On The Literary And Artistic Thoughts Of The Book Of Rites

Rite plays an important part in Traditional Chinese Culture. As document collectionof Confucian ritual study, the Book of Rites gives detailed description of parts of Musicceremonies and daily norms of ancient people, so as to provide full and accurateinformation to recover the life scenes of ancient people and investigate their livingcondition. However, the essence of the Book of Rites lies in early Confucians’ outlook onlife and world and their literary and artistic thoughts.Therefore, research on the literary and artistic thoughts of the Book of Ritespossesses important significance in profoundly understanding ancient Chinese traditionaltheory of literature and art and the development skeleton of literary and artistic thoughts.The introduction part begins with combing the text content of the Book of Rites,expounds its important role in the development stage of the Chinese literary history, so asto manifest the significance of this dissertation and explores the correct research methodby emphasizing a dialectical survey of the epic value of the Book of Rites.Based on the review of historical records and materials, Guodian Chu bamboo slipsand Warring States period Chu bamboo books in Shanghai Museum and other documentliterature, and on the basis of predecessors’ achievements, Chapter two discusses textsources, authors of each chapter, the writing date and editors of the book and severalother related issues, and then compares them with YiLi as evidence of the status andproperties of the Book of Rites in the Confucian classics.Chapter three elaborates the establishment of the classic concept of Rite and Music.Through the interpretation of origin, nature, orientation and moralizing function of Music,this chapter expounds the relationship between Rite and Music in Confucian thoughtsand its epic meaning. The core of the concept of Rite and Music in Confucianism isinterpreted from the presentation of the essentials and the non essentials of Music, theMusic levels and the function of Music, and that is Music serves Rites.Chapter four explores the ideological sprouts, origin and development of Rite andMusic in Confucian thoughts through the interpretation of ten categories of Rite and Music: content, form, nature, moderation, harmony, neutralization, gentle and kind,voice, sound and music, sacred music and decadent music.Chapter five makes a comparison between the literary and artistic thoughts of theBook of Rites with that of Confucius, Mencius and Xun Zi, the Great preface to the Bookof Odes, and Record of Ritual of Dai the Elder, classifies and clears up the developmentskeleton of the concept of Rite and Music in the pre-Qin period, so as to demonstrate thestatus and role of the literary and artistic thoughts of the Book of Rites in Confucianism.