Li. which may be translated as rites, ritual or rules of decorum, has held a position of importance in Confucian philosophy ever since the Sage's lifetime (551-479 B.C.). To the individual, it means personal cultivation of character. To society, it means amicable relations among people. The Confucian li encompasses self-discipline, social order, friendship and democratic government.
Confucius valued li highly but he never formally defined the principle. Hsun Tzu (298? -238 B.C.) formulated the first definition of li in his chapter "On Li" in Hsun Tzu Li Lun:
"From whence does li arise? In reply, I say: Man has desires. When these desires are not satisfied, he cannot but pursue their satisfaction. When the pursuit is carried on without restraint or limit, there cannot but be contention. When there is contention, there is chaos. When there is chaos, there is dissolution. The ancient kings were disgusted by this chaos and instituted li and yi to limit it, so that man's desires might be nourished and their pursuit gratified. In this way, desires would not be frustrated by objects, nor would objects be used by desires; these two would balance each other. This is from whence li arises."
Li arises from human nature and the need to control man's desires and to avoid conflict. "Li Yun" chapter of the Book of Rites says:
"Gratifications of the appetite and of the senses are among the great desires that exist among mankind. Death, poverty and privation are among the great evils that exist. Desire and evil are the two extremes that exist. Man's nature is concealed and it is unfathomable. Good and evil both exist within this nature, and true colors are not revealed. Only li can serve to probe its depths."
Good and evil coexist in men's hearts. The good must be revealed and the bad checked. In doing this, a rule or measure must be formulated. This measure is li as defined by Hsun Tzu in terms of nature and elements of nature. The effects of li are to prevent conflict among men, avert conflict within the personality of each individual man, to control his emotions and to temper his passions so that he may achieve timelessness and moderation. The "Hsueh Erh" chapter of the "Analects of Confucius" says:
"In practicing the rules of propriety, a natural ease is to be prized. In the ways prescribed by the ancient kings, this is the excellent quality. And in things small and great we follow them. Yet it is not to be observed in all cases. If one, knowing such ease should be prized, manifests it, without regulating it by the rules of propriety, this likewise is not to be done."
Mencius makes the same point in the "Li Lo" chapter of Mencius:
"The richest fruit of benevolence (jen) is this - the service of one's parents. The richest fruit of righteousness (yi) is this - the obeying of one's elder brothers. The richest fruit of propriety (li) is this - the ordering and adoring of those two things."
Both Confucius and Mencius maintained that li controls and tempers man's emotions. It keeps man from going to extremes and helps him achieve a happy medium. Confucius said:
"One must be instructed on one's excesses and educated on one's lacks. Tzu Chan was like a mother to the people; he could feed them but not govern them."
"Tzu Kung then asked: 'What then is the desired medium?' Confucius said: 'Only through li can a desired mean be attained.' "
"Tseng Tzu addressed Tzu Ssu, saying: 'In mourning my parent, neither water nor gruel passed my lips for seven days.' Tzu Ssu said: 'In accordance with li the sage rulers would pay their respects to the deceased when passing;' even if not present, they would express their condolences. Thus in mourning a parent and not allowing water or gruel to pass your lips for three days is sufficient in making the last obeisance.' "
"Tzu Hsia emerged from mourning and was given a musical instrument, which when played gave forth inharmonious sounds. He said, 'While the sorrow remains fresh, there can be no exceeding the li of the former sage rulers.' When Tzu Chang emerged from mourning and was given a musical instrument, harmonious sounds came forth. He said, 'None dare fall short of the li of the former sage rulers'."
Disciples of Confucius regarded li as an instrument to temper man's impetuosity. Man's accomplishments were the outward manifestations of li. Confucius said:
"Where the solid qualities are in excess of accomplishments, we have rusticity; where the accomplishments are in excess of the solid qualities, we have the manners of a clerk. When the accomplishments and solid qualities are equally blended, we have the man of virtue."
Such embellishments as funerary utensils and mourning gowns are outward expression of li. The inner emotions are made known through the use of such material objects. Hsun Tzu observed:
"The superior man carefully develops what is within his power and does not desire what comes from Heaven. He progresses every day. The inferior man neglects what is within his power and seeks for what comes from Heaven, he degenerates every day."
Confucius said:
"It is by the Odes that the mind is aroused.
"It is by the Rule of Propriety (li) that the character is established.
"It is from Music that the finish is received."
"Respectfulness without the rules of propriety becomes laborious bustle; carefulness without the rules of propriety becomes timidity; boldness without the rules of propriety becomes insubordination; straightforwardness without the rules of propriety becomes rudeness."
Confucius also said:
"The superior man in everything considers righteousness (yi) to be essential. He performs it according to the rules of propriety (li)."
Confucius instructed K'ung Po Yu to learn the rules of propriety and pointed out their importance to man:
"He...said to me, 'Have you learned the rules of propriety? ' On my replying 'Not yet,' he added, 'If you do not learn the rules of propriety, your character cannot be established.' I then retired, and learned the rules of propriety."
Confucius stressed this same point in an instruction to Yen Yuan:
"Yen Yuan asked about perfect virtue. The Master said, 'To subdue one's self and return to propriety is perfect virtue. If a man can for one day subdue himself and return to propriety, all under heaven will ascribe perfect virtue to him. Is the practice of perfect virtue from a man himself, or is it from others?
