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Ritual Propriety (li, 礼)

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History of Chinese Philosophy Through Its Key Terms

Abstract

China has always been dignified with the epithet of a country of etiquette and rites (礼仪之邦), from this, we can see the importance of li in traditional Chinese culture. Explaining Graphs and Analyzing Characters explains li as “li is treading or proceeding along the correct path [履], is the means by which one serves the gods and achieves prosperity.” Wang Guowei believes that the earliest use of li referred to a vessel holding two strings of jade as offering to the spirits.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Qian (1994: 72).

  2. 2.

    Chen (2001).

  3. 3.

    Peng (2001).

  4. 4.

    Hutton (2014: 201).

  5. 5.

    Hutton (2014: 85), modified.

  6. 6.

    Hutton (2014: 30), modified.

  7. 7.

    Queen and Major (2016), modified.

  8. 8.

    Queen and Major (2016: 426–427).

  9. 9.

    Queen and Major (2016: 428), modified.

  10. 10.

    Chan (1963: 15), modified.

References

  • Chan, Wing-Tsit. 1963. Instructions for Practical Living and other Neo-Confucian Writings. New York, London: Columbia University Press.

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  • Chen, Lai. 2001. Confucian Views on Ritual and the Modern World 儒家礼的观念与现代世界. In Confucius Studies 孔子研究, vol. 1.

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  • Hutton, Eric L. 2014. Xunzi: The Complete Text. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Peng, Lin. 2001 Ritual and Chinese Culture 礼与中国文化. In Chinese Literature and History文史知识, vol. 11.

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  • Qian, Mu. 1994. Introduction to the History of Chinese Culture 中国文化史导论. 商务印书馆, p. 72.

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  • Queen, Sarah. A. and John S. Major. 2016. Luxuriant Gems of the Spring and Autumn; Attributed to Dong Zhongshu. Translated by Sarah A. Queen and John S. Major. New York: Columbia University Press.

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Correspondence to Yueqing Wang .

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Wang, Y., Bao, Q., Guan, G. (2020). Ritual Propriety (li, 礼). In: History of Chinese Philosophy Through Its Key Terms. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-2572-8_11

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