblod and has special value for further study. It is worth paying attention to the fact that compared to the Western Kitchen God beliefs, the emergence and development of the Chinese Kitchen God belief are closely related to stoves.

Material culture is the basic condition for the emergence and development of spiritual culture, and in a specific historical period, their combined effect is an important factor for the rapid development of folk beliefs. The interactive development of Chinese Kitchen God belief and traditional stoves has become a typical case. However, there are two basic issues about them that have not received sufficient attention and reasonable explanations from the academic community. First, why did the Kitchen God belief and stoves establish an important connection in the Han Dynasty, and what kind of interactive relationship existed between them? Second, what are the important impacts of the interactive fusion of the Kitchen God belief and stoves on Chinese folk beliefs and family life?

Focusing on the above two issues, this paper takes the Kitchen God belief and stoves in the Han Dynasty as the research objects and discusses them through five sections. Section 1 reviews and critically analyzes the research results of the previous researchers and concludes that the current discussion on the Kitchen God belief is basically detached from stoves, neglecting the important role of material culture. Section 2 sorts out and analyzes the text and vocabulary materials about “竈” (Zao Kitchen Stove) from the pre-Qin to the Han Dynasty in China, the deep connection between the word 竈 and stoves and the Kitchen God is revealed. Section 3 focuses on analyzing the interactive relationship between stove design and the Kitchen God belief in the Han Dynasty. Combined with archaeological discoveries of Han Dynasty objects and images as well as transmitted documents and Chinese characters, the study shows that the Han Dynasty was a critical period for the development and integration of the Kitchen God belief and stoves. The image and sacrificial function of the Kitchen God perfected the Zaoxing 竈陘 and windbreak of the stove, and the stove was gradually established as the material carrier of the Kitchen God belief since the Han Dynasty. Section 4 and Section 5 mainly discuss the influence of the Kitchen God belief and stoves in the Han Dynasty on Chinese folk beliefs and family life. It is argued that the rationalization of the design of stoves in the Han Dynasty made them widely popular and long-lasting, and at the same time provided good conditions for the secular transformation of the Kitchen God belief. From the related documents and images, the stove is a key existence but extremely common in family life in the Han Dynasty. The identity, function, and sacrificial customs of the Kitchen God followed by the dual characteristics of divinity and humanity. People have correspondingly developed a complex mentality of gratitude, flattery and resentment. Overall, this paper strives to analyze the cultural connections, interactions and influence of the Han Dynasty’s Kitchen God belief and stoves and their impact on later generations through enriching evidence of material culture, thereby complementing and enhancing people’s understanding of Chinese folk beliefs.

At present, research into Chinese Kitchen God beliefs and stoves is relatively independent and mostly focuses on vertical historical evolution, and there is a lack of due attention to their interdependence, mutual promotion, and historical influence. Previous studies on the Chinese Kitchen God have mainly focused on the fields of sociology, history, and folklore. Firstly, the belief in the Chinese Kitchen God began to receive attention from sociologists in the 1940s. Yang analyzes the culture of the Kitchen God through etymology and historical documents, arguing that the creation of the Kitchen God is closely related to the worship of fire in the early days of mankind (K. Yang 1991, pp. 163–80). With the progress of society, the stove, as the center of family life, naturally became a sacred and important symbol, and the Kitchen God was gradually anthropomorphized, and integrated into family life, and became an important part of Chinese folk beliefs. In the 1990s, scholars of history, religion, and folklore gradually formed a basic understanding of the origin, identity, and customs of the Kitchen God. Chard uses historical documents combined with images of the Kitchen God in the daily life of modern Chinese people, and retracing the beliefs of the Kitchen God in Chinese history. His research, which covers a wide range of early Chinese ritual cultures as well as later Taoist and Buddhist cultures, considerably expands our understanding of Kitchen God beliefs (Chard 1990a). Subsequent studies have been more focused and specific. Zhan and Zhang believe that the Kitchen God and the Fire God are of the same origin, but were then gradually differentiated, with the former characterized by the evolution and popularization of secularization (Zhan and Zhang 1994, pp. 85–90). Bray and Ren explore the formation of the Kitchen God and his family from a female perspective, and compare the gender, identity, and behavioral characteristics of the Kitchen God to further the understanding of traditional Chinese society and culture (Bray 1997, pp. 107–14; Ren 1999, pp. 160–62). Since 2000, research on belief in the Kitchen God has focused on specific temporal and spatial ranges or certain types of materials. Jia found that the worship of the Kitchen God took shape during the pre-Qin and Han dynasties, and that the image of the Kitchen God was gradually personified becoming a family deity worshipped by every household (Jia 2003, pp. 81–83). Yang and Yu analyzed the Chu bamboo slips unearthed in the Hubei region and argued that the “Five Sacrifices 五祀”, including the belief in the Kitchen God, were important folk beliefs of the Chu state during the Warring States period (476–221 BCE) (H. Yang 2004, pp. 95–101; Yu 2009, pp. 27–38). These precious research materials make up for the lack of historical records. These studies have played a very important role in understanding China’s belief in the Kitchen God. However, they have basically ignored the objective fact that stoves are the material carriers of the Kitchen God and have failed to fully present the entire situation of the origin and development of the Kitchen God belief.

Second, some scholars in sociology and anthropology have used fieldwork to understand the spread of Kitchen God beliefs throughout history, as well as the characteristics of their development in China’s ethnic minority border areas. They started from the local myths (R. Liu 2003, pp. 77–82), folk songs (Yang 2001, pp. 66–68) and folk customs (Anne 1991, pp. 29–42; David and Pu 1992, pp. 23–59) passed down from generation to generation, which effectively supplemented the basic research data of Kitchen God belief and broadened the vision and scope of the field, and compared them with the Kitchen God belief in the culture of Han Chinese people, allowing an understanding of the plurality and differences of folk beliefs. Among these scholars, Yang paid special attention to field research on the fire pits that have been used in Yunnan since the Neolithic Age. Combining the myths, legends, proverbs, and songs of the local ethnic minorities, he believed that there was a strong link between the fire pits and the Kitchen God (F. Yang 1995, pp. 4–17). He points out that the rise and fall of the Kitchen God is closely related to the development of the fire pit and the space in which it is located. By comparing the Kitchen God belief of the Han Chinese with those of the ethnic minorities in the west, Lin argues that cultural background, degree of social development, and psychological expectations of the people are the main reasons for the differences in Kitchen God belief (Lin 1997, pp. 66–70). These studies provide new evidence for the cultural connection between the Kitchen God belief and stoves. However, the lack of first-hand archaeological evidence makes it difficult to fully establish the interactive relationship between spiritual beliefs and material culture.

Third, the ever-expanding spatial and temporal scope of Kitchen God fully reflects the cultural psychology of people in China. Huang argues that the Chinese people have long believed in the Kitchen God out of a pious, practical, and entertaining cultural psychology. He views the development of the Kitchen God from a family perspective, arguing that it is the sacralized embodiment of the “family” (Huang and Lin 2016, pp. 136–38). Moreover, the Kitchen God is seen to have an independent divine personality and, as a kind of ancestor worship, plays an important role in maintaining family relations. Liang used psychological research methods to trace the evolution and inheritance of Kitchen God culture, which has become an important psychological factor in Chinese collective unconsciousness (Liang et al. 2021, pp. 18–24). Therefore, the Chinese Kitchen God belief has created a cultural link between tradition and modernity, playing an indispensable role in maintaining family cohesion and cultural identity. The stove in the family is the cornerstone that supports the continuous enrichment of spiritual culture.

