The Rites of Audience

AnonymousBashu Publishing House · ChinaMay 2020

3.5

Word count: 1.2K words
Chapters: 6

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Summary

Jin Li (The Rite of Audience) is a chapter of the Yili (Book of Etiquette and Ceremonial).

Editor's review

Jin Li (The Ritual of the Audience) is a chapter of the Yili (Book of Etiquette and Ceremonial) devoted to the ceremonial procedure by which feudal lords in antiquity had audience with the Son of Heaven. This edition presents the chapter on its own, making it easy for readers to concentrate on the rites, forms of address, and arrangement of ritual objects in the pre-Qin audience system. For students of the history of ritual institutions and pre-Qin political order, close reading of the primary text is fundamental to understanding ruler-minister relations and the system of court visits and diplomatic inquiries. The Bashu Shushe edition is suitable for use as a study text. It should be read without haste, ideally alongside the relevant commentaries to the Yili, so as to clarify the sequence of ceremonial steps and the division of roles, and to appreciate the formulaic expression of ritual texts. If your interest in ancient rites is merely curiosity, reading a single chapter may feel rather specialized; consult reference works for background first.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Students of literature and history specializing in pre-Qin ritual institutions and political order
Classics enthusiasts who need to read the primary text of the Yili closely
Readers concerned with the ancient system of court visits and ruler-minister etiquette

Not a good fit for

General readers hoping for popular stories or historical romance
Beginners with no classical Chinese who are unwilling to look up names of objects and institutions

Reading tips

Read through once to grasp the ceremonial sequence, then work through it paragraph by paragraph with commentaries to resolve difficulties over names and objects.
Keep pen and paper ready to chart the roles, positions, and ritual objects at each stage of the audience, forming a flow chart.
Read alongside other chapters of the Yili to understand the place of court-visit rites within the ritual system as a whole.

About the publisher

Bashu Publishing House China · Founded in 1983

Bashu Publishing House is a publisher centered on collating and publishing classical Chinese cultural texts, with its main publishing areas covering classical literature, Eastern philosophy, ancient poetry, and educational classics. Its library currently holds 1,075 titles, including representative works such as Dream of the Red Chamber, the Preface to the Orchid Pavilion Gathering, Renjian Cihua, and Out to the Frontier, involving authors such as Cao Xueqin, Wang Xizhi, Wang Guowei, Wang Changling, Liu Xie, and Yan Yu. These reflect the publisher's focus on literary classics, poetry criticism, and philosophical readings. Its publishing character lies in working around ancient texts and canonical works, with attention to textual collation and presentation. Public information on its more detailed publishing background and series plans is limited; this introduction is based only on the library's book information.

版权信息
正文一
正文二
正文三
正文四
正文五

FAQ

What is Jin Li mainly about?

Jin Li is a chapter of the Yili that describes the ceremonial procedure for feudal lords' audience with the Son of Heaven, including the arrangement of ceremonial steps, forms of address, ritual objects, and positions. It is a key primary text for understanding the pre-Qin system of court visits and diplomatic inquiries.

Can I read this book without any foundation in classical Chinese?

Reading it directly will be somewhat difficult. It is advisable first to familiarize yourself with basic terminology through classical Chinese reference works or introductory books on ritual institutions, then work through the text sentence by sentence with annotations. It is not suitable as your first classical Chinese text.

What is this single-chapter edition good for?

It is suitable as a thematic text for studying the Yili, for course work, for citing the primary text in academic writing, or for checking details of ritual institutions against commentaries. For the full ritual context, consult general works as well.

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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.