| Rites of Zhou | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Chinese name | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 周禮 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 周礼 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | Zhourites | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Vietnamese name | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Vietnamese alphabet | Chu lễ | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chữ Hán | 周禮 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Korean name | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hangul | 주례 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hanja | 周禮 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Japanese name | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kanji | 周礼 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kana | しゅらい | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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TheRites of Zhou (Chinese:周禮;pinyin:zhōu lǐ), originally known as "Officers of Zhou" (周官;Zhouguan), is a Chinese work on bureaucracy and organizational theory. It was renamed byLiu Xin to differentiate it from a chapter in theBook of History by the same name. To replace a lost work, it was included along with theBook of Rites and theEtiquette and Ceremonial – becoming one of three ancient ritual texts (the "Three Rites") listed among the classics ofConfucianism.
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 theWestern Zhou. With a vision based onWarring States period society,Mark Edward Lewis takes it as closely linked to the major administrative reforms of the period. He and Michael Puett compare its system of duties and ranks to the"Legalism" ofShang Yang, which is not to say that they had any direct relation.[1]
The book appeared in the middle of the 2nd century BC, when it was found and included in the collection ofOld Texts in the library of PrinceLiu De (劉德; d. 130 BC), a younger brother of theHanemperor Wu. Its first editor wasLiu Xin (c. 50 BC – AD 23), who credited it to theDuke of Zhou. Tradition since at least theSong 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 theFive Classics as a substitute for the long-lost sixth work, theClassic of Music.
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, followingKang Youwei, the book was often seen as a forgery by Liu Xin. Currently, a few holdouts continue to insist on aWestern Zhou date while the majority followQian Mu andGu Jiegang in assigning the work to about the 3rd century BC.Yu Yingshi argues for a date in the lateWarring States period based on a comparison of titles in the text with extant bronze inscriptions and calendrical knowledge implicit in the work.[2][3][4] 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.
The book is divided into six chapters:[5][6]
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 byÉdouard Biot asLe Tcheou-Li ou Rites des Tcheou, traduit pour la première fois du Chinois in 1850 and an abridged English translation edition calledInstitutes of the Chow Dynasty Strung as Pearls by Hoo peih seang and translated by William Raymond Gingell in 1852.[7][8]
In addition to theEtiquette and Ceremonial, the Rites of Zhou contain one of the earliest references to theThree Obediences and Four Virtues, a set of principles directed exclusively at women that formed a core part offemale education during the Zhou.[9]
A part of the Winter Offices, theRecord of Trades (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 nineli 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.[10]
