The Evolution Of The Concept Of "Lisu" In Medieval China And Its Descriptive Catalogue Of Documents

The documents of "lisu"(rituals between the categories of the ceremony and the custom)are important material for the study of Chinese traditional culture.However,the concept of "lisu" has been obscure for a long period.According to different researchers,the category of "lisu" varies to a large extent,which makes it difficult to define its concept precisely either from its connotation or from its denotation.Therefore,there lacks representative works on the collection,compilation and research of the literature of "lisu".Concerning the above situation,this paper intends to define the concept of "lisu",and to compile its literature.First,this paper discusses the connotations of li(ceremonies),su(customs)and "lisu",and then categorizes these three terms in order to clarify the concept of "lisu".Second,this paper combs the development of "lisu"according to the thread of the straggle between the monarchical power and the clan power in Chinese history,and discovers that the clan power had a stronger vitality than the monarchical power did in mediaeval China.Therefore,"lisu" stood out thanks to the clan power,and became exceptional in medieval China.Hence,this paper focuses on analyzing "lisu" in mediaeval China.Based on the basic features of"lisu" from my analysis,I select the relevant documents from catalogues of traditional Chinese books,and compile a descriptive catalogue of the documents of "lisu" in mediaeval China.