Classic of Rites

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Classic of Rites

The Classic of Rites (Chinese (traditional): ??; Chinese (simplified): ??; Pinyin: Lijì), also known as the Book of Rites, the Record of Rites, Liki, or Li Ch'i, was one of the Chinese Five Classics

Five Classics

The Five Classics is a corpus of five ancient Chinese language books used by Confucianism as the basis of studies. According to tradition, they were compiled or edited by Confucius himself....
of the Confucian

Confucianism

Confucianism is a China Ethics and Philosophy developed from the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius . It focuses on human morality and right action....
canon. It described the social forms, governmental system, and ancient/ceremonial rites of the Zhou Dynasty

Zhou Dynasty

The Zhou Dynasty was preceded by the Shang Dynasty and followed by the Qin Dynasty in China. The Zhou dynasty lasted longer than any other dynasty in China history?though the actual political and military control of China by the dynasty only lasted during the Western Zhou....
(c.

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Five Classics

Confucianism

Zhou Dynasty

Confucius

This articles talks about a Chinese thinker and social philosopher. For a food company in China with its brand name "Master Kong", please refer to Tingyi Holding Corporation....
himself, while the copy society refers to now has been edited and re-worked by various different scholars of the Han Dynasty

Han Dynasty

The Han Dynasty followed the Qin Dynasty and preceded the Three Kingdoms in China. The Han Dynasty was ruled by the family known as the Liu clan who had peasant origins....
(202 BCE – 220 CE).

History

The Confucian Classics, such as the Book of Rites, was a significant influence throughout the history of China. Confucius recorded his thoughts, ideas and teachings in an attempt to restore the social and political order during a tumultuous time in history. During the Warring States Period (475 - 221 BCE) China was forced to face a time of brutal wars and political upset. At this time, under the rule of the very first emperor of China, Shi Huang-ti, many of the Confucian Classics were destroyed. The destruction of Confucian Classics was part of "The Burning of the Books." "The "Burning of the Books" occurred in 213 BCE where all traditional books were burned with the exception of books on medicine, astrology, and horticulture. A year later, in 212 BCE, 460 Confucian scholars were brutally buried alive for criticizing the builder of the Great Wall of China, Ch'in Shih-huang. This Emperor's Dynasty collapsed five years after these events; fortunately a few of the Confucian Scholars had memorized the Classics and the Confucian Tradition. Through memory and oral tradition the surviving scholars taught their own disciples the Classics and recorded them into scripts. These disciples recorded each of the Classics from memory; unfortunately, the Book of Music was not recompiled because they could not remember the 305 songs that Confucius had chosen. However, Confucius' disciples included a chapter in the Book of Rites that focused on music.

The Book of Rites was originally rewritten and edited by Confucius' disciples after the "Burning of the Books". Since then other scholars have attempted to modify these scripts, including Dai De (Senior Dai) who reworked the text in the 1st Century BCE. Dai De's copy of the text became lost in history until recent times. In 1993, Tomb no. 1 of the Guodian Tombs in Jingmen, Hubei was discovered and a chapter of Dai De's book, "Black Robes", was found within the tomb. Modern scholars believe that the original title was "Lijing" which literally means "Classic of Rites", but that title was dropped by Dai Sheng (Junior Dai) in order to separate the Book of Rites from works that were more directly associated with Confucius. Dai De's version of the text was only found in pieces. But his kin, Dai Sheng (Junior Dai), also recorded a version of the Book of Rites. Dai Sheng's text is the complete work of the Book of Rites and is the version that is accepted today.

Li (Rites)

Confucius described Li as all traditional forms that provided a standard of conduct. Li literally means "rites" but it can also be used to refer to "ceremonial" or "rules of conduct". The term has come to generally be associated with "good form" or decorum". Confucius felt that Li should emphasize the spirit of piety and respect for others through rules of conduct and ceremonies. As outlined in the Book of Rites, Li is meant to restore the significance of traditional forms by looking at the simplicity of the past. Confucius insisted that a standard of conduct that focused on traditional forms would be a way to ease the turmoil of the Warring States Period. The absolute power of Li is displayed in the Record of Rites: 'Of all things to which the people owe their lives the rites are the most important...' (Dawson 32). The ideas of Li became closely associated with human nature, ethics and social order as the population integrated Li into their lives. Li was beneficial to society because it forced people to recognize and fulfill their responsibilities toward others.

Previous Influences

During the life of Confucius, not only did Five Classics exist, there were actually Six Classics. The sixth classic was known as the Book of Music, Book of Songs, or Yue Ching, and as was previously mentioned has been completely lost and destroyed. The focus of the book was believed to be the selected 305 songs personally chosen and performed by Confucius himself to ensure that they all properly fit together. The Book of Music was divided into four separate and distinct categories all having a different focus; the sung (ceremonial anthems), the great ya (classical music), the little ya, and the feng (popular folk music). Upon the recompilation of the Confucian Classics the Book of Music became chapter X within the Book of Rites. This was because of the loss of the literature and a failure upon the scholar's parts to fully recall the entirety of the first set of Confucian teachings.

