礼记 (Lǐjì): the Book of Rites

Meanings

1 the Book of Rites
2 Classic of Rites
3 Liji (Confucian classic)

Characters

礼

lǐ

ritual, ceremony, propriety

记

jì

record, account

Examples

《礼记》是儒家五经之一。

Lǐjì shì Rújiā wǔjīng zhī yī.

The Book of Rites is one of the Five Confucian Classics.

这句话出自《礼记》。

Zhè jù huà chūzì Lǐjì.

This sentence comes from the Book of Rites.

Tips

history

Compiled in the Western Han from earlier Zhou-dynasty ritual texts. One of the 五经 (Five Classics) of Confucianism alongside 诗经, 书经, 易经, 春秋. Contains the original 大学 (Great Learning) and 中庸 (Doctrine of the Mean) chapters before they were extracted as separate Four Books.