ChinaKnowledge.

de -
An Encyclopaedia on Chinese History, Literature
and Art

HOME H /P L L /S A

P R

Zhouli 周禮

LITERATURE > CONFUCIAN CLASSICS

C C A
Jul 24, 2010 © Ulrich Theobald I /G
Y Zhouli 周 禮 "Rites of the Zhou" is a decription of T
the putative organisation of the government during
S the W Z 西周 (11th cent.-770 BCE). G
It is one of the three classics on rites (sanli 三禮) and Z P L
S one of the Thirteen C C . It was
compiled during the W S 戰國 H P L
Z (5th cent.-221 BCE) and was known under the L
names Zhouguan 周 官 "The offices of the Zhou" or P D
Y Zhouguanjing 周 官 經 "Classic of the offices of the
S ,T ,F
Zhou". Only during the F H 前漢 (206 D L
L BCE-8 CE) did the bibliographer L X 劉 歆 (d. 23
CE) give the text the name Zhouli. S ,L ,J
D L
C -Z
The Three Ritual Classics (Sanli 三禮) Y P L
X 周禮 Zhouli The "Rites of the
M P L
Zhou"
M Q P L
儀禮 Y "Etiquette and Rites"
R L
L 禮記 L "Record of Rites"
M L
Commentaries
Z
三禮圖 S (Han) 鄭玄 Zheng
D Xuan
三禮圖集注 S (Five Dynasties) 聶崇
C
義 Nie Chongyi
B M Related to the "Rites of the Zhou"

考工記 K "Records on the

E
Examination of
Craftsmanship"
L
The book consists of six parts corresponding to the
[E L ] six ministries (liubu 六部) which, according to ancient
cosmology, were correlated to Heaven, Earth, and
H the four seasons. There are 376 state officials in
S total, with subaltern secretaries numbering many
thousands. The Ministries, their cosmology and
M structure are:
P
Table 1. The Six Ministries decribed in the Zhouli
B -L 天官 tianguan Celestial Offices
C
冢宰 Chief Minister 治官 "regulating
zhongzai zhiguan offices"
63 officials looked after the royal palace and its
administration, as well as the core of the central
government
地官 diguan Terrestrial Offices

司徒 situ Overseer of 教官 "educational

Public Affairs jiaoguan offices"
(Minister of
Education)
78 officials looked after the local administration,
especially the royal domain around the capital, and its
inhabitants
春官 chunguan Spring Offices

宗伯 Overseer of 禮官 "ritual
zongbo Ritual Affairs liguanguan offices"
(Minister of
Rites)
70 officials looked after religious matters and the
education of state officials
夏官 xiaguan Summer Offices

司馬 sima Overseer of 政官 "governing

Military Affairs zhengguan offices"
(Minister of
War)
69 officials were responsible for warfare and
communication
秋官 qiuguan Autumn Offices

司冠 Overseer of 刑官 xing "penal

sikou Penal Affairs guan offices"
(Minister of
Justice)
66 officials were responsible for jurisdiction
冬官 dongguan Winter Offices

司空 Overseer of 事官 "affairs
sikong Public Works shiguan offices"
(Minister of
Works)
30 officials looked after dykes, canals, irrigation and
all other public works

Each chapter begins with a list of the whole staff

of one ministry, linke for instance, in the case of the
first Ministry:
Quotation 1. The Chief Staff of the Celestial Offices
大宰，卿一人； Grand Steward: one minister;
小宰，中大夫二 Junior Steward*: two 2nd-class grand
人； masters (dafu 大夫);
宰夫，下大夫四 Assistant Ministers of State: four 3rd-
人， class grand masters,
上士八人，中士 [furthermore a staff of] eight 1st-class
十有六人，旅下 servicemen (shi 士), sixteen 2nd-class
士三十有二人， servicemen, 36 4th-class
府六人，史十有 administrative officials, six
二人，胥十有二 storekeepers, twelve scribes, twelve
人，徒百有二十 assistants, and 120 attendants.
人。
Translation following Biot 1851, titles according to Hucker
1985 (barring *).

When the full listing is ended, the text continues

with a description of the particular officer's duties,
for instance:
Quotation 2. The Duties of the Grand Steward
大宰之職， The Grand Steward is entrusted with the
掌建邦之六 duty to found the six constitutions for the
典，以佐王 states, in order to support the sovereign in
治邦國： the administration of the kingdom.

一曰治典， The first is the constitution of

以經邦國， administration. By means of it the canvas
以治官府， for the states are formed, the officials are
以紀萬民； directed, and the peoples are divided.

二曰教典， The second is the constitution of (moral

以安邦國， and political) education. By means of it the
以教官府， states are consolidated, the officials
以擾萬民； instructed, and the peoples civilized.

三曰禮典， The third is the constitution of rites. By

以和邦國， means of it the states are harmonized, the
以統百官， officials brought into accord, and the
以諧萬民； peoples united in concord.

