Etiquette and Ceremonial

AnonymousQunyan Publishing House · ChinaAug 2020

4.9

Word count: 70K words
Chapters: 18

Summary

The Yili (Etiquette and Ceremonial) is one of the Thirteen Classics of Confucianism and a compilation of ritual institutions from China's Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, in seventeen chapters. It records ceremonies of the Zhou dynasty—capping, marriage, mourning, sacrifice, community drinking, archery, court audience, and diplomatic visits—focusing chiefly on the rites of the scholar-official class. The chapter titles before the Qin are unknown; in the early Han, Gao Tangsheng transmitted the text.

Editor's review

The Yili is a core classic for understanding pre-Qin ritual institutions and the ordering of scholar-officials' daily life. This edition is the 2020 Qunyan Press collated version, presenting all seventeen chapters of ceremonies—capping, marriage, mourning, sacrifice, community drinking, archery, court audience, and diplomatic visits—with emphasis on the ceremonial procedures and placement of vessels and persons among the scholar-official class. Its value lies not in abstract talk of ritual meaning but in providing an operable skeleton of ceremony, showing how people of antiquity settled human relations through concrete actions and spatial arrangements. As you read, attend to the logic by which each chapter advances through ceremonial steps and to the structural echoes among different rites; read alongside the Liji, the conceptual basis behind the institutions becomes clearer. Suited to those interested in pre-Qin institutions, customs, and classical studies as a foundational text, and to writers and teachers consulting specific ceremonial procedures. A caution: the original is terse and archaic and dense with names of objects, so beginners should rely on annotations and reference works rather than attempting to read it straight through.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Students and teachers researching pre-Qin ritual institutions and classical studies
Readers interested in the procedures of ancient capping, marriage, mourning, and sacrificial ceremonies
Writers in history and literature who need to consult specific ceremonial procedures and names of objects
General readers hoping to understand the traditional ordering of human relations through a classic

Not a good fit for

Readers wanting only light stories or plain-language popular works
Those impatient with verifying names and institutions who wish to read quickly straight through
Readers lacking basic background in ancient ritual who are unwilling to use annotations

Reading tips

Begin with the more narrative chapters, such as the Capping of a Common Scholar and the Marriage of a Common Scholar, to gain an overall sense of how the ceremonies proceed.
Keep an annotated edition and a dictionary of ancient names and objects at hand; look up vessels, orientations, and titles as you go—no need to memorize.
After each chapter, sketch a simple table of participants, spatial positions, and sequence of actions to grasp the structure.
Read alongside relevant chapters of the Liji to understand the ritual concepts behind the procedures.

About the publisher

Qunyan Publishing House China · Founded in 1989

Founded in 1989, Qunyan Publishing House has long been committed to publishing academic and educational books for mid- and high-level readers, and has built up a certain presence in Eastern philosophy, classical literature, and classic works. Representative titles available in the database include Records of the Grand Historian, Dream of the Red Chamber, Selections of Refined Literature, Complete Song Ci, Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio, Record of Daily Knowledge, Taiping Huimin Hejiju Fang, and The Collected Works of Wang Yangming, covering common categories such as ancient poetry, medicine, and examinations. Its author resources include Sima Qian, Cao Xueqin, Xiao Tong, Li Shan, Pu Songling, and Gu Yanwu. The press also offers distinctive series such as the Biographical Series of the China Democratic League and the Historical Documents Series of the China Democratic League, and publishes research on historical documents, biographies, memoirs, and textbooks and academic works by League members. Public information is limited, and its overall publishing scale and complete catalogue require further verification.

版权信息
士冠礼第一
士昏礼第二
士相见礼第三
乡饮酒礼第四
乡射礼第五
燕礼第六
大射仪第七
聘礼第八
公食大夫礼第九
觐礼第十
丧服第十一
士丧礼第十二
既夕礼第十三
士虞礼第十四
特牲馈食礼第十五
少牢馈食礼第十六
有司彻第十七

FAQ

Can I read the Yili without any grounding in classical Chinese?

You can, but you will need an annotated edition and reference works. The original is terse and archaic and dense with names and institutions; start with the more complete narrative chapters to grasp the flow of ceremonies, then work gradually into detail. Don't try to parse it word by word from the outset.

What is the difference between the Yili and the Liji?

The Yili emphasizes records of concrete ceremonial procedures and the placement of vessels and persons—the skeleton of ritual practice; the Liji consists largely of explanations and discussions of ritual institutions and meanings. Reading the two together lets you consider both ceremonial detail and conceptual basis.

What practical significance does the Yili have for modern readers?

It helps one understand how traditional human relations were confirmed and sustained through concrete ceremonies, offering reference for understanding ancient social structures, the origins of customs, and contemporary discussions of ritual and custom. It also cultivates patience with institutional detail.

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About the author

Anonymous Author

Anonymous is not a real personal name but a general Chinese designation for authors whose names are unknown, lost, or unsigned. Neither nationality nor dates of birth and death can be verified, and available public information is limited, so the works attributed to this name are the only basis for description. The collection holds 2,078 works under Anonymous, spanning medicine, classics, historical readings, ancient poetry, classical literature, and philosophy. Representative works include The Yellow Emperor's Inner Canon: Lingshu, Mencius, The Book of Documents, Nineteen Old Poems, Complete Song Ci, and The Peacock Flies Southeast. Most of these works took shape through long transmission and editing, emerging either from collective folk creation or from authors whose names were lost over time. In ancient China, the Book of Songs, the Great Learning, and many popular storybooks and plays were signed Anonymous because their authors could not be traced. Anonymous works cross the classics, histories, philosophical writings, medical texts, and poetry; their subjects are broad, and their styles vary from archaic simplicity to clear naturalness, making them important and influential sources for understanding ancient Chinese thought, medicine, and literature.