Li and Change :: Confucianism Essays

Li and ChangeABSTRACT In this paper I ask the question of how change is effected in the li practices of a basically conservative society. I begin with a description of how li functions in society ideally and actually, arguing that they play a crucial role in society as the medium through which the Confucian objectives (the perfection of the self, the establishment of order within ones family, and the restoration and preservation of social order) atomic number 18 realized. The character of li suggests that li practices be evaluated in terms of their efficacy in realizing the Confucian objectives, for which participation in li is both necessary and sufficient. Yet, these objectives sink li practices, allowing individuals to evaluate li practices in terms of their efficacy in realizing Confucian objectives in the face of changing concerns and circumstances, and thereby affect the relevant changes in li practices. It is an adequate understanding of what the Confucian objectives entail and the structure of the situations one finds oneself in that inform evaluation of existing li practices. However, changes in li practices tamp place vis-a-vis a conservative attitude towards inherited social conventions, and it is this conservative attitude that provides stability and continuity despite flux. Changes in li practices atomic number 18 therefore gradual, and do not disrupt social order. 1. IntroductionThis essay is an attempt to understand the concept of li (commonly translated by commentators as rituals, rites, customs, or conventions) as elucidated in the Analects within the context of social change. Particular attention will be paid to how the Confucian understands li practices to function in a society, and how changes in li practices are effected. Thus, in what follows, I shall paying back seriously the notion of Confucianism as a practicable way of life. I take the concept of li (as it occurs in the Analects) to refer to the social conventions governing var ious aspects of human conduct (Analects, 1.12, 2.3, 2.5, 3.19, 4.13, 11.26, 12.1). As I understand it, li functions primarily as a social regulator in the realisation of the Confucian objectives namely, the perfection of the self, the establishment of order within ones family (which the Confucian understood as the basic unit of a society), and the restoration and preservation of social order. Each li practice consists of a set of actions, with detailed descriptions regarding ones attire, stance, and expressions (Book 10). corporation in li involves the skilful execution of the set of actions demanded by each li practice, accompanied by the appropriate dispositions and attitudes.