四曰政典， The fourth is the constitution of

以平邦國， commandment. By means of it the states
以正百官， pacified, the officials are rectified (as to
以均萬民； their ranks), and the peoples egalized (as
to their services).
；五曰刑 The fifth is the constitution of penalties. By
典，以詰邦 means of it the states are corrected, the
國，以刑百 officials punished, and the peoples
官，以糾萬 restricted.
民；
六曰事典， The sixth is the constitution of works. By
以富邦國， means of it the states are supplied, the
以任百官， officials activated, and the peoples
以生萬民。 nourished.
Following Biot 1851

The most frequently commented part of the Zhouli

is the chapter K 考 工 記 that reports on the
offices and work of the employees under the
Overseer of Public Works. It is a substitute for the
last chapter, the description of the Winter Offices
which was lost.
The Zhouli became part of the Classics thought at
the N U (taixue 太 學 ) only during
the reign of W M 王 莽 (r. 8-22 CE). The
usurper used this book to re-establish the universal
and state orders that were believed to have existed
under the early Zhou kings. With the downfall of
Wang Mang and the restoration of the Han dynasty
the Zhouli was banished from the curriculum of the
National University.
Liu Xin's disciple Du Zichun 杜子春 (c. 30 BCE-c. 58
CE) wrote a commentary on the Zhouli that was
known by the Confucian scholars Z X 鄭興,
Z Z 鄭眾, and J K 賈逵 (30-101). Zheng
Xing wrote the commentary Zhouguan jiegu 周官解沽,
M R 馬 融 (79–176) the commentary Zhouguan
zhuan 周 官 傳 , and Z X 鄭 玄 (127–200) the
Zhouguanli zhu 周官禮注. During the last decades of
the Later Han period 後 漢 (25-220 CE) the three
books Y 儀禮, L 禮記 and Zhouli were admitted to
the canon as the three ritual books.
Zheng Xuan believed in the authenticity of the
Zhouli as a book compiled on the order of the D
Z 周 公 (11th cent. BCE), during the
early Zhou period, while many others considered it to
be a forgery or a text concocted at a much later
date. During the S 宋 (960-1279) the
reformer W A 王安石 (1021-1086) used is as
a model, and was criticised for this by many of his
opponents who argued that the text was a fake and
that the administrative structure in this text had
nothing to do with the contemporary situation. The
N -C philosopher Z X 朱熹 (1130-1200)
was of the opinion that the text had been created by
the bibliographer Liu Xin on Wang Mang's order.
From then on, the text was largely neglected.
During the Q 清 (1644-1911), W
S 萬斯同 (1638-1702, author of Zhouguan bian
fei 周 官 辨 非 ), Y J 姚 際 恒 (1647-1715, Gujin
weishu kao 古 今 偽 書 考 ), M Q 毛 奇 齡 (1623-
1716, Jingwen 經問), and F B 方苞 (1668-1749,
Zhouguan bian wei 周官辨偽) likewise maintained that
the text was not produced earlier than the Han. K
Y 康 有 為 (1858-1927) was probably the most
vehement critic of the Zhouli and thought it had been
composed according to some statements in the book
G 管 子 , yet Mao Qiling, Wang Zhong 汪 中
(1745-1794, author of Zhouguan zhengwen 周官徵文)
and Wang Guowei 王 國 維 (1877-1927) also found
evidence that at least parts of the text had been
created during the Warring States period, for
instance, those on ritual music.
There are also many hints in contemporary
sources that the offices described in the Zhouli really
existed. Famous statements about the administrative
system of the Zhou, like M 's 孟子 description of
the "well-field" system ( 井田), or X 's 荀
子 description of the "royal regulations" (W 王
制) differ from that presented in the Zhouli. Thus it is
conceivable that the Confucians Mengzi and Xunzi
had different ideas about the royal administration
from the compilers of the Zhouli. The Confucians had
in mind a system that had existed during the
Western Zhou period, while the offices and
administrative processes described in the Zhouli
correspond to those existing during the Eastern Zhou
period, as can be seen by comparison with other
sources. After all it must be concluded that only a
few parts of the text were compiled during the Han,
and not, as many scholar had argued, the whole
book.
The high quality of Zheng Xuan's commentary
saved it from being excluded from the Classics, and
it obtained its fixed place within the Canon. During
the T 唐 (618-907) Jia Gongyan 賈 公 彥
wrote the commentary Zhouli yishu 周 禮 義 疏 with a
length of 42 . Both important commentaries
(Zheng Xuan and Jia Gongyan) were printed in a
joint edition during the Song period, called Zhouli
zhushu 周 禮 注 疏 . The third standard commentary is
S Y 's 孫詒讓 (1848-1908) Zhouli zhengyi 周禮
正義.
The Zhouli was translated completely (including
commentaries) by Édouard Biot, Le Tcheou-Li ou
Rites des Tcheou (Paris: Imprimerie Nationale,
1851). An English translation has not yet been made.
Sources:
Liu Qiyu 劉起釪 (1992). "Zhouli 周禮", in Zhongguo da baike quanshu
中 國 大 百 科 全 書 , Zhongguo lishi 中 國 歷 史 (Beijing/Shanghai:
Zhongguo da baike quanshu chubanshe), Vol. 3, 1603.

Further reading:
Nylan, Michael (2001). The Five "Confucian" Classics (New Haven:
Yale University Press).

2000ff. © Ulrich Theobald · M ·A