A Comparative Study on the Worship of Kitchen God of Vietnamese in Vietnam and Chinese in China

Abstract

The Vietnamese and Chinese folk religions regard the Kitchen God (Stove God, Zao Zun) as a deity who manages the cooking work and is one of the important deities protecting the family. These deities are the Patron god of the village, T’u-ti (God of the Land), Ancestors. The origin of the Kitchen God has begun since the Antiquity of China. When the worship of the Kitchen God was introduced in Vietnam, it was changed to correspond with Vietnamese custom. However, it was observed the elements of worship, offerings and social functions of Chinese. Through the comparative study of the Kitchen God cult of Vietnamese in the Red River Delta and Chinese in China, the author indicated the social functions, the similar and different elements of the Kitchen God cult in Vietnam and in China.