Title

Using Poetry to Interpret the Rites: Perceiving Connections, Realizing Categories, and Practicing Ethics in Pre-Qin Rituals

Author

Lin, Su-chuan

Genre

Article  

Pages

519-558

Download

PDF

Language

Chinese  

Key words

rites, poetry, connections, ethics, interpretation, the people’s character

Abstract

      Pre-Qin interpretations of “rites” cited extensively from the Book of Odes in order to facilitate the interpretation of certain contexts. The practice of “analogizing categories,” for example, was a rhetorical method that implicated relationships with all things in nature and, through the mutual stimulation of qi氣, gave rise to issues related to both the original emotions and ethics. This article explains the spirit of Pre-Qin rituals and reconsiders the relationship between rites and “the people’s character” through reference to the poetic interpretation of rites as well as citations from the Book of Odes. At the same time, it argues that imagery from the Book of Odes produces possibilities for new connections and new meanings. The article moreover explores the significance of poetry, music, and dance in rituals as they are converted to blood, qi, body, and heart. Finally, in an effort to show how rites can be lively and emotional, it considers how rituals can be read as responses to the nature, the body, and ethics.