Compared with the rich research results on Kitchen God belief, studies on kitchen stoves mainly focus on archaeology and artifact design. The study of traditional Chinese kitchen stoves has been progressed by Gao and Yu (Gao 1991, pp. 1019–22; Yu and Zhang 2012, pp. 80–86). They used cultural relics unearthed from Chinese archaeology to conduct typological analysis and historical staging research on kitchen stoves from the pre-Qin to Han Dynasties and summarize the basic development trends in early Chinese stoves. Liang collated and comparatively analyzed the geographical characteristics of Qin and Han Dynasties pottery stoves unearthed in Shaanxi, Hubei, Henan, and Shandong, and initially discovered images of sacrificial stoves on Han Dynasty stoves (Liang 1999, pp. 48–54). Furthermore, in the study of artifact design, Wang and Bai analyzed the overall evolutionary history and developmental characteristics of traditional Chinese kitchen stoves (Wang and Bai 2010, pp. 16–19). Lastly, Liu showed that human living environment, lifestyle, and technology are the three major factors influencing the evolution of Chinese traditional kitchen stoves (M. Liu and Wu 2017, pp. 23–25). He also proposes the development path of China’s future stove design from the development and utilization of new energy sources as well as focusing on the consumer’s user experience. Most of the above studies start from the stove itself. Although they provide a clearer historical lineage for people to understand ancient Chinese stoves, they lack the exploration of the religious symbolism and ritual functions embedded in the stoves.

In general, the above studies have outlined and analyzed the basic development and significance of Chinese Kitchen God belief throughout history, showing its deep-rooted cultural value that would be explored by subsequent research. However, it should be pointed out that these scholars have paid more attention to the results of Kitchen God beliefs than to their causes, especially their material vehicle represented by the stove. As a result, the study of Chinese the Kitchen God beliefs and stoves has separated into two separate fields. Although some scholars have noticed the connection between the Kitchen God and stoves, the important role of the stove has been neglected for a long time. Comprehensive research analyzing the origin, evolution, and folk beliefs of the Kitchen God with reference to traditional Chinese kitchen stoves is very limited, and similar studies are even more lacking in substantive arguments for the interaction between Kitchen God beliefs and stoves.

2. Exploring the Cultural Relationship Between Stoves and the Kitchen God from the Chinese Character “竈”1 and Its Vocabulary

There is a natural connection between the Kitchen God and the stove, and their interrelationship and the origin of the Kitchen God can be explored from the perspective of Chinese characters. In the Chinese context, the name “the Kitchen God” generally relies on the stove, and the direct English translation should be “Stove God”, which is a very clear difference from the commonly translated “the Kitchen God” in English. It is widely acknowledged that the Chinese character is a pictograph. In the process of creating the Chinese character, the early Chinese simplified scenes and real-world objects into visual figures or symbols so that they could be easily recognized, comprehended, and disseminated. A reverse analysis of the Chinese character can further reveal the origin and development of the Kitchen God belief.

In the context of Chinese culture, the Chinese characters are polysemic and can have different meanings or contents to current archaeological discoveries, the Chinese character “竈” (Zao Kitchen Stove) and the Kitchen God belief that it refers to appeared in China in the late Spring and Autumn period. The earliest archaeological evidence for the Chinese character “竈” being a bronze gui (a food container), found in the relics of the Xichui Ancestral Temple in present-day Li County, Gansu Province (Shanghai Museum 1987, p. 654). This artifact dates from the mid-Spring and Autumn Period. The bronze gui is a sacrificial vessel created by order of Duke Jing of Qin 秦景公 (?–537 BCE) with the objective of eulogizing the merits and virtues of his ancestors. The bronze gui is inscribed with four Chinese characters, “竈有四方 Zaoyousifang”, on the interior of its lid (Figure 2). This context indicates that the Chinese character “竈” does not refer to a stove, with its implication on the bronze gui not providing sufficient evidence to suggest a clear relationship with a stove or the Kitchen God. However, in subsequent Chinese history, the character was predominantly associated with stoves and the veneration of the Kitchen God, as evidenced in The Analects of Confucius 論語, which documents the discourses between, and the actions taken by Confucius 孔子 (551–479 BCE) and his disciples during the late-Spring and Autumn period. In The Analects, the character “竈” is used to signify stove implements and the Kitchen God. The Analects records a conversation between Wangsun Gu, a high official of the Kingdom of Wei and Confucius. Gu inquired as to why it would be more advantageous to seek favor with and pray to “Stove” rather than “Ao奥”.2 In response, Confucius stated, “This is not the case. If one has offended Heaven, there is nowhere to pray for forgiveness 與其媚於奥，寧媚於竈，何謂也？”子曰：“不然。獲罪於天，無所祷也 (Confucius and His Disciples 2011, p. 32).” In this context, the Chinese characters “Stove” and “Ao” are employed to serve two distinct purposes. Primarily, they are used to denote cooking implements and the southwest orientation within a chamber. Secondly, the characters suggest that through the acts of ingratiation and prayer directed towards the stove or the southwest orientation where a spirit tablet for the deceased is erected to receive offerings, humans can be absolved of their transgressions without facing divine retribution. Notwithstanding the absence of the term “god” from the discourse between Wangsun Gu and Confucius, it is evident that there is a close relationship between the stove and a particular deity. This deity employed the stove as a material carrier to listen to prayers from human individuals and determine whether to administer punishment or not. Based on the implication of the Chinese character “竈” from the late Spring and Autumn period, it can be seen that an initial intrinsic connection between spiritual belief and material culture had already been established in the Chinese folk belief in the Kitchen God.

The Chinese character “竈” is composed of two distinct components, which are combined to form a single, unified image (Figure 3). The character “穴” (Xue Cave), is positioned at the apex of the character “竈” and represents a cavernous environment. The character “黽” (Meng amphibian)3, is located at the base of the character “竈” and represents the amphibian being placed in a cave. This phenomenon may be attributed to the presence of moisture or accumulated water within the stove. The Discourses of the States (Guo Yu 國語) is a corpus of historical texts from the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BCE). In the “Discourses on the State of Jin IX” 晉語九, it is recorded that the army of Jin, a state during the Spring and Autumn period, surrounded and flooded Jinyang, the capital city of the state of Zhao. Consequently, amphibians were also bred within the stoves 晉師圍而灌之，沉竈產蛙 (X. Liu 2013, p. 563). A comparable account can be found in the Strategies of the Warring States (Zhan Guo Ce 戰國策), a historical text from the Warring States period. In the “Strategies of the State of Zhao I” 趙策一, it is stated that “a mere two meters of the city rampart remained unflooded, and the stoves were submerged in water, which fostered the breeding of amphibians 今城不沒者三板，臼竈生蛙” (X. Liu 2012b, p. 487). A review of historical records reveals that ponded water is conducive to the proliferation of amphibians. The Chinese character “竈” contains the amphibian, a creature that thrives in moist environments; however, it does not depict a scene of flames or cooking. Despite this, the distinctive connotations associated with the character “竈” have given rise to a sustained and extensive discourse among scholars regarding the origin of the Kitchen God. It is evident that scholars have associated the Kitchen God with the amphibian, elucidating its biological characteristics and associated cultural connotations (Roel 2011, p. 22; F. Yang 1995, pp. 35–52). This view of the origin of the Kitchen God later formed the “Animal Metamorphosis Theory” 动物化生说.4 These arguments have led to the proposition that amphibians symbolize resistance to fire and abundance of offspring. The viewpoint that the Kitchen God originates from the amphibian is derived from the Chinese character. However, the discovery of new archaeological materials challenges the traditional view.

