Rites of Zhou

The Rites of Zhou (traditional Chinese: 周禮; simplified Chinese: 周礼; pinyin: Zhōu Lǐ) is – along with the Book of Rites and the Etiquette and Ceremonial – one of three ancient ritual texts (the "Three Rites") listed among the classics of Confucianism.

Name

The text was originally known as "Officers of Zhou" (周官, Zhouguan). It was later renamed the Rites of Zhou by Liu Xin to differentiate it from a chapter in the Book of History by the same name.

Authorship

The book appeared in the middle of the 2nd century BC, when it was found and included in the collection of Old Texts in the library of Prince Liu De (劉德; d. 130 BC), a younger brother of the Han emperor Wu. Its first editor was Liu Xin (c. 50 BC – AD 23), who credited it to the Duke of Zhou. Tradition since at least the Song dynasty continued this attribution, with the claim that Liu Xin's edition was the final one.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, following Kang Youwei, the book was often seen as a forgery by Liu Xin. Currently, a few holdouts continue to insist on a Western Zhou date while the majority follow Qian Mu and Gu Jiegang in assigning the work to about the 3rd century BC. Yu Yingshi argues for a date in the late Warring States period based on a comparison of titles in the text with extant bronze inscriptions and calendrical knowledge implicit in the work^[1][2][3]

Contents

The book is divided into six chapters:^[4][5]

1. Offices of the Heaven (天官冢宰, Tianguan Zhongzai) on general governance;
2. Offices of Earth (地官司徒, Diguan Situ) on education;
3. Offices of Spring (春官宗伯, Chunguan Zongbo) on social and religious institutions;
4. Offices of Summer (夏官司馬, Xiaguan Sima) on the army;
5. Office of Autumn (秋官司寇, Qiuguan Sikou) on justice;
6. Office of Winter (冬官考工記, Dongguan Kaogongji) on population, territory, and agriculture.

In the 12th century, it was given special recognition by being placed among the Five Classics as a substitute for the long-lost sixth work, the Classic of Music.

Record of Trades

A part of the Winter Offices, the "Record of Trades" (考工記, Kaogong Ji) contains important information on technology, architecture, city planning, and other topics. A passage records that "The master craftsman constructs the state capital. He makes a square nine li on one side; each side has three gates. Within the capital are nine north-south and nine east-west streets. The north-south streets are nine carriage tracks in width".

References

Chinese Wikisource has original text related to this article: Rites of Zhou (in Chinese)

• Jin Chunfeng (1993). New examinations on the composition of the Zhouguan and on the culture and age reflected in the classic. Taipei: Dongda Tushu Co. ISBN 957-19-1519-X. 
• Lu Youren (2001). '%20) "Summary on Zhouli". Journal of Henan Normal University (Philosophy and Social Sciences Edition). 

Bibliography

• Nylan, Michael, The Five 'Confucian' Classics, New Haven (Yale University Press), 2001, ISBN 0-300-08185-5, Chapter 4, The Three Rites Canon pp. 168–202.
• Boltz, William G., 'Chou li' in: Early Chinese Texts. A Biliographical Guide (Loewe, Michael, ed.), pp. 24–32, Berkeley: Society for the Study of Early China, 1993, (Early China Special Monograph Series No. 2), ISBN 1-55729-043-1.
• Karlgren, Bernhard, 'The Early History of the Chou li and Tso chuan Texts' in: Bulletin of the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquites, 3 (1931), pp. 1–59

External links

• Rites of Zhou (Chinese)
• Rites of Zhou (French)