Book of Rites

Book of Rites
An annotated version of the Book of Rites, dated before 907
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	禮記
Simplified Chinese	礼记
Literal meaning	Record of Rites
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Lǐjì Wade–Giles Li3-chi4 Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Láih-gei Jyutping Lai5 gei3 Southern Min Hokkien POJ Lé-kì Middle Chinese Middle Chinese Léj-kì Old Chinese Baxter-Sagart *Rˤijʔ krə-s
Alternative Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	禮經
Simplified Chinese	礼经
Literal meaning	Rites Classic
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Lǐjīng Wade–Giles Li3-ching1
Korean name
Hangul	예기
Hanja	禮記
Transcriptions Revised Romanization Yegi
Japanese name
Kanji	礼記
Transcriptions Romanization Reiki

The Book of Rites or Liji, literally the Record of Rites, is a collection of texts describing the social forms, administration, and ceremonial rites of the Zhou dynasty as they were understood in the Warring States and the early Han periods. The Book of Rites, along with the Rites of Zhou (Zhouli) and the Book of Etiquette and Rites (Yili), which are together known as the "Three Li (San li)," constitute the ritual (li) section of the Five Classics which lay at the core of the traditional Confucian canon (Each of the "five" classics is a group of works rather than a single text). As a core text of the Confucian canon, it is also known as the Classic of Rites (Lijing), which some scholars believe was the original title before it was changed by Dai Sheng.

The Book of Rites is a diverse collection of texts of varied but uncertain origin and date, lacking the overall structure found in the other "rites" texts (the Rites of Zhou and the Etiquette and Ceremonial). Some sections consist of definitions of ritual terms, particularly those found in the Etiquette and Ceremonial, while others contain details of the life and teachings of Confucius. Parts of the text have been traced to such pre-Han works as the Xunzi and Lüshi Chunqiu, while others are believed to date from the Former Han period.

During the reign of Qin Shihuang, many of the Confucian classics were destroyed during the 213 BC "Burning of the Books." Fortunately for the preservation of this work, the Qin dynasty collapsed within the decade: Confucian scholars who had memorized the classics or hid written copies recompiled them in the early Han dynasty. The Book of Rites was said to have been fully reconstructed, but the Classic of Music could not be recompiled and fragments principally survive in the "Record of Music" (Yueji) chapter of the Book of Rites.