Ritual Institutions in China

China has been known since ancient times as a "land of propriety and righteousness," and observing, valuing, upholding, and performing rites long served as the foundation of Chinese daily life and political order. This book begins with the origins of rites, pointing out that they first grew out of primitive religious sacrifices to spirits and deities, and were later reshaped and utilized by rulers after the advent of civilized society; by the Zhou dynasty, the ritual system had become well developed and served as the foundation for ritual institutions in later dynasties. Taking the Zhou ritual framework as its main thread, the book follows the five traditional ritual categories—auspicious rites, inauspicious rites, military rites, guest rites, and celebratory rites—and separately surveys the forms and functions of specific ceremonies: sacrifices to Heaven and Earth, ancestral temples, and school offerings to Confucius; soul-summoning, encoffining, lying in state, burial, and mourning; military expeditions, triumphal returns, reviews, and hunting; audiences with the ruler, diplomatic visits, oaths of alliance, and the meeting of scholars; and capping and marriage, banquets, village wine-drinking and care for the elderly, archery rites, and congratulatory celebrations. A dedicated chapter discusses the role and categories of ritual vessels and the evolution of ritual attire. The author connects ritual details with ancient hierarchies, social structures, and cultural concepts, explaining how the ritual system regulated behavior and shaped human relationships, and thereby explains the historical formation of the "land of propriety and righteousness." The book runs to about 70,000 characters, is illustrated, and is a popular introduction to traditional Chinese culture for general readers.