Zao Jun

Zao Jun: 

Religion: Chinese domestic God. Daoism. (Sonali)

Significance: Zao Jun (man named Zhang Lang), also known as  the kitchen god, and he watches over the household. At the end of the year he  reports to  the Jade Emperor. if a person wants the report to be good they can do two things 1) put honey on his lips which makes everything he says sweet, or 2) cover his mouth so that he cant speak a word.

Story as to why Zao Jun became a kitchen god: He was married to a woman, but ended up falling in love with a younger woman. He left his wife to be with this younger woman and, as punishment for this adultery, he became blind, and his young lover abandoned him, leaving him to resort to begging to support himself. One time while he was begging he ended up at the house of his former wife, (he didn't know it) she took pity on him and invited him in. Telling her his story he became overwhelmed with self-pity and the pain of his error and began to weep. After recognizing the wife he had abandoned he got his sight back, but he felt such shame that he threw himself into the kitchen hearth, His former wife attempted to save him, but all she managed to salvage was one leg. A fire poker is sometimes called Zao Jun's leg. The gods then took pity on him and made him the kitchen god. (Nancy)