During the Warring States period, the Chinese character “竈” underwent a transformation, resulting in the emergence of a new version: （竈） in the region of the Chu State. This evidence suggests an increasingly explicit relationship between the Kitchen God and stoves, as demonstrated by the archaeological findings in the Baoshan No. 2 Tomb from the Warring States period in Jingmen, Hubei, in which a total of five wooden tablets were unearthed (Hubei Jingsha Railway Archaeological Team 1991, p. 156). The wooden tablets are inscribed with five Chinese characters, which can be read and translated as follows: “室” (Shi Atrium), “戶” (Hu Door), “門” (Men Gate), “行” (Xing Road), and “” (Zao Kitchen Stove) (Figure 4). The wooden tablets exhibit a variety of shapes, each representing a specific deity: the Atrium God, the Door God, the Gate God, the Road God, and the Kitchen God. These five gods have been prevalent since the Zhou Dynasty (1046–256 BCE). The Chinese character “(竈)” is composed of four distinct Chinese characters, arranged from top to bottom. The character “∧” is used to represent a roof structure in buildings; “告” signifies a sacrificial ritual in which a cow is offered as a sacrifice and placed in an object prepared for presentation; “土” may be interpreted as the material used to construct the stove; and “火” represents the burning flames within. The Chinese character “(竈)” provides a comprehensive visual representation of a real-life scene in which a cow is burned by fire as a sacrificial offering within a designated space. The wooden tablets were identified as burial objects and discovered in conjunction with the headdresses that were used on a daily basis. This indicates that by the Warring States period at the latest, the Kitchen God was regarded as a significant entity in the Chu State, with offerings made to it both during one’s lifetime and after death. The Chinese character “竈” acquired the dual meaning of the Kitchen God and stove, thereby reinforcing the intrinsic connection between spiritual belief and material culture.

Furthermore, the discovery of bamboo slips among the Warring States relics dating from the Chu period in Jiangling Wangshan, Hubei, represents a significant archaeological find. One of the bamboo slips bears the Chinese characters “祭(竈)”, which have been interpreted as a reference to the ritual sacrifice with a stove (Hubei Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology 1995, pp. 80, 103). The characters “祭(竈)” bear a striking resemblance to the characters “（竈）” unearthed from the Baoshan No. 2 Tomb, with the exception of the character “示”, which denotes the table utilized in a sacrificial ritual for the presentation of offerings (Figure 5). The characters “祭(竈)” on the bamboo slip provide direct evidence of the practice of sacrificing to the Kitchen God, which was prevalent in the Chu State region during the Warring States period. In comparison to the character “竈” during the Spring and Autumn period, the two Chinese characters with the same meaning used in the Chu State during the Warring States period evince a stronger religious connection and place greater emphasis on the significant role of stoves as heaters. Therefore, these two Chinese characters linked to stoves are highly likely to be the exclusive characters of the Kitchen God. The character “竈”, which dates from the Spring and Autumn period, was continued to be used during the subsequent Qin (221–207 BCE) and Han (202 BC–220 AD) periods, as evidenced by the currently available literature and archaeological discoveries. The reasons why the characters associated with the Kitchen God and stove were not disseminated and used extensively outside of the Chu State remain unclear. Further archaeological data and research may help to elucidate this enigma, thus providing a greater understanding of the historical context.

The literature of the Spring and Autumn and the Warring States periods established a precedent for the use of the Chinese character “竈” to express belief in the Kitchen God. In the subsequent Han Dynasty, the character “竈” began to appear frequently in the literature, typically conveying a dual connotation of both the Kitchen God and stove. In Chinese culture, characters possess rich intrinsic connotations, enabling their combination to form new words with new connotations in new contexts. The character 竈 is employed as a distinctive reference to cooking implements utilized in everyday life. Nevertheless, it can be interpreted as the Kitchen God when its meaning is extended. As shown in

Table 1. Statistical table of sacrificial vocabulary containing the character “竈” in the Han Dynasty literature.

Serial No.	Literature	Description
1	Records of the Grand Historian: Basic annals of the Filial Martial Emperor 史記·孝武帝本紀	During the reign of Emperor Wu 汉武帝 (156–87 BCE) of the Han Dynasty, a man named Li Shaojun 李少君 gained considerable influence due to his practice of offering sacrifices to the stove, fasting, and employing techniques to reverse the effects of aging. The emperor held him in high regard (Sima 1959, p. 453). 如武帝之時，有李少君，以祠竈、辟穀、卻老方見上，上尊重之。
2	The Huainanzi: Zhushuxun 淮南子·主術訓	Following the consumption of a meal, an offering would be made to the stove (A. Liu 2012a, p. 492). 已飯而祭竈。
3	Book of Han Dynasty: Vol. 45 漢书·卷四十五	Luan Bu’s mother was honoured for her virtue, but committed a great sin by sitting on the stove and cursing the emperor to the Kitchen God (Ban 2007, p. 474). 躬母聖，坐祠竈祝詛上，大逆不道。
4	Book of Han Dynasty: Vol. 77 漢书·卷七十七	Subsequently, Sun Bao was appointed to the role of registrar. He relocated to the residence allocated to him, offered sacrifices to the Kitchen God, and extended invitations to his neighbors for a meal (Ban 2007, p. 778). 後署寳主簿，寳徙入舍，祭竈請比鄰。
5	Saying of Confucius: Zigong’s enquiry as to petty rites 孔子家語·曲禮子貢問	Burn wood in the stove to sacrifice to the Kitchen God (Anonymous 2011, p. 500). 燔柴於竈以祀焉。
6	Du Duan: I 獨斷·卷上	The ritual sacrifice to the Kitchen God in summer is to sacrifice the sun, as this season is when yang qi is at its strongest and all things are growing. This is the reason for the sacrifice before the Kitchen God. The ceremony of sacrifice to the Kitchen God is conducted to the east of the door of the temple. First, the emperor stands eastwards on the west side behind the door, then a spiritual tablet for the deceased is established on the edges of the stove (Cai 1990, p. 7). 竈夏為太陽，其氣長养，祀之於竈。祀竈之禮，在廟門外之東，先帝於門奥西東，設主於竈陘也。
7	Shuo Wen Jie Zi: Part of cuan 説文解字·爨部	The term “釁”(Xin) is used to denote a blood sacrifice, which serves to symbolize the ritual sacrifice to the Kitchen God (Xu 1963, p. 60). 釁：血祭也。象祭竈也。
8	Dong Guan Han Ji: The Biography of Huang Xiang 東觀漢記·黃香傳	On the day of his appointment to the government post, he did not engage in the customary ritual of offering sacrifices to the Kitchen God to seek blessings (Z. Liu 2008, p. 764). 到官之日，不祭竈求福。

