What do the five rites in ancient times mean?

The general name of ancient etiquette in China. Sacrifice is a ceremony, funeral is a fierce ceremony, military service is a military ceremony, guest service is a ceremony, and wedding is a ceremony, which are collectively called five ceremonies.

Ji Li: Ji Li is the crown of the Five Rites, which are mainly rituals to worship gods, earthly gods and ghosts.

Family gift: Family gift is the etiquette of harmonious interpersonal relationship and communication.

Li Bin: Li Bin is a gift for guests.

Military salute: Military salute is a ceremony for the division and brigade to perform conquest.

Fierce ceremony: Fierce ceremony is a kind of mourning and mourning ceremony.

Extended data:

Li Ji 1

The three basic elements of China's ancient cosmology are heaven, earth and man. "Li Yun" said: "The husband's ceremony must take the sky as the sky, the land as the dish, and the ghosts and gods as the table." Ji Li is the crown of the five rites, that is, the ritual of sacrifice. In order to sacrifice gods and ghosts, the objects of sacrifice are divided into three categories: people and ghosts, gods and earth images. There are mainly ritual activities such as offering sacrifices to heaven and earth, the sun, the moon and the stars, ancestors, countries and ancestral temples.

2. Fierce ceremony

Intense ceremonies are about sympathy, mourning and worry. "Li Zhouguan Chunzongbo" records: "Mourn the worries of the country with fierce ceremony, mourn the death with funeral ceremony, mourn the disaster with famine ceremony, mourn the disaster with hanging ceremony, mourn the defeat with ceremony, and mourn the chaos with funeral ceremony." It means mourning the country's crisis with fierce ceremonies, mourning death with funeral ceremonies, helping the epidemic of famine and epidemic diseases with famine ceremonies, mourning serious natural disasters and fire and water disasters with gifts, helping besieged and defeated allies with gifts, and sympathizing with neighboring countries suffering from domestic turmoil or chaos with gifts.

3. military salute

Military salute is about the etiquette of military activities. The king ruled the country by courtesy, making the world harmonious, and it is inevitable to encounter internal and external interference and even the threat of fire. "The Book of Rites and the Moon Order" records: "If you want to levy injustice, punish violence and slow down, be clear about likes and dislikes, and follow him away." Rites, pleasures and conquests are like two wheels of a car, which cannot be neglected.

The formation and management of the army can not be separated from the principle of propriety and righteousness. For example, the size of the army, the son of heaven is the sixth army, according to the principle of equal courtesy, the vassal's army must not exceed the sixth army, but it must be commensurate with the national strength, three armies of a big country, two armies of a small country and one army of a small country. The military strength at that time was often measured by the number of chariots. So there is a saying that the emperor multiplied by thousands, the princes multiplied by thousands, and the doctors multiplied by hundreds. The army must be strictly trained and managed in accordance with the principles of etiquette.

The military ceremony is divided into main ceremony, grand ceremony, field ceremony, big service ceremony and big sealing ceremony.

In addition, the army's chariots and horses, flags, weapons, military capabilities, camps, inspections, etc. Are carried out according to certain rituals.

4. Li Bin

Li is a ceremony to receive guests, that is, diplomatic exchanges between countries and ceremonial activities to receive guests. For example, the emperor made a pilgrimage by the vassal, was hired by the vassal envoy, was sent by the emperor to welcome the vassal, was paid tribute by the vassal envoys, and was given a banquet or envoy by the vassal. In addition, the meeting etiquette from princes to scholars is also a guest gift.

China has said since ancient times that "etiquette is 300, dignity is 3,000", and Mencius said that "a polite person respects others ... a person who respects others will always respect others". However, indecent assault cannot flourish, social indecent assault cannot be stable, and national indecent assault cannot be strong. It is difficult to describe the use of politeness. Rites guide people's behavior norms in the form of ethical externalization, which is not only a cultural accumulation, but also a guarantee for social order stability.

5. gifts

"Li Zhouguan Chunda Zongbo" records: be close to the people and be polite. Rites are the richest part of ancient etiquette, inherited from the throne to drinking ceremony in the countryside, wedding crown and he qing. Its main contents include the ceremony of eating and drinking, the wedding crown, the ceremony of shooting guests, the wedding ceremony, the wedding ceremony, the ceremony of He Qingzhi, and the ceremony of changing the throne to Yuan.

Gift is a kind of etiquette, which is used to coordinate interpersonal relationships, communicate and connect feelings. The ancients usually kissed their relatives and brothers with the gift of food and drink, consummated the marriage of men and women with the gift of wedding crown, contacted old friends with the gift of guest shooting, and entertained guests from all over the world with the gift of He Qingzhi. Although the absolute monarchy was abolished, many meaning of etiquette remained, especially the wedding ceremony, which has become one of the most important rituals in modern life.

References:

Five gifts _ Baidu Encyclopedia