Book of Rites, Liji: Bilingual Edition, English and Chinese 禮記: Classic of Rites 禮經

by Confucius, Lionshare Media (Editor), Lionshare Chinese (Editor)

This complete edition of The Book of Rites (Liji) features both English and Chinese side-by-side for easy reference and bilingual support. The sections are linked and organized for easy reading.

The Book of Rites or Liji, literally the Record of Rites, 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 (Zhouli) and the Book of Etiquette and Rites (Yili), which are together known as the "Three Li (San li)," constitute the ritual (li) section of the Five Classics which lay at the core of the traditional Confucian canon. As a core text of the Confucian canon, it is also known as the Classic of Rites (Lijing), which some scholars believe was the original title. 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.

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". 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 was beneficial to society because it forced people to recognize and fulfill their responsibilities toward others.

《礼记》，儒学经典之一，所收文章是孔子的学生及戰國时期儒学学者的作品。汉朝学者戴德将汉初刘向收集的130篇综合简化，一共得85篇，称为《大戴礼记》，后来其姪戴圣又将「大戴礼记」简化删除，得46篇，再加上《月令》、《明堂位》和《乐记》，一共49篇，称为《小戴礼记》。「大戴礼记」至隋、唐時期已散逸大半，現僅留傳39篇，而「小戴礼记」則成为今日通行的《礼记》[1]。

汉景帝时魯恭王劉餘初好治宮室而壞孔子宅，得古《礼》五十七篇於壞壁之中[2][3]，其中十七篇与《仪礼》相同，《奔丧》、《投壶》见于另外四十篇中，礼家将其录于《礼记》之中，得以流传，而其余篇章，因为藏之秘府，世人难得一见，后来散逸不传，称为“逸《礼》

Genres: Philosophy, China, History, Religion, Nonfiction, Classics, Spirituality

990 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1967

About the author

Chinese philosopher Confucius, originally Kong Fuzi and born circa 551 BC, promoted a system of social and political ethics, emphasizing order, moderation, and reciprocity between superiors and subordinates; after his death in 479 BC, disciples compiled the Analects , which contains a collection of his sayings and dialogues.

Teachings of this social thinker deeply influenced Korean, Japanese, and Vietnamese life.

孔子 - Kong Zi
孔夫子 - Kong Fuzi (Kung Fu-Tzu)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Confucius

Reviews

[Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

For anyone trying to grasp China holistically, reading the LiJi is an important step. It is a part of the Wu Jing (5 Classics) compiled by Confucius. However, it is not an easy read. I have read from many genres, and have a good background in Egyptian, Mesopotamian, Hindu, Buddhist, and European literature. I have to say the LiJi was probably the 1st or 2nd hardest of any one selection from these domains to read. I am not implying I grasp these ancient works flawlessly, but I think I can make the following comments with some sense of objectivity. Here are some tips to help you understand at least one view of this book.

Good
1) It is old. One of the beauties of Chinese culture is that it actually has an ancient culture, not just stories about it. This book helps reveal some of the thought from those times.

2) Some wisdom can be found in this book. It reaffirms appropriate respect continuously. It emphasizes love occasionally. It clearly encourages a positive family dynamic. It sharply challenges ambitious or selfish behavior. It recognizes the pervasiveness of foolishness in all strata of society. It advises rulers to lead their subjects judiciously and with great care. Its overall goal appears to be the giving of rules to make a better society.

3) Much of the rules are easy to understand in the sense that they are described as having been done by some figure in the past. This helps a little in understanding how the rule was applied. The rules are also in a "bite sized" nature, so reading any one of them rarely leads to more than a page at a time.

4) There are a few little mysteries in this book. How common was the game of PitchPot? How did the people feel when they were told how to mourn? How large was the original book? Who began collecting the rules? How were they disseminated originally?

5) The format of this book is very easy to read, especially on the kindle, even if it is long. I personally like the publishers juxtaposition of the Chinese and English. While they did add some explanatory material, they kept it brief.