, the literature of the Han Dynasty frequently makes reference to words related to sacrifice, such as “祀竈”, “祭竈”, and “祠竈”, which are all composed of two Chinese characters. The initial character signifies a devotional act of offering sacrifice, as exemplified by “祀”, “祭”, and “祠”, which the second character is ‘stove’, symbolizing belief in the Kitchen God. Collectively, these terms signify Han Dynasty people presenting offerings to the Kitchen God through the use of a stove, despite the absence of a character denoting a god. The character “祀”, which is used to express religious rituals, originally meant placing infants on a sacrificial table to offer sacrifices to the heavens; “祭” originally meant to offer meat to the earth with one’s hands; “祠” originally meant to offer sacrifices to the ancestors of the family. Of the near synonyms that correspond to different sacrificial ceremonies, the character “祀” represents sacrificial ceremonies of the highest level and largest scale, with a relatively fixed time. In the Zuo Zhuan 左傳, a historical text dating from the Zhou Dynasty, there are mentions of two major events of great consequence to the proper functioning of the state, namely, the offering of sacrifice to heaven and engagement in war (Zuo 2012, p. 974). It is evident that the term “祀” held a prominent position within the social fabric of the era. The Ritual of Zhou (Zhou Li 周禮) classifies sacrifices to the Atrium God, the Door God, the Gate God, the Road God, and the Kitchen God under the general name of the “Five Sacrifices 五祀” (Zhou 2014, pp. 401–2).5 The “Five Sacrifices” are referenced by the wooden plaques found in the Chu Tomb No. 2 in Baoshan. This influence continued during the Han Dynasty. During the Eastern Han Dynasty (25–220 AD), the Baihu Tongyi 白虎通義 specifically contained content on the “Five sacrifices”, including the importance of living, entering, drinking, and eating in people’s daily lives; therefore, they were worshipped as gods 人之所處、出入，所飲食，and 故為神而祭之 (Ban 1994, p. 77). Nevertheless, the literature of the subsequent Han Dynasty not only documents the character “祀”, but also includes the characters “祭” and “祠”, which represent sacrificial ceremonies of a lesser degree, minor scale, and temporary nature. The aforementioned records demonstrate that the sacrificial ceremonies dedicated to the Kitchen God underwent a process of diversification, with worshippers encompassing not only emperors and officials, but also commoners. These records offer a concentrated reflection of the prevalence of the Kitchen God’s worshippers in Han Dynasty society. Concurrently, the stove served as an indispensable component of these sacrificial ceremonies.

3. The Interactive Integration of Stove Design and the Kitchen God Belief in the Han Dynasty

During the Han Dynasty, the close linkage between the Kitchen God and stove was further reinforced. A large number of documents on the Kitchen belief and burial objects of stove models appeared in the Han Dynasty, providing rich research materials for understanding the interaction between the folk beliefs of the Kitchen God and the material object of the stove.

3.1. The Influence of the Kitchen God Belief on the Zaoxing 竈陘6 and Windbreak in the Han Dynasty

The kitchen stove has been one of the necessary facilities in human family life since ancient times. As Neolithic people became sedentary, fire was moved into the living space. Different types of stoves were designed and made, and a specific area was planned for the preservation, use, and control of fire. The stoves in China from the pre-Qin to the Han Dynasty went through three major stages of development, namely, the fire pit, the single pottery stove, and the combined stove. The social and economic stability of the Han Dynasty resulted in agricultural development, increased food production, and the improvement of masonry technology, resulting in the emergence of composite stoves built from adobe or masonry (Wang and Bai 2010, pp. 4–5). While composite stoves are not only the mainstream type of traditional Chinese stove, due to their rational structure and ease of use, they are strongly linked to the development of the Kitchen God belief. Furthermore, combined stoves are still in use in remote Chinese villages today.

Due to destruction of Chinese buildings from past dynasties, it is difficult to preserve actual stoves for a long time. Despite this, a large number of stove models of different materials, sizes and shapes have been unearthed in archaeological discoveries of Han Dynasty tombs in almost all parts of China. Among them, pottery stoves are the core objects of burial pottery, and their quantity and variety far exceed those from the Pre-Qin period. Because of the funerary concept of “treating the dead as if they were alive” in the Han Dynasty, these stove models were copied from real-life stoves and became important carriers reflecting people’s family life and beliefs at that time. From the Han Dynasty archaeological discoveries, we can observe that the kitchen stoves developed into a combined form, featuring a high cooking bench (Zaotai 竈臺), a large chamber (Zaotang 竈膛), and multiple burners (Zaoyan 竈眼). These stoves are mainly composed of a door (Zaomen 竈門) cooking bench, chamber, burner, chimney (Yancong 煙囱), windbreak (Danghuoqiang 擋火牆) and folding screen (Weiping 圍屏). The overall forms of Qin and Han Dynasties stoves are mainly rectangular, semi-elliptical, and triangular, with this type of stove being mostly equipped with a large chamber and a small door. They all have a simple appearance, and while being multi-functional. In terms of details, there is usually only one stove door, but the number of stove eyes varies, and there can be five or more burners. The distance between the burners and the door at different positions varies, according to the position, size, and volume of the stove. The largest burner is usually the closest to the stove door, and maximum firepower is used to heat the largest-volume container. The smallest burner is usually farthest from the stove door, and small-volume cans are heated with the least amount of firepower. This design not only allows for rapid convection of hot and cold air inside the stove and full combustion of firewood, but also allows people to efficiently utilize the limited heat energy to heat different kinds of food. Another stove detail is the chimney. L-shaped chimneys became popular during the Qin and Han Dynasties, as they can prevent fire and smoke, increase suction power, and improve cooking efficiency. For example, the rectangular stove unearthed from the Western Han (202 BC–8 AD) tomb in Xuzhou, Jiangsu Province (Figure 6) has a curved chimney and a windbreak at the back end (XuZhou Museum 1993, p. 36). The chimney was also covered with a four-sided sloping roof in architecture, probably inspired by the architectural designs popular at that time of the Han Dynasty. At the same time, Han Dynasty stoves were also gradually combined organically with the surrounding furniture to form more functional integrated stoves, better suiting family needs (Figure 7). The mature design of Han Dynasty combined stoves suggests that cooking and boiling water can be performed at the same time, making it a cooking device that efficiently uses energy. Here, it should be pointed out that the Han Dynasty stoves formed an independent and functional area with the separation of the kitchen from the living space. A pottery kitchen of the Han Dynasty collected by Dongping County Museum in Shandong Province 山東東平縣博物館 truly reflects the actual situation of kitchens and stoves in folk families of that period (Figure 8).

The refinement of stoves in the Han Dynasty not only integrated architectural and furniture design elements, but also was influenced by the Kitchen God belief. This is mainly reflected in the two functional structures of the Zaoxing 竈陘 and windbreak. The zaoxing is the part of the stove that protrudes from the edge. In Shuowen Jiezi 說文解字, “陘” is interpreted as a protruding part formed when a mountain range breaks off. When Zheng Xuan (127–200 AD), an Eastern Han scripter, commented on the contents of the rituals for the Kitchen God in the Book of Rites—Monthly Orders (Li Ji Yue Ling 禮記·月令), he specifically mentioned the ritual of providing a sacrificial feast to the Kitchen God, which was to be firstly provided by offerings on the east side of the southwest corner of the door, followed by setting up the tablet of the Kitchen God at the zaoxing 祀竈之禮，先席于門之奥東面，and 設主於竈陘 (Zheng 2008, p. 655), namely, the wooden tablet with the word “竈 Zao” written on it to represent the Kitchen God, as mentioned earlier. Pottery stoves with zaoxing were unearthed in Western Han tombs in Qianping and Jiangling, Hubei province. The pottery stove is L-shaped, and the right rear part of the stove that protrudes outward is the zaoxing (Liang 1999, p. 51) (Figure 9). This is very consistent with the description of zaoxing in the Han Dynasty literature. The top of the zaoxing is flat and without a stove eye, providing a specific location for placing the tablet of the Kitchen God during rituals. Unfortunately, no wooden objects were found in the above-mentioned Western Han tombs. Further analysis of the relationship between zaoxing and the Kitchen God’s tablet requires the discovery of more archaeological materials.

