The Yili (仪礼; literally "Etiquette and Rites") or Book of Etiquette and Ceremonial is a Chinese classic text about Zhou Dynasty rituals. The Yili, Zhouli 周礼 "Zhou Rites", and Liji 礼记 "Record of Rites" — collectively known as the "three ritual texts" — are Confucianist compilations of records about rites, ceremonies, protocols, and social customs.
Title
The title Yili combines the Chinese words yi 仪 "demeanor; appearance; etiquette; ceremony; rite; present; gift; apparatus" and li 礼 "ceremony; rite; ritual; courtesy; etiquette; manners; propriety; social customs". In modern Standard Mandarin, the compound yili 仪礼 means "etiquette; rite; protocol".
This ritual text was first called Yili in the (ca. 80 CE) Lunheng. During the Han Dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE), it was also called Shili 士礼 "Rites for Common Officers", Lijing 礼经 "Classic of Rites", Ligujing 礼古经 "Old Classic of Rites", or simply Li 礼 "Rites". Among Zhou Dynasty feudal ranks, this shi 士 was a "low-level noble; yeoman; common officer; scholar".
History
Many early Chinese texts were lost during the Qin Dynasty (213-206 BCE) burning of books and burying of scholars. When texts were restored during the early Han Dynasty, the Yili was extant in two versions: "Old Text" (supposedly discovered in the walls of Confucius's residence) and "New Text" (supposedly transmitted orally). Zheng Xuan (127–200) compiled an Yili edition from both the Old and New Text versions and wrote the first commentary. Wang Su (195-256 CE) wrote two books about the Yili and criticized Zheng, but Zheng's version became the basis for later studies and editions.
The Yili text was carved into the 837 CE Kaicheng Stone Classics, and first printed from woodblocks from 932-953 CE. In 1959, archeologists excavated some 1st-century Han tombs at Wuwei, Gansu and discovered a cache of wooden and bamboo textual copies. They include three fragmentary manuscripts of the Yili, covering more than seven chapters.
The first Western translations of the Yili were in French (Charles-Joseph de Harlez de Deulin 1890 and Seraphin Couvreur 1916). John Steele (1917) translated the full text into English.
Content