Difficult
1) There are a lot of rules; and I mean a lot. The Old Testament has about 613 laws, and maybe a third apply to modern Jews. The LiJi has thousands; maybe tens of thousands of rules that appear to apply to everybody. It really seems unrealistic that any king or peasant could know them. Even if they or any "Superior Man" did know them, it seems it would have overwhelmed their life just to fulfill the obligations.

2) Clearly the rules accumulated over time. Such accumulations, as in almost all religions (or certainly in their commentaries), eventually obscures the central accessibility and message of the original teachings. And THAT is the ultimate disrespect.

2a) Its focus on rules prevents a creative or adaptive understanding of principles. This is not a document that has aged well. It leads to explanations that even experts doubt, leaving it helpless to the general public it was apparently intended to serve. Presumably if one could justly complain we do not follow such rules, perhaps it is in step with the same assumption that we can justly doubt their intrinsic value. In any case, the fact that very few Chinese have (or will) read this book exposes its greatest flaw. It is the greatest criticism of all, from the culture itself: One could say it has failed the "mandate of heaven".

2b) Much, maybe 90%, of the rules are abstract formalities designed to affirm preexisting roles. So, despite the intent to affirm order and respect, a great deal of the rules are not helpful. It is mind boggling, at least to the modern mind, to imagine dictating to any person mourning the loss of a loved one how long they should cry, how they should dress, how much they should eat, how many times they should "leap", etc. Even if a few knowledgeable people learned these rules, the vast bulk of society and leadership would still not know what they meant.

3) A disproportional amount of these rules are about mourning and death. Despite the intent to cultivate the character, it seems clear the creators had an unquestioned belief that a) outward forms were adequate to cultivate the soul, 2) hierarchical fulfillment of rules was adequate, 3) human flaws originate from our training, 4) human reason was adequate to transcend our flaws. Such beliefs permeated much of Confucius philosophy, indeed much of philosophy period.

Closing thoughts: Comparatively speaking, the SiShu (4 books) is far shorter and more accessible. But despite my objections above, and knowing it takes some work to read the LiJi, if understanding formative Chinese thought (or holistic world history) is meaningful to you, there are some jewels to be gained for the patient. If that is you, please be sure to consider including MoZi and the ShanHaiJing in your book list.

[Barack Liu · Rating 5 out of 5]

367-Book of Rite-Dai Sheng-Philosophy-80AD

Barack
2021/10/10

"The Book of Rites", also known as "Little Dai's Book of Rites" and "Little Dai's Book", was written in the Western Han Dynasty. "Han Shu" records that it was completed in the 7th year of the Han Dynasty (the 80s ). "The Book of Rites" is an important collection of ancient Chinese ordinances and systems, consisting of 20 volumes and forty-nine articles. The content of the book mainly describes the ritual system of the pre-Qin period, which embodies the philosophical thoughts of pre-Qin Confucianism (such as the view of heaven, the world, and the outlook on life). , Educational thoughts (such as personal self-cultivation, education system, teaching methods, school management), political thoughts (such as civilized politics, a harmonious society, ritual system, and criminal law), aesthetic thoughts (such as the theory of moving the heart, the theory of ritual and music) It is an important material for studying pre-Qin society and a compilation of Confucianism materials.

The "Book of Rites" is rigorous in chapter and law, with vivid expressions, tactful diction, echoes before and after, and the language is neat and changeable. It is one of the "Three Rituals", one of the "Five Classics", and one of the "Thirteen Classics". After Zhang Xuan made the "Notes" in the Eastern Han Dynasty, the status of the "Book of Rites" has risen. It was honored as the "Jing" in the Tang Dynasty and ranked first in the "Three Rites" after the Song Dynasty.

Dai Sheng was born in Suiyang County, Liang Kingdom (now Suiyang District, Shangqiu City, Henan Province). Officials, scholars, ritual scholars in the Western Han Dynasty, and the founder of Jinwen Jingxue in the Han Dynasty. Later generations called it "Xiao Dai". Dai Sheng and his uncle Dai De once followed Hou Cang to learn "Li", and they were collectively referred to as "Xia Dai" by later generations.