The changes in the stove windbreak during the Han Dynasty were also influenced by Kitchen God belief. Some Han Dynasty pottery stoves discovered by Chinese archaeologists had a strip or rectangular windbreak of varying heights above the stove door or in front of the stove. This design helps reduce smoke from the stove door and improves cooking efficiency. Images of the Kitchen God began to appear on Han Dynasty pottery stoves, mainly in bas-relief or line engraving form, and were placed on the windbreak in front of the stove. Compared with the tablet of the Kitchen God placed on the zaoxing, the design and production of the Kitchen God image on the windbreak reflect a more clear religious intention. The appearance of the Kitchen God image expanded the purpose of the windbreak from a single practical function to a dual function of practicality and sacrifice. In order to highlight the solemn and sacred image of the Kitchen God, the shape of the windbreak also changed accordingly. At present, the image of the Kitchen God on the Han Dynasty pottery stove can be divided into two types, single and double, and they are mainly distributed in Nanyang, Henan province. There are many potteries stove models with the image of the Kitchen God in a single form. Their common feature is that the image of the Kitchen God is located in the center of the semicircular windbreak at the top of the stove, and the Kitchen God sits in a pavilion with a hip roof. As shown in Figure 10 and Figure 11, two Western Han Dynasty single-person stoves with an image of the Kitchen God were unearthed in Shiqiao, Nanyang, Henan province. The shapes of the stoves are roughly the same as other stoves from that time. There is a semicircular windbreak above the stove, and the Kitchen God sits in the pavilion facing forward. There is only one stove model with an image of the Kitchen God, and the overall shape is very similar to the single-person stove model. The Kitchen God is a couple, sitting side by side under an imperial canopy.8 Behind the stove, there is a gate and an evergreen tree as decoration. The hip roof represented a high-end architectural form in the Han Dynasty, with an imperial canopy reserved only for emperors or noble officials. The Kitchen God sits upright in it, which shows his noble status. From the perspective of design composition, the semicircular windbreak is designed to better accommodate the shape of the pavilion and the imperial canopy. This also caused the Kitchen God in a home belonging to a prestigious family to be located in the visual center of the entire stove. This harmonious and full composition highlights the noble status of the Kitchen God.

The kitchen stoves in the tombs of the Han Dynasty not only reflect the life scenes and funeral customs at that moment, but also provide important clues for studying belief in the underworld in the Han Dynasty. The kitchen stove is not only an essential facility for daily family life, but also a material carrier for offering sacrifices to the Kitchen God. It is likely that these tomb owners hoped to continue to be protected and blessed by the Kitchen God in this way.

3.2. Stove and Decorative Images Show the Evolution of Stove Sacrifice Rituals in the Han Dynasty

In the Han Dynasty, sacrificial activities for the Kitchen God mainly revolved around stoves, which were the most important cultural symbol of Kitchen God belief and the ideal carrier for recording sacrificial rituals. The people of the Han Dynasty expressed their gratitude to the Kitchen God for the food and drink he gave them through the stoves, and also tried to use the stoves to achieve their pursuits of immortality, fame, and wealth. The various purposes of Kitchen God worship enriched cultural practices, with unique characters and decorative images of various themes being crafted onto stoves, further consolidating the status of Kitchen God sacrifice rituals in folk beliefs.

The emergence of the link between stoves and the Kitchen God is due to people’s basic needs, i.e., eating food and drinking. Therefore, the primary purpose of people worshipping the Kitchen God is to thank him for providing a source of fire to prepare cooked food. According to the Ritual of Zhou (Zhou Li 周禮), sacrificing to Kitchen Gods was included in the “Five Sacrificial 五祀” states. People in the Han Dynasty continued and developed the traditional customs of sacrificing to the Kitchen God. The mature characters of the Han Dynasty provide direct evidence for the centrality of Kitchen God sacrifice in the culture of that time. The characters “爨Cuan” and “釁Xin” in the Shuowen Jiezi 說文解字 during the Eastern Han Dynasty vividly convey the use of stoves as a means to worship the Kitchen God (Xu 1963, p. 60). As shown in Figure 12, the character ‘爨’ originally means to cook food with a stove, and it consists of parts such as “臼 Jiu”, “同 Tong”, “冖Mi”, “廾 Gong”, “林 Lin”, and “火 Huo”. The “臼” and “同” characters resemble a hand holding a cauldron, the ‘冖’ is the door of the stove, and the “廾” and “林” characters appear to push the firewood into the fire. The whole shows a person who is building a stove fire for cooking. The font structures of “釁” and “爨” are highly similar, and Shuowen Jiezi 說文解字 explains that all characters related to “爨” have similar meanings. The book explains that “釁” refers to a blood sacrifice, specifically referring to the scene of worshipping the Kitchen God 釁，血祭也。象祭竈也. The character “釁” reflects a form of sacrifice in which the blood of a sacrificial animal is smeared on the stove to honor the Kitchen God. The character “酉 You” means to smear the blood of an animal, and the character “分 Fen” means to slaughter an animal as an offering. From this we can see that slaughtering animals and offering blood as a sacrifice was an important sacrificial ritual in ancient China. People in the Han Dynasty still used this intuitive and solemn way of performing a sacrifice to express their gratitude and pray for the blessings of the Kitchen God in front of the stove.

Kitchen God sacrifice is sometimes hosted by the elderly women in the family, likely because women play a core role in making fire and cooking in the family. There are records about elderly women offering sacrifices to the Kitchen God in the Book of Rites—Ritual Vessels (Li Ji Li Qi 禮記·禮器), which also states that food offerings are placed in basins and bottles during the ritual (老妇之祭也，盛於盆，and 尊於瓶). Many Han Dynasty pottery stoves of elderly women offering sacrifices to the Kitchen God have been unearthed in Han tombs in the Shaanxi and Henan regions of China. These pottery stove models usually have an elderly woman, and a bottle printed on the left and right sides of the stove door (Figure 13). The elderly woman usually kneels on one side of the stove door with a stick in her hand enacting the blowing of the burning fire. On the other side of the stove door, there is often a bottle as big as the woman10, and sometimes there is also a table for placing offerings or hanging slaughtered livestock (Figure 14). The sculpture of a woman and a bottle is also found in the Han Dynasty pottery kitchen mentioned above, indicating that the same sacrificial ritual was also popular in the Shandong area (Figure 8). These images and sculptures do not show whether a blood sacrifice is used, but the placement of offerings and display of slaughtered livestock also illustrate the solemnity of the Kitchen God sacrifice. Therefore, the images of elderly women, bottles, and slaughtered livestock have become the main themes for exploring Kitchen God sacrifice in the Han Dynasty.

