Book of Rites

The Book of Rites, also known as the Liji, is a collection of texts describing the social forms, administration, and ceremonial rites of the Zhou dynasty as they were understood in the Warring States and the early Han periods. The Book of Rites, along with the Rites of Zhou (Zhōulǐ) and the Book of Etiquette and Rites (Yílǐ), which are together known as the "Three Li (Sānlǐ)," constitute the ritual (lǐ) section of the Five Classics which lay at the core of the traditional Confucian canon (Each of the "five" classics is a group of works rather than a single text). As a core text of the Confucian canon, it is also known as the Classic of Rites or Lijing, which some scholars believe was the original title before it was changed by Dai Sheng.

Book of Rites
An annotated version of the Book of Rites, dated before 907
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese禮記
Simplified Chinese礼记
Literal meaning"Record of Rites"
Alternative Chinese name
Traditional Chinese禮經
Simplified Chinese礼经
Literal meaningRites Classic
Vietnamese name
VietnameseKinh Lễ
Hán-Nôm經禮
Korean name
Hangul예기
Hanja禮記
Japanese name
Kanji礼記

History

The Book of Rites is a diverse collection of texts of uncertain origin and date that lacks the overall structure found in the other "rites" texts (the Rites of Zhou and the Etiquette and Ceremonial).[1] Some sections consist of definitions of ritual terms, particularly those found in the Etiquette and Ceremonial, while others contain details of the life and teachings of Confucius.[2] Parts of the text have been traced to such pre-Han works as the Xunzi and Lüshi Chunqiu, while others are believed to date from the Former Han period.[3]

During the reign of Qin Shihuang, many of the Confucian classics were destroyed during the 213 BC "Burning of the Books." However, the Qin dynasty collapsed within the decade: Confucian scholars who had memorized the classics or hid written copies recompiled them in the early Han dynasty.[4] The Book of Rites was said to have been fully reconstructed, but the Classic of Music could not be recompiled and fragments principally survive in the "Record of Music" (Yueji) chapter of the Book of Rites.

Since then, other scholars have attempted to redact these first drafts. According to the Book of Sui, Dai De reworked the text in the 1st century BC, reducing the original 214 books to 85, and his nephew Dai Sheng reduced this to 46 books. To this three were added towards the end of the Han dynasty, bringing the total to 49.[5]

In 1993, a copy of the "Black Robes" chapter was found in Tomb 1 of the Guodian Tombs in Jingmen, Hubei. Since the tomb was sealed around 300 BCE, the find reactivated academic arguments about the possible dating of the other Liji chapters by the Warring States period.[6]

Li

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", "decorum" or "politeness". 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 collapsing Zhou state. The absolute power of li is displayed in the Book of Rites: "Of all things to which the people owe their lives the rites are the most important..."[7] The ideas of li were thought to become closely associated with human nature, ethics, and social order as the population integrated li into their lives. Li is beneficial to society because it guides people to recognize and fulfill their responsibilities toward others.

Legacy

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. Following the decision of the Yuan dynasty (followed by the Ming and Qing) to make the Five Classics and the Four Books the orthodox texts of the Confucian traditions, they were the standard textbooks for the state civil examination, from 1313 to 1905, which every educated person had to study intensively. Consequently, the Book of Rites and two of its by-products were large integral parts of the Chinese beliefs and industry for many centuries.

Contents
Table of Contents
##ChinesePinyinTranslation
01-02曲禮上下QūlǐSummary of the Rules of Propriety Part 1 & 2
03-04檀弓上下TángōngTangong Part 1 & 2
05王制WángzhìRoyal Regulations
06月令YuèlìngProceedings of Government in the Different Months
07曾子問Zēngzǐ WènQuestions of Zengzi
08文王世子Wénwáng ShìzǐKing Wen as Son and Heir
09禮運LǐyùnThe Conveyance of Rites
10禮器LǐqìImplements of Rites
11郊特牲JiāotèshēngSingle Victim At The Border Sacrifices
12內則NèizéPattern of the Family
13玉藻YùzǎoJade-Bead Pendants of the Royal Cap
14明堂位MíngtángwèiPlaces in the Hall of Distinction
15喪服小記Sàngfú XiǎojìRecord of Smaller Matters in the Dress of Mourning
16大傳DàzhuànGreat Treatise
17少儀ShǎoyíSmaller Rules of Demeanour
18學記XuéjìRecord on the Subject of Education
19樂記YuèjìRecord on the Subject of Music
20-21雜記上下ZájìMiscellaneous Records Part 1 & 2
22喪大記Sàng DàjìGreater Record of Mourning Rites
23祭法JìfǎLaw of Sacrifices
24祭義JìyìMeaning of Sacrifices
25祭統JìtǒngA Summary Account of Sacrifices
26經解JīngjiěDifferent Teaching of the Different Kings
27哀公問Āigōng WènQuestions of Duke Ai
28仲尼燕居Zhòngní YànjūZhongni at Home at Ease
29孔子閒居Kǒngzǐ XiánjūConfucius at Home at Leisure
30坊記FāngjìRecord of the Dykes
31中庸ZhōngyōngDoctrine of the Mean
32表記BiǎojìRecord on Example
33緇衣ZīyīBlack Robes
34奔喪BěnsàngRules on Hurrying to Mourning Rites
35問喪WènsàngQuestions About Mourning Rites
36服問FúwènSubjects For Questioning About the Mourning Dress
37間傳JiānzhuànTreatise on Subsidiary Points in Mourning Usages
38三年問Sānnián WènQuestions About the Mourning for Three Years
39深衣ShēnyīLong Dress in One Piece
40投壺TóuhúGame of Pitch-Pot
41儒行RúxíngConduct of the Scholar
42大學DàxuéGreat Learning
43冠義GuānyìMeaning of the Ceremony of Capping
44昏義HūnyìMeaning of the Marriage Ceremony
45鄉飲酒義Xiāngyǐn JiǔyìMeaning of the Drinking Festivity in the Districts
46射義ShèyìMeaning of the Ceremony of Archery
47燕義YànyìMeaning of the Banquet
48聘義PìnyìMeaning of Interchange of Missions twixt Different Courts
49喪服四制Sàngfú SìzhìFour Principles Underlying the Dress of Mourning

