How many articles are there in The Book of Rites?

The original forty-six articles in the Book of Rites began with Quli and ended with the four-system funeral. However, due to the length of Quli, Tan Gong and Miscellaneous Notes, most versions are divided into two parts, so there are 49 articles.

The Book of Rites, also known as The Book of Rites of Little Dai and The Sutra of Little Dai, is said to have been written by Dai Sheng, a ritual scientist in the Western Han Dynasty. It is an important collection of laws and regulations in ancient China, with 20 volumes and 49 articles, which mainly records the ritual system in the pre-Qin period, and embodies the philosophical thoughts of the pre-Qin Confucianism, such as the outlook on heaven, world and life. Personal cultivation, education system, teaching methods, school management and other educational concepts; Political thoughts, such as educational politics, building a harmonious society, etiquette and criminal law; Aesthetic thoughts, such as the theory of feeling of things and the theory of harmony between rites and music, are important materials for studying the pre-Qin society, and also epitomize Confucianism.

The Book of Rites is one of the three rites, one of the five classics and one of the thirteen classics. Since Zheng Xuan annotated The Book of Rites in the Eastern Han Dynasty, the status of The Book of Rites has been rising day by day, and it was honored as "Jing" in the Tang Dynasty. After the Song Dynasty, it ranked first in the "Three Rites".