In the Han Dynasty, sacrifice to the Kitchen God gradually merged with ideas linked to seeking immortality and wealth, which were common in society at that time. Emperor Wu 漢武帝 (156–87 BCE) of the Han Dynasty listened to the advice of alchemists and believed that stoves used for sacrifices to the Kitchen God could be used to refine cinnabar into gold, in order to make gold utensils for eating and drinking that would have the effect of allowing ascension to heaven and subsequent immortality (Sima 1959, p. 453). A miniature golden stove was unearthed from two Western Han Dynasty tombs in Shuanghe Village, Ju County, Shandong Province, and Xi’an, Shaanxi Province. At the base of the stoves are inscriptions in gold wire, which read as “宜子孫 Yizisun” and “日利 Rili” in Chinese characters, meaning “a happy life for descendants” and “Everyday auspicious”, respectively (Figure 15). The elaborate production and burial of golden stoves were obviously influenced by Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty’s sacrifice to the Kitchen God, namely, praying for immortality and a beneficial influence on his descendants. In addition, some Han Dynasty pottery stove models discovered by Chinese archaeologists also have images of the “玄武 Xuanwu”, “朱雀 Zhuque”, “青龙 Qinglong”, “白虎Baihu”, cranes, and fish, all of which express the good wishes of the deceased to achieve immortality through the stove and the Kitchen God.

The further development of Kitchen God belief in the Han Dynasty was due to the belief that sacrificing to the Kitchen God could realize dreams of fame and wealth in life. In the Feng Su Tong Yi 風俗通義 of the Eastern Han Dynasty, it is recorded that during the reign of Emperor Xuan 漢宣帝 (91–48 BCE) of the Western Han Dynasty, there was a man named Yin Zifang 陰子方in the Nanyang area who was distinguished by an exceptional degree of devotion, gratitude, and filial piety. One morning in the twelfth lunar month, while he was preparing to cook in front of his stove, the Kitchen God manifested itself to him in his true form. He repeatedly knelt and expressed his gratitude, celebrating the deity’s arrival by slaughtering his family’s yellow dog as a sacrifice. Subsequently, he experienced a sudden and significant increase in wealth, acquiring over 700 hectares of land and amassing a fortune comparable to that of a kingdom. His family’s carriages, horses, and servants attained the same status as local government officials. Yin Zifang once stated that, “My descendants will surely become a prestigious and powerful family.” Three generations later, during the time of his great-grandson, Yin Shi, the Yin family experienced a significant increase in prosperity. Four members of the family were bestowed the title of marquis, and dozens of others were appointed to prominent official roles, including as regional governors and prefecture-level mayors (Ying 1981, p. 361). Consequently, the Yin family established a tradition of offering sacrifices to the Kitchen God on an annual basis during the lunar month celebration, utilizing a large yellow dog as the sacrificial offering. It was believed by the family and the local populace that the prosperity and success of Yin Zifang and his descendants were the result of the powerful influence of their sacrifices to the Kitchen God during the twelfth lunar month. Consequently, the significance of the Kitchen God’s sacrifices was increasingly emphasized. Although the specific image of the Kitchen God is not mentioned in this narrative, it is emphasized that the Kitchen God is manifested from the stove; therefore, it was believed that the stove was the material carrier of the Kitchen God in the Han Dynasty. Furthermore, the representation of canines adjacent to stoves in artefacts and stone reliefs from the Han Dynasty may also be indicative of the impact of Yin Zifang’s narrative (Figure 16, Figure 17). Many pottery stoves with images of the Kitchen God were found in Han Dynasty tombs in Nanyang, Henan province. The custom of changing the period of Kitchen God worship from summer to winter may have been deeply influenced by the local Yinzi clan’s sudden wealth from Kitchen God worship.

Based on Han Dynasty characters and surviving physical objects and documentary materials, the relationship between stoves and belief in the Kitchen God was fully developed in the Han Dynasty. The belief in the Kitchen God gradually integrated stoves, leading to improvements in the design of the zaoxing and windbreak, and facilitated the development of sacrificial activities. Whether the people of the Han Dynasty were grateful for food or pursued immortality, fame, and wealth, they all hoped to achieve their goals by offering sacrifices to the Kitchen God through their stoves. The pottery stoves of the Han Dynasty and the images of old women, bottles, slaughtered livestock and dogs have become powerful symbols of the developing belief in the Kitchen God.

4. The Popularization of Stoves in the Han Dynasty and the Secular Transformation of Kitchen God Beliefs

The integration of stoves and the Kitchen God in the Han Dynasty, and the adaptive changes in each other provide important clues and bases for understanding the evolutionary development of the Kitchen God belief. The diversification of the functions of combined stoves in the Han Dynasty incorporated the image of the Kitchen God and images symbolizing sacrifices, improved the design of Zaoxing and windbreak to meet the needs of people’s sacrificial rituals. The widespread popularity of combined stoves in the Han Dynasty created very favorable conditions for promoting the secular transformation of the Kitchen God’s identity and functions.

4.1. The Transformation of the Kitchen God from an Ancestor to a Household God

The Han Dynasty belief in the Kitchen God showed a tendency towards ancestor worship mainly towards Emperor Yan and Zhu Rong. This development was based on the Han Dynasty people’s worship of and dependence on fire, as well as the evolution of myths and legends. In daily life and folk beliefs in China, fire is the lifeblood of the stove and the Kitchen God. Therefore, Emperor Yan and Zhu Rong, who are closely related to fire, are regarded as incarnations or sacrificial objects of the Kitchen God. In the midsummer Annals of the Lü Shi Spring and Autumn Annals 吕氏春秋·仲夏紀 in the late Warring States period, it was recorded that Emperor Yan managed fire in the world, Zhurong was the god who managed fire, and sacrifices to the Kitchen God should be completed in summer (Lü 2011, pp. 126–26). Emperor Yan and Zhu Rong were able to provide fire and effectively control it, which is likely an important factor in their combination with the Kitchen God. The Western Han Dynasty’s Tai Xuan Jing Xuan Shu 太玄經·玄數 further strengthened the links between Emperor Yan, Zhu Rong, and the Kitchen God through a series of fire symbols, such as summer, south, red, light, heat, and lungs (X. Yang 1990, pp. 89–90). In the same period, the Huainan Zi Fan Lun Xun 淮南子·泛訓論 recorded that “Emperor Yan is from the fire, and became the Kitchen God after death 炎帝於火，而死為竈” (A. Liu 2012a, p. 784), directly indicating that Emperor Yan and the Kitchen God were integrated, and also referring to stoves. The explanation given by Gao You 高誘 of the Eastern Han Dynasty is that Emperor Yan, also known as Shennong 神農, ruled the world with his virtue of borrowing fire. After his death, people made sacrifices to the Kitchen God to commemorate him 炎帝神農，以火德王天下，死託祀於竈神.13 Stoves in the family that can create and preserve fires have become the material carrier of people’s spiritual sustenance. Therefore, the historical sages represented by Emperor Yan merged with the Kitchen God through fire and stoves. The Kitchen God thus possesses dual attributes of politics and religion. The deification of these historical sages reflects people’s reverence and admiration for them and supernatural forces.

