# Rites of Zhou

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2nd-century BC Chinese bureaucratic text

"Zhou Li" redirects here. For the diplomat, see [Zhou Li (diplomat)](/source/Zhou_Li_(diplomat)).

Rites of Zhou Chinese name Traditional Chinese 周禮 Simplified Chinese 周礼 Literal meaning Zhou rites Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Zhōu lǐ Wade–Giles Chou1 li3 Hakka Romanization Ziu li Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Jāu láih Southern Min Hokkien POJ Chiu lé Middle Chinese Middle Chinese /t͡ɕɨu leiX/ Old Chinese Zhengzhang /*tjɯw riːʔ/ Vietnamese name Vietnamese alphabet Chu lễ Chữ Hán 周禮 Korean name Hangul 주례 Hanja 周禮 Transcriptions Revised Romanization Jurye Japanese name Kanji 周礼 Kana しゅらい Transcriptions Romanization Shurai

Part of a series on Confucianism Early history Spring and Autumn period Confucius Warring States period Mencius Xunzi Western Han Dong Zhongshu Gongsun Hong Fundamental concepts Tian Ganying Zhengming Xiao Sangang Wuchang Li Ren Xin Yi Schools Xuanxue Neo-Confucianism Han Learning Taigu school Lingnan Confucianism New Confucianism Progressive Confucianism Hermeneutic schools Old Text New Text By country Asia Korea Japan Vietnam Indonesia Americas United States Texts Ruzang Five Classics Classic of Poetry Book of Documents Book of Rites Book of Changes Spring and Autumn Annals Four Books Analects Mencius Doctrine of the Mean Great Learning Other texts Three Commentaries Rites of Zhou Ceremonial Rites Classic of Filial Piety Erya Organization Religious Confucianism Confucian ritual religion Confucian royal ancestral shrine Temple of Confucius Confucian churches and sects Holy Confucian Church Indonesian Confucian Church Universal Church of the Way and its Virtue Phoenix churches Xuanyuanism Shengdao Nanyang Confucian Association v t e

*[Lady Xuanwen](/source/Lady_Xuanwen) Giving Instruction on the Rites of Zhou* by [Chen Hongshou](/source/Chen_Hongshou), 1638

The ***Rites of Zhou*** ([Chinese](/source/Chinese_language): 周禮; [pinyin](/source/Pinyin): *zhōu lǐ*), originally known as "Officers of Zhou" (周官; *zhōu guān*), is a Chinese work on bureaucracy and organizational theory. It was renamed by [Liu Xin](/source/Liu_Xin_(scholar)) to differentiate it from a chapter in the *[Book of History](/source/Book_of_History)* by the same name. To replace a lost work, it was included along with the *[Book of Rites](/source/Book_of_Rites)* and the *[Etiquette and Ceremonial](/source/Etiquette_and_Ceremonial)* – becoming one of three ancient ritual texts (the "Three Rites") listed among the classics of [Confucianism](/source/Confucianism).

In comparison with other works of its type, the Rite's ruler, though a sage, does not create the state, but merely organizes a bureaucracy. It could not have been composed during the [Western Zhou](/source/Western_Zhou). With a vision based on [Warring States period](/source/Warring_States_period) society, [Mark Edward Lewis](/source/Mark_Edward_Lewis) takes it as closely linked to the major administrative reforms of the period, with a system of ranks and duties comparable to the ["Legalism"](/source/Chinese_Legalism) of [Shang Yang](/source/Shang_Yang).[1] While not implying a direct relation with Shang Yang, there are direct parallels between the text and Qin & Han dynasty law, codifying laws and officials for what were earlier morals and norms in ritual texts; e.g. prohibitions on the early hunting or harvest of still young animals.[2]

## Authorship

The book appeared in the middle of the 2nd century BC, when it was found and included in the collection of [Old Texts](/source/Old_Texts) in the library of Prince [Liu De](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Liu_De&action=edit&redlink=1) (劉德; d. 130 BC), a younger brother of the [Han](/source/Han_dynasty) [emperor Wu](/source/Emperor_Wu_of_Han). Its first editor was [Liu Xin](/source/Liu_Xin_(scholar)) (c. 50 BC – AD 23), who credited it to the [Duke of Zhou](/source/Duke_of_Zhou). Tradition since at least the [Song dynasty](/source/Song_dynasty) continued this attribution, with the claim that Liu Xin's edition was the final one.

