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A Reader’s Companion to the Confucian AnalectsRituals (the Li) and Spiritual Cultivation

A Reader’s Companion to the Confucian Analects: Rituals (the Li) and Spiritual Cultivation [Just as ancestor veneration cannot be practiced without ritual—the li—Confucius cannot be understood without appreciating the importance he attached to the concept. It is one of the more frequently occurring philosophical terms in the Analects, and the reader will see in the Concordance (Appendix II) that more English words have and can be employed to translate it than for any other Chinese character on the list. Written 禮, the left side of the graph is a stylized representation signifying “to display,” “to offer up,” and hence came to be associated with the spirits, while the right side means something like “plenty,” or “bountiful;” in its most ancient forms the graph appears to be either an altar with stones or jade tablets on it or in it; another interpretation of some archaic forms of the graph suggest vegetables sticking out of a sacrificial bowl mounted on a ritual tripod. Combined, “spirits coming to receive the sacrifice” might best approximate its original meaning.] http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png

A Reader’s Companion to the Confucian AnalectsRituals (the Li) and Spiritual Cultivation

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Publisher
Palgrave Macmillan US
Copyright
© Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Nature America Inc. 2013
ISBN
978-1-349-45414-3
Pages
48 –53
DOI
10.1057/9781137303394_12
Publisher site
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Abstract

[Just as ancestor veneration cannot be practiced without ritual—the li—Confucius cannot be understood without appreciating the importance he attached to the concept. It is one of the more frequently occurring philosophical terms in the Analects, and the reader will see in the Concordance (Appendix II) that more English words have and can be employed to translate it than for any other Chinese character on the list. Written 禮, the left side of the graph is a stylized representation signifying “to display,” “to offer up,” and hence came to be associated with the spirits, while the right side means something like “plenty,” or “bountiful;” in its most ancient forms the graph appears to be either an altar with stones or jade tablets on it or in it; another interpretation of some archaic forms of the graph suggest vegetables sticking out of a sacrificial bowl mounted on a ritual tripod. Combined, “spirits coming to receive the sacrifice” might best approximate its original meaning.]

Published: Nov 5, 2015

Keywords: Ancient Form; Stylize Representation; Ritual Propriety; Philosophical Term; Spiritual Cultivation

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