The functional divisions of stoves in the Han Dynasty were clear, their shapes became increasingly standardized, and multi-burner stoves improved the utilization rate of heat energy and cooking efficiency. The increasingly perfect and popular stove design increased Kitchen God belief in ordinary people. The identity of the Kitchen God changed from a relatively long-standing figure of abstract ancestor worship to a concrete family patron saint. In different records of the Han Dynasty, the Kitchen God may not only be male and female with different names, but also form families and have secular family relationships like ordinary beings. In the Book of Miscellaneous Five Elements (Zawuxingshu 雜五行書) of the Eastern Han Dynasty (25–220), the Kitchen God was named Xiang (祥), wearing yellow clothes with a courtesy name of Ziguo 字子郭. At the same time, it was recorded in the Different Meanings of Five Classics (Wujingyiyi 五經異義) that the Kitchen God referred to a couple—the husband was named Su Jili 蘇吉利 and his wife was named Wang Tuanjia (王摶頰) (Chen 2012, p. 80). The continuous changes in the identity of the Kitchen God is also observed in later generations following the Han Dynasty. For example, Sima Biao 司馬彪, a historian of the Western Jin Dynasty (266–317), believed that the Kitchen God was a beautiful woman wearing red clothes (Guo 1985, p. 652). In Miscellanea of Youyang (Youyangzazu 酉陽雜俎) of the Tang Dynasty (618–907), there were two Kitchen Gods, one named Wei 隗, like a beautiful woman, and the other named Zhang Dan 張單, with a wife named Ji Qing 忌卿. They gave birth to six daughters, all named Cha Zhi 察治 (Duan 2002, p. 70). There are an increasing number of folk legends about the Kitchen God’s deed, but its identity still remains uncertain. Among them, the most widely spread about the Kitchen God is a figure named Zhang Dan, with his wife Ji Qing also honored as the Kitchen Godness (Zaowangnainai 竈王奶奶). From these representative documents, it can be seen that the Kitchen God is no longer an outstanding tribal leader like Emperor Yan in ancient times, with noble social morality and extraordinary historical achievements. Since the Han Dynasty, the Kitchen God has been transformed into a relatively ordinary family protector and integrated into secular life. In addition, it is often mentioned in these historical documents that the gender of the Kitchen God is female, with the household affairs of stoves and kitchens generally undertaken or dominated by women. Therefore, the gender of the Kitchen God in the Han Dynasty was sometimes repurposed from male to female. These phenomena reflect the development trend of the Kitchen God’s personification and diversification through links to family. The lucky and auspicious meanings in the name of the Kitchen God reflect the ardent hope of ancient Chinese people that the Kitchen God can bring good luck to their families.

4.2. The Functional Change from Giving Food to Monitoring the Merits and Demerits of the World

The functional change of the Kitchen God is almost synchronized with the development of the stoves, with such a change mainly happening during the Han Dynasty. Before the Han Dynasty, the function of the Kitchen God was to provide a burning fire, with the survival and development of early people being dependent on fire. However, their fire pits and single pottery stoves made it difficult to effectively control fire. For a long time, people wanted to believe that it was only through the teachings of the Kitchen God that everyone was able to eat cooked food prepared by use of fire (Chard 1990b, p. 158). At that moment, stoves were usually placed in the center of the living space, and the Kitchen God had a very noble identity and good moral character. Therefore, people’s attitude towards the Kitchen God comprised awe and gratitude.

Throughout history, there was a common acceptance that unseen powers may affect human fortunes, and that communication was possible with such powers—either to attract blessings or to preclude disaster (Michael 2005, p. 6). At this time, the Kitchen God has extended its special function of monitoring the merits and demerits of the human world on the basis of giving fire and food. Combined stoves became the more common choice for their more convenient structure and increasingly complete functions, gradually providing people with an effective control of fire. Additionally, following development of the kitchens, stoves were separated from living spaces and were no longer placed in the center of the home. The Kitchen God was integrated into daily family life, evolving into different genders and identities, and not only gave people the necessary food for survival, but also secured the living conditions of family members at all times. People had to maintain a social relationship with the Kitchen God that was both distant and close; therefore, the Kitchen God was given secular personality traits and the function of monitoring family members. For example, in Huainan Wan Bi Shu 淮南萬畢術, in which Kitchen Gods were recorded to return to heaven on the last day of each month in the lunar calendar in order to report on a human’s merits and demerits 竈神晦日歸天，白人罪 (Li 2008, p. 766). If family members violated the law and degraded social morality, they received corresponding punishment from heaven. Zheng Xuan 鄭玄 also believed that “the Kitchen God, a little god 小神 who lives in the kitchen of human families, was responsible for monitoring the merits and demerits of family members, and regularly condemned and reported to heaven 小神居人間察小過作遣告者也” (Zheng 2008, pp. 1799–80). The adjective “little”, which was used to describe the Kitchen God who exposes the small faults of human families, also revealed people’s contempt in the Han Dynasty. The Kitchen God image on the pottery stove unearthed in Nanyang, Henan Province, as mentioned above, is sitting in a pavilion and looking forward. Pavilions in the Han Dynasty were the locations of the grassroots organizations for maintaining public security. Architecturally, pavilions have a roof but no walls, and the open space on all sides is designed for resting and watching public security.

The Kitchen God’s surveillance was believed to greatly affect the future fate of the family, and attitudes towards the Kitchen God began to become contemptuous and resentful. However, the image of the Kitchen God as both benevolent and powerful is deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, with records of this attitude in the “Kitchen God Sutra (Zao Wang Zhen Jing 竈王真經)”, which was printed during the period of Emperor Guangxu 光緒帝 of the Qing Dynasty (1644–1911). As the god in charge of food and drink, the Kitchen God is the head of the family (Yijiazhizhu 一家之主) and can clearly see the behavior of all family members. The Kitchen God can observe and distinguish both merits and demerits clearly, reporting them to heaven on the last day of every month 竈王爺司東廚一家之主,一家人凡作事看的分明。 誰作善誰作惡觀察虛實,每月裏三十日上奏天庭 (Anonymous 1901, pp. 1–2). Because of this, people’s attitudes and behaviors towards Kitchen Gods gradually changed. With a mixed feeling of gratitude, awe, and resentment, people also began behaving differently towards the Kitchen God, such as through flattery, ridicule or foolishness. The secularized transformation of the identity and function of the Kitchen God, and the change in people’s mentality towards the Kitchen God, are inseparable from the stove that is both a key presence and extremely ordinary in family life.

5. The Influence of Stove Design and the Kitchen God Belief in the Han Dynasty on Later Generations

During the Han Dynasty, the design of traditional Chinese stoves and belief in the Kitchen God were fully mature, with this also being the period that they became culturally integrated. This laid the foundation for the basic development trends in Chinese family lifestyles and Kitchen God belief. The design of traditional stoves in later generations was mostly based on the Han Dynasty, with partial innovation and spatial integration, for example, increases in height, decreases in the stove windbreak, changes in style, and the invention of the hand-pulled box bellows. In northern Chinese residential buildings, stoves and heated brick beds were also commonly connected to optimize the family space and maximize the use of heat energy from stoves to survive the cold winter. Compared with the changes in stoves, the Kitchen God belief after the Han Dynasty was more supplemented in terms of sacrificial customs and the image of the Kitchen God, but the sacrificial activities still revolved around the stove.

