Confucianism Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ====Rite and centring==== [[File:Guan County Temple of Confucius.jpg|thumb|Temple of Confucius in [[Dujiangyan City|Dujiangyan]], [[Chengdu]], [[Sichuan]]]] [[File:Korean Confucianism-Chugyedaeje-02.jpg|thumb|[[Korean Confucianism|Korean Confucian]] rite in [[Jeju Province|Jeju]]]] {{Main|Li (Confucianism)}} ''Li'' ({{zh|labels=no|t=禮|s=礼}}) is a word which finds its most extensive use in [[Confucian]] and post-Confucian [[Chinese philosophy]]. ''[[Li (Confucianism)|Li]]'' is variously translated as '[[Ritual|rite]]' or '[[reason]]', 'ratio' in the pure sense of [[Veda|Vedic]] {{transliteration|sa|[[ṛta]]}} ('right', 'order') when referring to the [[cosmos|cosmic]] law, but when referring to its realisation in the context of human social behaviour it has also been translated as '[[convention (norm)|customs]]', 'measures' and 'rules', among other terms. ''Li'' also means religious rites which establish relations between humanity and the gods. According to Stephan Feuchtwang, rites are conceived as "what makes the invisible visible", making possible for humans to cultivate the underlying order of nature. Correctly performed rituals move society in alignment with earthly and heavenly (astral) forces, establishing the harmony of the three realms—Heaven, Earth and humanity. This practice is defined as "centering" ({{zhi|c=央|p=yāng}} or {{zhi|c=中|p=zhōng}}). Among all things of creation, humans themselves are "central" because they have the ability to cultivate and centre natural forces.{{sfnb|Feuchtwang|2016|p=150}} ''Li'' embodies the entire web of interaction between humanity, human objects, and nature. Confucius includes in his discussions of ''li'' such diverse topics as learning, tea drinking, titles, mourning, and governance. [[Xunzi (philosopher)|Xunzi]] cites "songs and laughter, weeping and lamentation{{nbsp}}... rice and millet, fish and meat{{nbsp}}... the wearing of ceremonial caps, embroidered robes, and patterned silks, or of fasting clothes and mourning clothes{{nbsp}}... spacious rooms and secluded halls, soft mats, couches and benches" as vital parts of the fabric of ''li''. Confucius envisioned proper government being guided by the principles of ''li''. Some Confucians proposed that all human beings may pursue perfection by learning and practising ''li''. Overall, Confucians believe that governments should place more emphasis on ''li'' and rely much less on penal punishment when they govern. Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page