Table of Contents
First in song ceremony
Second under the song
Third on Sandalwood
Fourth under the sandal bow
Kingship Fifth
Month order sixth
Zeng Zi asked the seventh
The eighth son of King Wen
Li Yun Ninth
Ritual tenth

"Qu Li," said: Don't be disrespectful, just like thinking, stable speech, peace of mind!"

Behave with respect and dignity, which is emphasized by traditional Chinese culture. I would like to believe that when this idea was first proposed in The Book of Rites, its original intention was good. It cares not about red tape, but self-cultivation from the inside and outside. If later generations turn it into dogmatism, attaching importance to the external form and ignoring the internal cultivation, I think it is abandoning the last.

"Ao can't grow long, can't follow desires, can't be full of ambition, can't be extremely happy."

Maybe there is a tendency to go to extremes in human nature? It is easy to form a strange circle of positive circulation. When you are proud, you are arrogant and defiant; when you are frustrated, you have no fighting spirit in frustration. In this case, we probably need to be deliberately trained in reason to help us guide ourselves.

"The wise man respects it, fears it, and loves it. Love knows its evil, hates it, and knows its good. Accumulation can disperse, and peace can move. , There is no need to ask for more points. There is no question of quality, and nothing is straightforward."

"The golden mean" lies in the balance, or in other words, strong adaptability. Regardless of the environment, you can adapt quickly. If you understand "the golden mean" as a "good gentleman" who is in harmony with the mud, you don't want to be justified, but only to calm down things, I think this kind of thinking is even more harmful.

"If a husband sits like a corpse, standing like a corpse. The etiquette is suitable, and the vulgar is used."

China puts a lot of emphasis on standing and sitting. Even when no one is looking at you, you must form a habit. The self-cultivation of a gentleman must not be superficial and become a superficial article to welcome others. Instead, it must be "cautious" and become an inner driving force.

"Husbands and rituals, therefore, decide between relatives and suspicions, distinguish between similarities and differences, and know right and wrong. Courtesy, don't speak arrogantly, don't hesitate. Courtesy is not overrunning, not intrusive, and not easy to behave. Cultivating one's body and practicing words is called good deeds. The quality of ritual is also the quality of practice."

The so-called etiquette is the norm of behavior, which is used to define the boundary of behavior. Too much is too late, so we need to be cautious. Etiquette shows the norms of receiving people and things, and its core is respect for others.

"Rite is learned from people by smelling, and others are not heard by others. The ceremony is learned by smelling and taught by others."

Only if you want to learn sincerely, can you learn well. Passive learning is too inefficient. I am the beneficiary of knowledge imparted to me by others, so my attitude must be humble and respectful, not only to the teacher but also to the knowledge itself.

"Ethics, benevolence and righteousness, indecent assaults are not made; teaching the morals, indecent assaults, and unpreparedness; separate disputes, indecent assaults, and indecisions; monarchs and ministers, father and son brothers, indecent assaults; eunuchs, indecent assaults; Indecent and majesty is not enough; pray to the temple to provide sacrifices to ghosts and gods, indecent and insincere. It is the gentleman's respect, austerity, and concession in order to show ceremonies."

Etiquette should not restrict people's nature but should conform to the law of doing things and be used to regulate people's behavior. People are social animals. Living together with each other will inevitably produce various interactions and contradictions with other people. Without "rituals", there is no means of mediation.

"Parrots can speak, but not birds; orangutans can speak, but beasts. People are rude today, although they can speak, they are not in the heart of beasts? Husbands are only rude to beasts, so father and son gather together. It is made by old saints and is a gift. To teach people, to be polite, and to distinguish themselves from animals."

The difference between humans and animals is a question that many people think about. Here is from the perspective of etiquette. Animals behave according to their instincts, while humans can think more distant things and correct their behaviors through rationality.

"The great virtue, the second is to repay. The courtesy is to communicate. If you don't contact, you are indecent; if you don't contact, you are also indecent. People who are courteous are safe, and if they are rude, they are in danger. "

Everything needs interaction, and unilateral things cannot last long after all. When two people get along, both parties need to have sincerity, and sincerity in action can last long.

[Luzzatto · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read the book《樂記 - Yue Ji》which is a chapter in this book. It's a good book! I found the text on Chinese Text Project's website ctext.org.