Beijing attractions

 

“Renqing” is related to another Confucian concept “li”. We have already discussed “li” in above when I talk about Confucius philosophy. Here I should add that “li” in Chinese has many meanings in English expression such as “etiquette”, “decorum”, “protocol”, “rites”, “propriety”, “ceremony”, “rule of conduct”, “courtesy”, “politeness”, and so on. In Confucius’s time, however, the term “li” originally referred to “the social hierarchy and order of the salvery system of the Zhou Dynasty (dating back to 1100 B.C.), which regarded by Confucius as an ideal model of any society. It was not until the publication of the book “li ji” ( On li ) 200 or 300 years after Confucius that the current meanings of “li” came into use.

As we mentioned before, Confucianism stresses responsibility of individuals, who must behave according to certain prescribed principles of “li”. “li” . “li” dictes the manner in which Chinese position themselves in hierarchical society and perform their roles accordingly. Therefore, “li” can be understood as doing the proper things with the right people in the appropriate relationships.