In the 12th century, it was given special recognition by being placed among the [Five Classics](/source/Five_Classics) as a substitute for the long-lost sixth work, the *[Classic of Music](/source/Classic_of_Music)*.

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, following [Kang Youwei](/source/Kang_Youwei), the book was often seen as a forgery by Liu Xin. Currently, a few holdouts continue to insist on a [Western Zhou](/source/Western_Zhou) date while the majority follow [Qian Mu](/source/Qian_Mu) and [Gu Jiegang](/source/Gu_Jiegang) in assigning the work to about the 3rd century BC. [Yu Yingshi](/source/Yu_Ying-shih) argues for a date in the late [Warring States](/source/Warring_States) period based on a comparison of titles in the text with extant bronze inscriptions and calendrical knowledge implicit in the work.[3][4][5] In this view, the word "Zhou" in the title refers not to the Western Zhou but to the royal State of Zhou of the Warring States; the small area still directly under the king's control.

## Contents

Bronze chariot model based on a passage of the *Rites of Zhou*, "Make the criminal with his left foot cut off guard the gardens" (刖人使守囿; *Yuè rén shǐ shǒu yòu*)

The book is divided into six chapters:[6][7]

1. **Offices of the Heaven** (天官冢宰; *Tiānguān Zhǒngzǎi*) on general principles of governance, appointment of officials, guards, attendants and royal purveyors of provisions such as wine, jade, dried meat, vinegar... Descriptions on duties and responsibilities of officials, eunuchs and concubines;

1. **Offices of Earth** (地官司徒; *Dìguān Sītú*) on local governance, agriculture, taxation and division of land;

1. **Offices of Spring** (春官宗伯; *Chūnguān Zōngbó*) on ceremonies, music, rituals and divinatory practices;

1. **Offices of Summer** (夏官司馬; *Xiàguān Sīmǎ*) on the organization of the army;

1. **Office of Autumn** (秋官司寇; *Qiūguān Sīkòu*) on justice, punishments, legal system and court rites;

1. **Office of Winter** (冬官考工記; *Dōngguān Kǎogōngjì*) on public works, manufacturing, artisans, craftmanship and art.

The work consists mainly of schematic lists of Zhou dynasty bureaucrats, stating what the function of each office is and who is eligible to hold it. Sometimes though the mechanical listing is broken off by pieces of philosophical exposition on how a given office contributes to social harmony and enforces the universal order.

The division of chapters follows the six departments of the Zhou dynasty government. The bureaucrats within a department come in five ranks: minister (**qing** 卿), councilor (**da fu** 大夫), senior clerk (**shang shi** 上士), middle clerk (**zhong shi** 中士) and junior clerk (**xia shi** 下士). There is only one minister per department -the department head-, but the other four ranks all have multiple holders spread across various specific professions.

It was translated into French by [Édouard Biot](/source/%C3%89douard_Biot) as *Le Tcheou-Li ou Rites des Tcheou, traduit pour la première fois du Chinois* in 1850 and an abridged English translation edition called *Institutes of the Chow Dynasty Strung as Pearls by Hoo peih seang* and translated by William Raymond Gingell in 1852.[8][9]

In addition to the *[Etiquette and Ceremonial](/source/Etiquette_and_Ceremonial)*, the Rites of Zhou contain one of the earliest references to the [Three Obediences and Four Virtues](/source/Three_Obediences_and_Four_Virtues), a set of principles directed exclusively at women that formed a core part of [female education during the Zhou](/source/Women_in_ancient_and_imperial_China#Zhou_dynasty).[10]

