On Confucian Family Ritual Life

Famlily rites was recorded as early as in Rites and Comments on Rites. Theyoriginated along as Chinese civilization came into shape and became a relative stabletraditional way of life of Chinese people.As the changes of dynasties and ritualsystems, family rites also experienced flourish and desolated time. Zhu Xi of SongDynasty did studies on ritual systems, wrote Family Rites,referring to Shuyi by SimaGuang,and practiced it he himself. With the help of polititians and scholars FamilyRites broke the old saying that rites can not be pracitced by common people, instead,become a sample of confucian family ritual life. Family Rites was also introducd toKorea and Japan,being widely accepted and applied.Essentially, family ritual life this book showed is a religious life. Settlements ofblood-related families assorted by father power had been the ground of this life style.One’s life begins here and the meaning of life was culvated by the ritual life,whichshowed the transdental meaning and ultimate care and made up the Chinesecharacterized religious life.From outside,this life style has humanity value to pursue,sacred appliances and rites,religious orgnizations; from inside, it is a Chinesecharacteristic religious life which cares people’s affection in present life andultmately achieve the value as a human being. And, the successful changes made byZhu Xi showed the relation between rites and meanings.Family rites Zhu Xi wrote“had acient referrence and were simple to be carried out”. He deleted the rites out oftime and made it more appliable and also passed down the old spritual meanings. Ofcourse, his work also had limites of his time.As way of life, confucian family ritual life has universal meaning. In the rituallife, benevolence was considered as the basic value, which is universal. Meanwhile,family teaching in ritual life as way of passing down the values is a form of Chinesecharacterized religious life, aslo can be universally applied and passed down.In the past more than century, China experienced significent change. Traditonalfamily rites changed a lot both in meanings and forms. Values were a lot westernizedand old ceremonies were replaced by new ones. The change is still happening and yetfamily ritual life has no clear value to follow and a certain form to pracitce. It is hardto say where it is going.