"Yen Yuan said, 'I beg to ask the steps of that process.' The Master replied: 'Look not at what is contrary to propriety; listen not to what is contrary to propriety; speak not what is contrary to propriety; make no movement which is contrary to propriety.' "
Outward manifestations of these rules of propriety are found in the rites of worship. These include worship of ancestors, of mourning and of the gods and spirits. The Confucianists in general followed past practices, yet gave to these practices a new outlook. Confucius said:
"He sacrificed to the dead, as if they were present. He sacrificed to the spirits, as if the spirits were present."
"I consider my not being present at the sacrifice, as if I did not sacrifice."
Confucius was asked by his disciple Chi Lu about serving the spirits of the dead. Confucius said:
"While you are not able to serve men, how can you serve their spirits? - While you do not know life, how can you know about death? "
Confucius also said:
"To give one's self earnestly to the duties due to men while respecting spiritual beings; to keep aloof from them, may be called wisdom."
Confucius believed that no one who has had not fathomed the affairs of men could hope to know the spirits. Man has not yet discovered what life on this world is; how can he hope to know anything of life in the hereafter? Although Confucius never believed that spirits or ghosts existed, he would never state categorically that they did not exist. His attitude remained one of "respect" or "reverence." It is said of a scholar:
"In sacrificing, his thoughts are reverential."
But, if expressing this "reverence," one falls into the pitfall of superstitious belief in spirits or ghosts, then one can be accused of ignorance. Confucius considered such beliefs ignorant, yet remained reverent toward the spirits.
His disciple Tze Cheng once commented:
"Let there be a careful attention to perform the funeral rites to parents, and let them be followed when long gone with the ceremonies of sacrifice - then the virtue of the people will resume its proper excellence."
Hsun Tzu also said:
"If man prays for rain and then it rains, how is that? I would say, not strange. It would rain all the same even if no man prayed for rain. When people try to save the sun or moon from being devoured (eclipse), when they pray for rain in a drought, or when they solicit good omens before making an important decision - this is not because they think in this way they will get what they seek, but only to add a touch of ritual. Hence the superior man regards it as a matter of ritual, whereas the common people generally take it to be a sign of the supernatural. One who sees it as a matter of ritual will suffer no harm; one who sees it as a sign of the supernatural will suffer harm."
Confucius made this comment:
"It is not till a child is 3 years old that it is allowed to leave the arms of its parents. And three years' mourning is universally observed throughout the empire. Did Yu enjoy the three years' love of his parents? "
Hsun Tzu wrote in his chapter on Rites:
"Of all things between heaven and earth, all those with life and blood have the power of reasoning; and all with reasoning power know enough to love their own kind. If one of the larger birds or beasts should lose its mate, after a month or season it would certainly return and go about its old haunts. Then it would certainly walk back and forth, howl, now move and now stop, embarrassed, and not knowing what to do, before it can leave the place. Even the small ones, such as the gray finch, will twitter a moment before it can leave the place. How much more should man, with his superior intelligence, mourn his lost ones. Man's sorrow remains unexhausted even till death. A man of evil and undesirable ways who forgets his bereavement of the morning when evening comes is not even the equal of the birds and beasts. How then, can this man expect to live harmoniously among his fellow men? For a superior man, three years of mourning passes like 25 months, as a team of horses pass over a crevice in the road. Others may think this period too long. Hence, the early kings and sages established a mean period of mourning."
The Confucianists, in upholding this concept, assumed an attitude that was expressed by Confucius in this way:
"Treating the dead without love and respect is not humane and should not be. Treating the dead as one would the living is ignorant and should not be. It is for this reason that such funerary as imperfect bamboo, unfinished clay, rough wood, unstrung string instruments, inharmonious reed instruments and incomplete percussion instruments, should not be used in ceremonies honoring the dead as they would not be used in ceremonies honoring the living."
Hsun Tzu wrote:
"Li requires that life and death be carefully treated. Life is the beginning of man; death is the end of man. When man's end and beginning are both well treated, the tao of humanity is fulfilled: Hence the superior man respects the beginning and attends to the end. To treat them alike is the tao of the superior man and the refinement of li and yi. To exalt the living and belittle the dead is to respect one who has consciousness and neglect one who has lost it.
"Hence the tao of death is this: once dead, one cannot live again. Such being the case, the minister more completely fulfills the honor due to his sovereign, and the son the honor to his parents.
"The funeral rites are for the living to adorn the dead and to send off the dead as if they were living. In this way they are served like the living, the absent like the present, so as to make the end the same as the beginning."
"Lin Fang once asked what was the first thing to be attended to in li. The Master replied: 'A great question indeed! In festive ceremonies, it is better to be sparing than extravagant. In the ceremonies of mourning, it is better that there be deep sorrow than a minute attention to observances.' "
The Master said:
"In sacrificing, man's thoughts are reverential. In mourning, his thoughts are about the grief which he should feel. Such a man commands our approbation indeed."
Confucius said:
"In mourning rituals, if there is insufficient sorrow but too much ceremony, it would be better if the ceremony were lacking but the sorrow excessive. In sacrificial rites, if reverence should be lacking but there were an excess of ceremony, it would be far better if ceremony were lacking but there was an excess of reverence."
In the Chou ritual upheld by the Confucianists, li is listed first among the six arts to teach men. Li was a value bequeathed to the Confucianists from the past.
Confucius said:
"Chou had the advantage of viewing the two past dynasties. How complete and elegant are its regulations! I follow Chou."
But there were instances when he advocated the practices of the Four Dynasties. He said:
"Follow the seasons of Hsia. Ride in the state carriage of Yin. Wear the ceremonial cap of Chou. Let the music be the Shao with its pantomimes."
The Confucianists of old were experts in classical scholarship. They advocated moral virtue as the basis for social order. For more than 2,000 years, li has been the pivotal teaching of the Confucian school of thought.