礼乐

禮樂
lǐyuè
noun #84,094

Meanings

  1. 1 rites and music
  2. 2 ritual and music (Confucian system of social order)

Examples

Zhōugōng zhì lǐ zuò yuè, diàndìngle lǐyuè wénmíng.
The Duke of Zhou established rites and composed music, founding the civilization of ritual and music.
Kǒngzǐ zhǔzhāng huīfù lǐyuè zhìxù.
Confucius advocated restoring the order of rites and music.

Tips

culture
Note is read yuè (music) here, not lè (happy). 礼乐 is a foundational Confucian concept: (ritual / propriety) governs hierarchy and conduct, (music) harmonizes hearts and emotions. Together they were the Duke of Zhou's () system for ordering society, idealized by Confucius and central to texts like 《礼记》 (Lǐjì, 'Book of Rites').

Stroke Order