Translations
  • (in English) Legge, James (1885). Sacred Books of the East, volumes 27 and 28. Oxford: Oxford University Press. [complete translation]
  • (in French) J. M. Callery (1853). Li-Ki, ou Mémorial des rites, traduit pour la première fois du chinois et accompagné de notes, de commentaires et du texte original [Li-Ki, or Memorial of Rites, translated for the first time from Chinese and accompanied by notes, comments and the original text] . Paris: Imprimerie Royale, Benjamin Duprat, librairie de l'institut. [incomplete translation]
  • (in French and Latin) Couvreur, Séraphin (1913). Li Ki, ou Mémoires sur les bienséances; texte Chinois avec une double traduction en Francais et en Latin [Li Ji, or Dissertation on Proprieties; Chinese text with a double translation in French and Latin], volumes 1 and 2. Hokkien: Mission Catholique.
  • (in English) Luo, Zhiye (2017). Liji Yingyi (Yingwenban) / Zhonghua Jingdian Yingyi Congshu. Nanjing: Southeast University Press. ISBN 9787564153960. [complete translation]

References
  1. Riegel (1993), p. 283.
  2. Riegel (1993), p. 295.
  3. Riegel (1993), pp. 295–296.
  4. "Annotated Edition of "The Book of Rites"". World Digital Library. 1190–1194. Retrieved 2013-09-04.
  5. Müller, Max, ed. (1879). "Preface". The Sacred Books of China. The Sacred Books of the East. 3. Trans. James Legge. Oxford: Clarendon Press. pp. xviii–xix. Retrieved 2011-05-31.
  6. Puett, 137 n.19.
  7. Dawson (1981), p. 32.

Bibliography
  • Buckley Ebrey, Patricia. Confucianism and the Family Rituals in Imperial China. New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1991, ISBN 978-0-691-03150-7
  • Confucius; James Legge; Chʻu Chai; Winberg Chai. Li Chi: Book of Rites. An encyclopedia of ancient ceremonial usages, religious creeds, and social institutions, New Hyde Park, N.Y., University Books [1967]. (originally published in 1885)
  • Creel, H.G. Confucius and the Chinese Way. New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1949
  • Dawson, Raymond (1981), Confucius, Great Britain: The Guernsey Press, ISBN 978-0-19-287536-5.
  • de Bary, Wm. Theodore, Wing-tsit Chan, and Buton Watson. Sources of Chinese Tradition. New York and London: Columbia University Press, 1960, ISBN 978-0-231-02255-2
  • Holm, Jean, and John Bowker. Sacred Writings. London: Printer Publishers Ltd., 1994
  • Jingpan, Chen. Confucius as a Teacher. Beijing: Foreign Languages Press, 1990, ISBN 978-0-8351-2240-5
  • Lin Yutang. The Wisdom of Confucius. New York: Random House, Inc., 1938
  • Nylan, Michael (2001), The five "Confucian" classics, Yale University Press, ISBN 978-0-300-08185-5.
  • Puett, Michael. “Centering the Realm: Wang Mang, the Zhouli, and Early Chinese Statecraft.” in Elman, Benjamin A. and Kern, Martin, eds., Statecraft and Classical Learning: the Rituals of Zhou in East Asian History, pp.129-154.
  • Riegel, Jeffrey K. (1993), "Li chi 禮記", in Loewe, Michael (ed.), Early Chinese Texts: A Bibliographical Guide, Society for the Study of Early China, pp. 293–297, ISBN 978-1-55729-043-4.
  • Smith, Howard. Confucius. Great Britain: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1973
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