Classic of Rites

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The Classic of Rites (Traditional Chinese: 禮記; Simplified Chinese: 礼记; pinyin: Lǐjì) was one of the Five Classics of the Confucian canon. It described the social forms, ancient rites, and court ceremonies of the Zhou Dynasty. The original text is believed to have been compiled by numerous Confucian scholars during the Warring States Period.

[edit] Compilation

During the 1st century BC, the text was extensively reworked by Dai De (Senior Dai) and his nephew Dai Sheng (Junior Dai). The version of Junior Dai, which was composed in forty-nine chapters, is what we regard as the work today. While the version of the Senior Dai are preserved only in fragments, modern scholars believe that the original title, Lijing ("Classic of Rites"), was dropped so that jing ("classic") would be reserved for works more directly connected with Confucius. By itself, the book includes the Classic of Music (chapter 19), however this version of the work is in a much dilapidated form from the original, which is now lost. In 1993, a chapter of the book, Black Robes, was found in tombs of Guodian, in Hubei, dated to 300 BC.

The book also includes two other chapters, particularly the Great Learning (chapter 42), and the Doctrine of the Mean (chapter 31), the original text of which is believed to have been compiled by one of Confucius's disciples. Both of these "books" are considered part of another collection known as the Four Books.

The book is sometimes incorporated into the Three Rites with two other documents, the Rites of Zhou and the Etiquette and Ceremonials by the 2nd century AD.

[edit] Contents

Table of Contents

##	Chinese	Pinyin	Translation
01-02	曲禮上下	Qūlǐ	Summary of the Rules of Propriety Part 1 & 2
03-04	檀弓上下	Tángōng	Tangong Part 1 & 2
05	王制	Wángzhì	Royal Regulations
06	月令	Yuèlìng	Proceedings of Government in the Different Months
07	曾子問	Zēngzǐ Wèn	Questions of Zengzi
08	文王世子	Wénwáng Shìzǐ	King Wen as Son and Heir
09	禮運	Lǐyùn	The Conveyance of Rites
10	禮器	Lǐqì	Utensils of Rites
11	郊特牲	Jiāotèshēng	Single Victim At The Border Sacrifices
12	內則	Neìzé	Pattern of the Family
13	玉藻	Yùzǎo	Jade-Bead Pendants of the Royal Cap
14	明堂位	Míngtángwèi	Places in the Hall of Distinction
15	喪服小記	Sāngfú Xiǎojì	Record of Smaller Matters in the Dress of Mourning
16	大傳	Dàzhuàn	Great Treatise
17	少儀	Shǎoyí

The Four Books and Five Classics (四書五經)
The Four Books:	The Great Learning (大學) | The Doctrine of the Mean (中庸) | The Analects (論語) | The Mencius (孟子)
The Five Classics:	Classic of Changes (易經) | Classic of Poetry (詩經) | Classic of Rites (禮記) | Classic of History (書經) | Spring and Autumn Annals (春秋)