It is believed that on the twenty-third day of the twelfth lunisolar month, just before Chinese New Year, the Kitchen deity returns to Heaven to report the activities of every household over the past year to Yu Huang Da Di (Chinese: 玉皇大帝; pinyin: Yùhuángdàdì), the Jade Emperor.

Zao Jun was originally a mortal man living on earth whose name was Zhang Lang.

He left his wife to be with this younger woman and, as punishment for this adulterous act, the heavens afflicted him with ill fortune.

As he shared his story, Zhang Lang became overwhelmed with self-pity and the pain of his error and began to weep.

Recognizing the wife he had abandoned, Zhang felt such shame that he threw himself into the kitchen hearth, not realizing that it was lit.

The devoted woman then created a shrine to her former husband above the fireplace, which began Zao Jun's association with the stove in Chinese homes.

Instead of becoming a vampirish hopping corpse, the usual fate of suicides, he was made the god of the Kitchen and was reunited with his wife.

During the Han dynasty, it is believed that a poor farmer named Yin Zifang, was surprised by the Kitchen God who appeared on Chinese New Year as he was cooking his breakfast.

In doing so, he became rich and decided that every winter he would sacrifice one yellow sheep in order to display his deep gratitude.

This tradition is still widely practiced, and Zao Jun was the most highly worshiped god of those who protect the household and family.

[1] The "soul of the family" that was identical to its fate as a singular, "corporate" body[1] or entity was thought to be located in the stove.

The Character of the relationship is essentially bureaucratic; the family is the smallest corporate unit in society, and the Stove God is the lowest ranking member of a supernatural bureaucracy."

The Jade Emperor is in charge of an administration divided into bureaus, and each bureaucrat-god takes responsibility for a clearly defined domain or discrete function.

The Kitchen God would thus serve the role of the home domain as he would overlook the daily dynamics of a family, the members and their behavior.

The goddess of the household were territorial deities who shared the domain with the Kitchen God, worshiped by men.

Laurence Yep's novel Dragonwings describes the honey ritual, but the book refers to the deity as the Stove King.

She outlines the patriarchy that still exists within modern day life but more significantly in Chinese cultural practices.

Tan also illustrates several facets of the humble status of women in Chinese society in the early 20th century.