The Book of Rites is an anthology of Confucian scholars' articles from the Warring States Period to the Qin and Han Dynasties, and a compilation of Confucian thoughts. There is more than one author of The Book of Rites, and the time for its completion also follows. Most of the chapters may be the works of Confucius' 72 disciples and their students, as well as other ancient books and records in the pre-Qin period.
According to legend, The Book of Rites was jointly compiled by Dade, a ritual musician in the Western Han Dynasty, and his nephew Dai Sheng. Eighty-five pieces of Selected Works of Great Virtue were called "Dai Dai Li Ji", but in the later circulation process, only thirty-nine pieces were left in the Tang Dynasty. Dai Shengxuan's forty-nine articles are the Book of Rites of Little Dai that we saw today. These two books have their own emphases and choices, and each has its own characteristics. At the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Zheng Xuan, a famous scholar, made an excellent interpretation of The Book of Rites of Little Dai. Later, this book became popular, and gradually became a classic from the works explaining scriptures. It is listed as one of the "Nine Classics" in the Tang Dynasty and one of the "Thirteen Classics" in the Song Dynasty, and it is a must-read book for scholars.
The Book of Rites was written by many people and collected all kinds of ancient books. Its content is extremely complicated and its arrangement is also very chaotic. Later generations used the method of classification to study it. In the Eastern Han Dynasty, Zheng Xuan divided 49 articles into eight categories: general introduction, system, sacrifice, funeral and auspicious. Liang Qichao in modern times is divided into five categories: one is the general theory of etiquette and scholarship, including Li Yun, Jing Jie, Yue Ji, Xue Ji, University, Doctrine of the Mean, Confucianism, Ji Fang, Biao Ji and Yi Yi. Explain "Yili" 17, including, faint Yi, rural drinking Yi, shooting Yi, hiring Yi, mourning and so on. There are three stories about Confucius' words and deeds or his disciples' timely chores, namely, Confucius' idle residence, Confucius' smoking utensils, Tan Gong and Wen. Four kinds of ancient institutional ceremonies were recorded and verified, including Quli, Yuzao, Wei, Yi, Jiao, Si system, Si law, Chuan, Si and Si. Fifthly, there are proverbs and famous sentences in Quli, Shao Yi and Entering the Bank. The classification and division of beams have certain reference value for us.