The Banquet Ritual

AnonymousJinzhang Book Company (Jinzhang Shuju) · ChinaJun 2024

4.0

Word count: 4.3K words
Chapters: 2

Summary

The brilliance of ancient Chinese rites lies in this: every seemingly plain ceremonial step carries profound ritual meaning. In the very act of performing them, one is imperceptibly steeped in virtue—even in a leisurely banquet rite like the Yanli.

Editor's review

Though titled "Yanli" (the Banquet Rite), this is no ordinary record of feasting. Through the unfolding of a complete set of ceremonial steps, it shows how ancient rites turned everyday gathering into a soaking in virtue. The banquet rite presented here—from welcoming guests and exchanging toasts to musical songs and the circulating cup—has every stage directed toward ritual meaning, letting readers sense the ancients' care to "see principle in the matter at hand." This printing preserves the old edition's appearance; the text is plain and spare, suited to slow, careful reading. For readers who want to understand pre-Qin ritual institutions, feel the spirit of traditional ceremony, or seek a sense of order in life through ritual texts, this book offers a direct and unadorned entry. As you read, treat the ceremonial steps as a thread and follow it to ask what lies behind each one—more rewarding than merely memorizing names and measures.

Who it's for

A good fit for

History and literature readers interested in pre-Qin ritual institutions and ancient social life
Those who want to understand the spirit of traditional ritual meaning through ceremonial detail
College teachers and students needing a ritual text for teaching or research reference
Readers who enjoy slow reading of classics and sensing the ancients' care in small details

Not a good fit for

Casual readers expecting light stories or popular history narratives
General readers seeking a practical guide to modern banquet etiquette
Those impatient with classical Chinese texts and the study of names and institutions

Reading tips

Read through the sequence of ceremonial steps once, then go back section by section to ask what ritual meaning each step points to.
Keep pen and paper to map out the stages—welcoming guests, exchanging toasts, musical songs—and form your own diagram of the ritual sequence.
Read alongside introductory materials on pre-Qin ritual institutions to lower the barrier of names and institutions.

About the publisher

Jinzhang Book Company (Jinzhang Shuju) China · Founded in 1901

Jinzhang Book Company (Jinzhang Shuju) was a private publishing and distribution house in Shanghai during the late Qing and early Republican periods, issuing traditional works by lithographic printing. Judging from the 1,194 titles in the collection, its publishing focused on classical poetry, Eastern philosophy, historical reading, traditional Chinese medical texts, and canonical works, along with books on literary appreciation. Representative titles include the poetry and prose collections of Du Fu and Ouyang Xiu; historical works such as the Book of Han and Zizhi Tongjian; classical texts such as the Book of Documents and Mencius; and specialized and literary classics such as Treatise on Cold Damage and Li Sao. Its author resources cover major figures across the ages, including Du Fu, Ban Gu, Sima Guang, Zhang Zhongjing, Qu Yuan, Ouyang Xiu, and Tang Shenwei, reflecting the house's characteristic reliance on traditional scholarship and medical literature while serving general readers. Public information on its early history and operational details is limited, so no conjecture is offered here.

版权信息
燕礼第六

FAQ

What kind of rite is the yanli?

The yanli is an ancient rite of leisurely banquet gathering. It uses feasting together as its vehicle, but every ceremonial step is given ritual meaning, so participants are imperceptibly steeped in virtue. This book presents that purpose through the unfolding of its ceremonial steps.

Can I read this book without any classical Chinese background?

The text is plain, but it involves ancient ceremonies and names and institutions, so readers with no classical Chinese at all will find it hard going. It is best to first use introductory materials to learn the basic sequence of the yanli, then move into close reading.

What should I focus on when reading this book?

The point is not to memorize names and measures but to follow the thread of ceremonial steps and ask what ritual meaning lies behind each. Grasping the yanli as a complete ritual process lets you sense the ancients' care better than memorizing details in isolation.

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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.