## Record of Trades

Main article: [Ancient Chinese urban planning](/source/Ancient_Chinese_urban_planning)

A part of the Winter Offices, the *Record of Trades* (**[Kao Gong Ji](/source/Kao_Gong_Ji)**), contains important information on technology, architecture, city planning, and other topics. A passage records that, "The master craftsman constructs the state capital. He makes a square nine **[li](/source/Li_(unit))** on one side; each side has three gates. Within the capital are nine north-south and nine east-west streets. The north-south streets are nine carriage tracks in width". It was translated by Jun wenren as Ancient Chinese Encyclopedia of Technology Translation and Annotation of Kaogong Ji, the Artificers' Record.[11]

## References

### Citations

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Benjamin Elman, Martin Kern 2010 p.17,41,137 Statecraft and Classical Learning: The Rituals of Zhou in East Asian History [https://books.google.com/books?id=SjSwCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA41](https://books.google.com/books?id=SjSwCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA41) - Dingxin Zhao 2015 p.72. The Confucian-Legalist State. [https://books.google.com/books?id=wPmJCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA72](https://books.google.com/books?id=wPmJCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA72)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTESanft200840-41_2-0)** [Sanft 2008](#CITEREFSanft2008), p. 40-41.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** ["Zhou Ritual Culture and its Rationalization"](https://web.archive.org/web/20160328183014/http://www.iub.edu/~g380/1.8-Ritual-2010.pdf) (PDF). Indiana University. Archived from [the original](http://www.iub.edu/~g380/1.8-Ritual-2010.pdf) (PDF) on 28 March 2016. Retrieved 28 October 2016.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["Rites of Zhou - Classics of Confucianism"](http://www.chinaknowledge.de/History/Zhou/zhou-literature.html). *Cultural China*. Shanghai News and Press Bureau. Retrieved 28 October 2016.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Theobald, Ulrich. ["Chinese History - Zhou Period Literature, Thought, and Philosophy"](https://web.archive.org/web/20110712215506/http://history.cultural-china.com/en/173History868.html). *China Knowledge*. Archived from [the original](http://history.cultural-china.com/en/173History868.html) on 12 July 2011. Retrieved 28 October 2016.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-britannica_6-0)** ["Zhouli (Chinese ritual text)"](http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/114736/Zhouli). Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 25 July 2011.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-npm-roc_7-0)** ["Cultural Invigoration - Books"](http://www.npm.gov.tw/exh99/southernsong/en_02.html). Taipei: National Palace Museum (國立故宮博物院). Retrieved 25 July 2011.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** [*The Ceremonial Usages of the Chinese: B. C. 1121, as Prescribed in the "Institutes of the Chow Dynasty Strung as Pearls;" Or, Chow Le Kwan Choo ... Being an Abridgement of the Chow Le Classic*](https://books.google.com/books?id=44DPBVA1EpkC&q=institutes+of+the+chow+dynasty+strung+as+pearls). Smith, Elder, & Company. 1852.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** [*Le Tcheou-li ou Rites des Tcheou traduit pour la première fois du chinois par feu Édouard Biot: Tome 1*](https://books.google.com/books?id=4WBX43-ygsIC&q=Le+Tcheou-Li+ou+Rites+des+Tcheou,+traduit+pour+la+premi%C3%A8re+fois+du+Chinois.) (in French). Imprimerie nationale. 1851.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-FOOTNOTEKelleher2005496_10-0)** [Kelleher (2005)](#CITEREFKelleher2005), p. 496.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** Wenren, Jun (2017). [*Ancient Chinese Encyclopedia of Technology: Translation and Annotation of Kaogong Ji, the Artificers' Record*](https://books.google.com/books?id=t0PBtAEACAAJ). Routledge. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-8153-6738-3](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-8153-6738-3).