The After Effects

As a result of the Book of Rites' chapters, using a syncretic system and combining Daoist and Mohist beliefs, later scholars formed both The Great Learning and The Doctrine of the Mean. These two books were both believed to be written by two of Confucius' disciples one specifically being his Grandson. The great Neo-Confucian Zhu Xi and his edited versions of The Great Learning and The Doctrine of the Mean influenced the Chinese society to place much more attention on these and two other books creating the Four Books. Throughout Chinese history the Five Classics and the Four Books were very important theoretical works, but also were the standard textbooks for the state civil examination, from 1313 to 1905, which every educated person had to learn by heart. Consequently, The Book of Rites and two of its by-products were large integral parts of the Chinese beliefs and industry for many centuries.

**Table of Contents**
##	Chinese	Pinyin Pinyin Pinyin, more formally Hanyu pinyin, is the most commonly used Romanization system for Standard Mandarin. Hanyu is the Chinese Language, and pinyin means "phonetics", or more literally, "spelling sound" or "spelled sound"....	Translation
01-02	????	Quli	Summary of the Rules of Propriety Part 1 & 2
03-04	????	Tangong	Tangong Part 1 & 2
05	??	Wangzhi	Royal Regulations
06	??	Yueling	Proceedings of Government in the Different Months
07	???	Zengzi Wen	Questions of Zengzi
08	????	Wenwang Shizi	King Wen as Son and Heir
09	??	Liyun	The Conveyance of Rites
10	??	Liqi	Utensils of Rites
11	???	Jiaotesheng	Single Victim At The Border Sacrifices
12	??	Neize	Pattern of the Family
13	??	Yuzao	Jade-Bead Pendants of the Royal Cap
14	???	Mingtangwei	Places in the Hall of Distinction
15	????	Sangfu Xiaoji	Record of Smaller Matters in the Dress of Mourning
16	??	Dazhuan	Great Treatise
17	??	Shaoyi	Smaller Rules of Demeanour
18	??	Xueji	Record on the Subject of Education
19	??	Yueji	Classic of Music Classic of Music The *Classic of Music* is sometimes referred to as the sixth "Chinese classic texts", but was lost by the time of the Han Dynasty.A few traces remain and can be found in other ancient Chinese classics like Zuo Zhuan and the Classic of Rites ....
20-21	????	Zaji	Miscellaneous Records Part 1 & 2
22	???	Sang Daji	Greater Record of Mourning Rites
23	??	Jifa	Law of Sacrifices
24	??	Jiyi	Meaning of Sacrifices
25	??	Jitong	A Summary Account of Sacrifices
26	??	Jingjie	Different Teaching of the Different Kings
27	???	Aigong Wen	Questions of Duke Ai
28	????	Zhongni Yanju	Zhongni at Home at Ease
29	????	Kongzi Xianju	Confucius at Home at Leisure
30	??	Fangji	Record of the Dykes
31	??	Zhongyong	Doctrine of the Mean Doctrine of the Mean The Doctrine of the Mean , is both a concept and one of the books of Neo-Confucian teachings . The composition of the text is attributed to Zisi the only grandson of Confucius....
32	??	Biaoji	Record on Example
33	??	Ziyi	Black Robes
34	??	Bensang	Rules on Hurrying to Mourning Rites
35	??	Wensang	Questions About Mourning Rites
36	??	Fuwen	Subjects For Questioning About the Mourning Dress
37	??	Jianzhuan	Treatise on Subsidiary Points in Mourning Usages
38	???	Sannian Wen	Questions About the Mourning for Three Years
39	??	Shenyi	Long Dress in One Piece
40	??	Touhu	Game of Pitch-Pot
41	??	Ruxing	Conduct of the Scholar
42	??	Daxue	Great Learning Great Learning The book The Great Learning was selected as one of the "Four Books" in Confucianism which from the mid 12th century until 1905 CE formed the core of the curriculum for the Imperial examination in China....
43	??	Guanyi	Meaning of the Ceremony of Capping
44	??	Hunyi	Meaning of the Marriage Ceremony
45	????	Xiangyin Jiuyi	Meaning of the Drinking Festivity in the Districts
46	??	Sheyi	Meaning of the Ceremony of Archery
47	??	Yanyi	Meaning of the Banquet
48	??	Pinyi	Meaning of Interchange of Missions twixt Different Courts
49	????	Sangfu Sizhi	Four Principles Underlying the Dress of Mourning

External links

(Chinese and English)
(English)

Classic of Rites

History

Li (Rites)

Previous Influences

The After Effects

Contents

External links