‘Qing zao’ 請灶 尋常用 (Inviting the Stove God, for common use), Qishen zouge, 812.
I reckon that among the Five (Household) Sacrifices, there are six gods who are in charge of matters. When it comes to the master of a house, it is the Stove God who is the most noble. People depend on him for sustenance and especially rely on him to nurture life. Now I, XX, a worshipper of the god from XX village, together with all family members, have chosen the XX day of XX month in XX year to cautiously prepare tea, wine, rice, bean curd, scriptures, and ritual goods. We extend our humble invitations to: the Stove God Who Is the Emperor of Fire Administering Life in the East Kitchen, the Imperial Lord Who Is the Primordial Emperor, the Lady of the Lord, the Goddess of Cooking and Washing, the General Who Carries Water, the Strong Man Who Carries Wood, the Lad Who Makes Fire, the clerks on duty, emissaries and messengers, and all other caring gods to descend to the incense altar and enjoy the offerings.
In my concerns, I, XX, living in this world, fully depend on the gods’ light of favour. On this day, I bow to ask for a favour from the great gods. What I pray for is the following. On this nice evening of (the fifteenth/twenty-fourth day of) the eighth month – during the past year, we have not been able to show our piety – we have cautiously prepared humble rituals to express our sincerity and reverence. (For those who install a new stove: On the XX day of XX month, we have made and established a new stove. It sits in the centre and faces the west/it sits in the north and faces the south. We have not yet installed […] Now we have chosen the nice evening of this auspicious day to cautiously prepare humble rituals and express our pious worship. …)
I reckon that for the master of a household, the Five (Household) Sacrifices are top priorities. We burn ambergris incense in the precious cauldron to invite the gods for a visit; we boil the Bird’s Tongue tea in a gold vessel to humbly express our reverence. We cautiously burn the true incense and present wine for the first libation. I reckon that we are under the general governance of the Administrator of Life and we receive blessings from the hundreds of gods. Our sons will have ranks and salaries; they will slaughter oxen to offer sacrifices to the stove. The young lord will have the technique of immortals; he will refine cinnabar into gold. We burn the true incense again and present wine for a second libation. I reckon that the god receives appointment from the realm above to take a position in the East Kitchen. The Book of Rites prescribes sacrifices to him among all Six Gods; and he is mostly known for virtues related to cooking. With admirable powers, the god is respected in the whole household; he shares with all the merits in eating and drinking. We cautiously burn the true incense to present wine for the final libation.
We humbly wish that the East Kitchen will award us happiness and the Administrator of Life will extend our lives; they will report our good deeds to the Heavenly Court and bring good fortune to our tiny house; the stove will cause no dangers or disasters; the families will celebrate peace and health; the sons of the family will be successful and do better than their fathers; those appointed as officials will be cautious as not to step beyond their roles; [the gods] will generously award blessings of peace and eliminate any haphazard misfortunes; fires and robberies will be extinguished silently and the light of favour will shine forever; throughout our lives, we will have what we wish. All clothing, money, scriptures, and ritual goods from below are burnt as offerings to the gods for the peace of the house. May the gods kindly examine and accept.
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