### Sources

Chinese [Wikisource](/source/Wikisource) has original text related to this article:

**[*Rites of Zhou* (in Chinese)](https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/zh:%E5%91%A8%E7%A6%AE)**

- Jin, Chunfeng (1993). *New examinations on the composition of the Zhouguan and on the culture and age reflected in the classic*. Taipei: Dongda Tushu Co. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [957-19-1519-X](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/957-19-1519-X).

- Lu, Youren (2001). ["Summary on Zhouli"](https://web.archive.org/web/20071007085245/http://218.17.222.243/was40/detail?record=1&channelid=13214&searchword=%20%28%20%C2%C0%D3%D1%C8%CA+%29+and+%28+%B1%EA%CC%E2%3D%27%A1%B6%D6%DC%C0%F1%A1%B7%B8%C5%CB%B5%27%20%29). *Journal of Henan Normal University (Philosophy and Social Sciences Edition)*. Archived from [the original](http://218.17.222.243/was40/detail?record=1&channelid=13214&searchword=%20%28%20%C2%C0%D3%D1%C8%CA+%29+and+%28+%B1%EA%CC%E2%3D%27%A1%B6%D6%DC%C0%F1%A1%B7%B8%C5%CB%B5%27%20%29) on 2007-10-07. Retrieved 2006-06-04.

- Sanft, Charles (2008). ["Notes on Penal Ritual and Subjective Truth under the Qin"](https://jstor.org). *Asia Major*. Third Series. **21** (2): 35–57. [JSTOR](/source/JSTOR_(identifier)) [41649941](https://www.jstor.org/stable/41649941).

## Bibliography

- Boltz, William G., 'Chou li' in: *Early Chinese Texts. A Bibliographical Guide* (Loewe, Michael, ed.), pp. 24–32, Berkeley: Society for the Study of Early China, 1993, (Early China Special Monograph Series No. 2), [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [1-55729-043-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/1-55729-043-1).

- Kelleher, M. Theresa (2005). ["San-ts'ung ssu-te"](https://books.google.com/books?id=dmCZmnFBypEC&pg=PA496). In Taylor, Rodney L.; Choy, Howard Y.F. (eds.). *The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Confucianism*. Vol. 2 N-Z. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group. p. 496. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-8239-4081-3](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-8239-4081-3).

- Karlgren, Bernhard, 'The Early History of the Chou li and Tso chuan Texts' in: *Bulletin of the Museum of Far Eastern Antiquites*, 3 (1931), pp. 1–59

- Nylan, Michael, *The Five 'Confucian' Classics*, New Haven (Yale University Press), 2001, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-300-08185-5](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-300-08185-5), Chapter 4, The Three Rites Canon pp. 168–202.

## External links

- *[Rites of Zhou](http://ctext.org/rites-of-zhou)* (in Chinese)

- *[Rites of Zhou](http://classiques.uqac.ca/classiques/chine_ancienne/auteurs_chinois.html)* (in French)

v t e Chinese classics and Confucian texts Four Books Great Learning Doctrine of the Mean Analects Mencius Five Classics Classic of Poetry Book of Documents Book of Rites I Ching Spring and Autumn Annals Thirteen Classics Classic of Poetry Book of Documents Rites of Zhou Etiquette and Ceremonial Book of Rites I Ching Commentary of Zuo Commentary of Gongyang Commentary of Guliang Analects Erya Classic of Filial Piety Mencius San Bai Qian Three Character Classic Hundred Family Surnames Thousand Character Classic Seven Military Classics The Art of War The Methods of the Sima Six Secret Teachings Wei Liaozi Wu Zi Three Strategies of Huang Shigong Questions and Replies between Tang Taizong and Li Weigong Mathematics Book on Numbers and Computation Ten Computational Canons The Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art Haidao Suanjing Shushu Jiyi Sunzi Suanjing Zhoubi Suanjing Others Bai Hu Tong Biographies of Exemplary Women Classic of Music Four Books for Women Lessons for Women School Sayings of Confucius The Twenty-four Filial Exemplars Xunzi

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