Jiao Rite Petition to the Great Spirit (大神) Offered at the Great Granary大倉行大神醮禮文
天降之咎。靡不由人。神享于誠。常無棄物。敢干聦正。用乞恕矜。念乘衰叔之時。叨荷重艱之寄。憂深慮遠。尙難振起於頽綱。政散民離。是用感傷於和氣。當孟冬之閉塞。有大電之震驚。繼以火祅。焚玆廩實。莫重於糓。忽蕩滅以無遺。雖有其邦。顧空虛而安恃。是寡人所自召也。彼群俗有何辜焉。玆益戰兢。竊思禳解。聊罄齋明之信。式陳蠲潔之儀。仰冀赤精。曲歆丹懇。炎威自却。蔑聞燒鷰之災。露積復崇。允恊夢魚之吉。陰陽常順。社稷永寧。
No fault that Heaven sends down fails to arise from humankind, and the spirits partake of sincerity and never cast anyone away. I dare come before your bright uprightness and pray for pardon and pity.
I consider that, riding upon a time of decline and disorder, I have presumed to bear a heavy and difficult charge. Though my cares run deep and my thoughts run far, it is still hard to rouse up the fallen cords of order; governance scatters and the people depart, and by this the harmonious air has been injured.
Meeting the season of early winter, when all closes and shuts, great thunder rolled and startled us; and then a disaster of fire burned the grain of this granary. Nothing is weightier than grain, yet in a moment it was swept away with nothing left. Though the state remains, when I look upon this emptiness, what is there to rely on? This I, the ruler, called down upon myself; what fault lies with the multitude of the people?
So I tremble and fear the more, and quietly think of loosing this calamity. I only keep the fast to give full measure to a clear sincerity, and spread out a rite washed clean.
Looking up, I pray that you who hold the red essence may bend down and partake of this red earnestness. Let the power of fire withdraw of itself, so that we hear of no disaster burning the swallows' nests; let the heaped stacks rise high again, truly matching the abundant year that the dream of fish foretells. Let yin and yang be ever compliant, and the altars of state be long at peace.