The offerings in traditional Chinese stove worship have varied throughout history. According to Han Dynasty literature, the main offerings for worshiping the Kitchen God were livestock, including the meat, blood, and lungs of cows and dogs. During rituals, the blood of livestock was also smeared on the stove door. This tradition continued until roughly around the Song Dynasty (1127–1279). In the Song Dynasty, meat and vegetables were combined or pure vegetal food was used for sacrifices. For example, in the early Southern Song Dynasty, meat and vegetable offerings recorded in the Poem of Sacrificing the Kitchen God included a pig’s head, fresh fish, food made of bean paste, and rhizoma nardostachyos powder 豬頭爛熟雙魚鮮，豆沙甘粉粉鉺圓. In Meng Liang Lu 夢樑錄 at the end of the Southern Song Dynasty, the sacrificial offerings to the Kitchen God mainly included vegetarian offerings such as vegetables, sugar, and beans 蔬食、餳、豆祀竈 (Wu 2017, p. 145). To please the Kitchen God and make him/her bring more benefits, as well as a beautiful and auspicious life to the world 上天言好事，下界降吉祥, people usually prepared a variety of offerings. In addition to the above-mentioned conventional offerings, people also hoped to fool the Kitchen God by feeding them distiller’s grains (Jiuzao 酒糟) or sealing his/her teeth with particularly sticky sesame candy (Matang 麻糖) to stop the Kitchen God from going to heaven and reporting 酒糟醉竈神、糖糊竈神口, protecting the rights and interests of families. Usually, distiller’s grains and sesame candy are applied to the stove door or a portrait of the Kitchen God. The activities of worshiping the Kitchen God are still centered around the stove. People regard the stove as the Kitchen God and compare the stove door to the mouth of the Kitchen God, further strengthening the relationship between the stove and the Kitchen God. From these rich sacrifices and diverse means of offering these sacrifices, the Kitchen God has been integrated into secular family life and has become a familial and personified family god. People regard the Kitchen God as a member of the family. However, the functions of the Kitchen God may be harmful to a certain extent. The special identity of the Kitchen God may reflect China’s deeply rooted bureaucratic system, which has a clear hierarchy, rules, rewards, and punishments, and a tendency towards corruption (Arthur 1974, pp. 132–34). In order to avoid harm, people treated the Kitchen God in the same way as they treated human beings. Therefore, the Kitchen God was treated like a person. As a result, a series of behaviors such as gratitude, fawning, fooling, and bribery gradually emerged in interactions between the Kitchen God and the people, fully demonstrating people’s grateful and fearful mentality regarding the Kitchen God.

Besides offering food, Chinese people also made a large number of woodcut New Year paintings (Muban nianhua 木版年畫) depicting the Kitchen God and installed them above their stoves, providing important support for the spread and popularization of the Kitchen God belief. This is shown in the example of a typical Qing Dynasty colored woodcut New Year painting of the Kitchen God collected by the Yangliuqing Museum in Tianjin 天津楊柳青博物館 (Figure 18). In the center of the painting, the Kitchen God is dressed in a fiery red coat and is sitting upright, with one eye closed and one eye opened 睜一隻眼閉一隻眼, and the Chinese characters of “Good” and “Evil” on the left and right sides, respectively, showing that he is supervising family conversations and behaviours. Surrounded by officials and servants, the Kitchen God has a treasure bowl (Jubao pen 聚寶盆) and offerings such as dogs and chickens are in front of them, figuratively demonstrating prayers of happiness, longevity (Fushou ankang 福壽安康) and well-being and the wish to say fewer bad words (Shaoyan eshi 少言惡事). New Year paintings of the Kitchen God are usually installed on the stove and then burned on the 23rd or 24th of the twelfth lunar month every year. Such a burning is called “sending the Kitchen God to heaven” (Songzaoshen shangtian 送竈神上天). After that, a new painting will be installed, welcoming the Kitchen God returning from heaven. The woodcut New Year painting in Yangliuqing town in Tianjin, When You Go Up in the Sky Give us the Happiness (Shangtian jiangfu 上天降福), vividly reproduces the scene of people offering sacrifices to the Kitchen God in the twelfth lunar month in traditional society and them taking down the New Year’s paintings and gathering the whole family in the courtyard to prepare to burn them and welcome in the new year (Figure 19). In another New Year painting the newly installed stove, the Kitchen God New Year painting, the Kitchen God New Year painting, we can observe the newly installed stove and the specific location of offerings in the house during the Spring Festival. The whole family gathers and enjoys delicious food, praying for a better and happy life in the new year (Figure 20). Stoves in contemporary Chinese households have been upgraded to gas stoves, and the New Year paintings of the Kitchen God have been replaced with lighter and cheaper industrial materials. However, the majority of Chinese families still continue the historical tradition of installing woodcut New Year paintings and sacrificing the Kitchen God.

The Kitchen God is a symbol of domestic unity in the temporal world and a vital connection between each household and the hierarchical order of the gods (Ronald 1999, p. 91). As the protector of the family, the Kitchen God also supervises the behavior of each family member and maintains the moral code. Believing in the Chinese Kitchen God not only promotes family unity and harmony, but also has become an important factor in social stability. This pursuit of security and stability has established the Chinese sedentary way of life and the habit of stove cooking and instilled a strong sense of family identity. Therefore, the traditional Chinese belief in the Kitchen God is continuously popular and still plays an important role in today’s society and culture.

6. Conclusions

Kitchen stoves are important to the development of Chinese food culture, and also provide spiritual sustenance in the family environment. The stove is regarded by the Chinese as the “residence” of fire and the Kitchen God, with the belief in the Kitchen God being a typical example of the Chinese transition from a material life to a spiritual one. The Han Dynasty was a critical period for the development and integration of stoves in the household, popularizing the belief in the Kitchen God. Since the Han Dynasty, easily operated combined stoves have become a mainstream cooking tool for the majority of families. From research into Chinese characters, vocabulary and unearthed stoves, we can clearly see that the innovative development and widespread popularity of stoves in the Han Dynasty played a vital role in promoting the development and transformation of the belief in the Kitchen God. Sacrificial decorative images on stoves, such as old women, bottles, and slaughtered livestock, provide evidence that they were an important part of people’s spiritual sustenance and belief systems in the Han Dynasty.

The popularity of the Kitchen God belief in the Han Dynasty led to improvements in the design of stoves, as well as zaoxing and windbreak, and the creation of specific sacrificial scenes for Kitchen God tablets and images, achieving unity between practicality and religion. With changes to how stoves and fires were used in accordance with family lifestyles, the Kitchen God began to take on a personified identity and gradually transformed from a sacred and moralized identity to a personified, secularized, and diversified family protector. The Kitchen God’s family duties expanded from cooking food to monitoring people’s merits and demerits, and their relationship with humans also evolved into worldly feelings and behaviors of pleasing and fooling based on fear and respect. The fire in stoves has the dual attributes of usability and destructiveness, indicating the dual psychology and behavior of respect and gratitude, as well as fear and resentment towards the Kitchen God. The continuous development of the Kitchen God belief and customs has also endowed stoves with considerable spiritual power, reflecting the deeply interactive relationship between the Kitchen God belief and stove design. Furthermore, the development of stove design has promoted and consolidated the secular transformation of the Kitchen God belief and its important position in family life, while the development of the Kitchen God belief has also promoted continuous improvements in stove design.

The evolution of stove design is as a result of people’s increasing ability to adapt to nature and society, and changes in the Kitchen God belief are the result of people praying for a prosperous life, family peace, and the continuation of family ethics and morality. Various family activities around stoves and the Kitchen God have not only shaped China’s unique food culture and living space, but also had the function of moral education, playing a very important role in promoting the formation, development, and maintenance of China’s social structure. This study shows that the material and spiritual, divinity and humanity, practicality, and worship in Chinese folk beliefs have the cultural characteristics of mutual balance and integration. Increasing knowledge about the interdependent and interactive relationship between the Kitchen God belief and stove design will help people understand the diversity, integration, and inheritance of Chinese folk beliefs more comprehensively.