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Confucian ritual religion (s 礼教, t 禮教 Lǐjiào, "rites' transmission", also called 名教 Míngjiào, the "names' transmission"), or the Confucian civil religion, [1] defines the civil religion of China.
The rituals and practices of li are dynamic [clarification needed] in nature. Li practices have been revised and evaluated throughout time to reflect emerging views and beliefs. [9] [4] Although these practices may change, which happens very slowly over time, the fundamental ideals remain at the core of li, which largely relate to social order.
The report of the Taiwan Old Practices Survey published in 1910 positioned Confucianism as a religion, stating, "Confucianism is the ancient doctrine of the saints and kings as ancestrally described by Confucius and Mencius, which includes religion, morality and politics, and the three are integrated into a large religious system. [76]
This social vision defined society not as an adversarial system based on contractual relations but as a network of kinship groups bound by cultural identity and ritual practice, socially responsible for one another and the transmission of proper antique forms. The four functional occupations are cooperative (farmer, scholar, artisan, merchant).
Confucianism focuses on societal rules and moral values, whereas Taoism advocates simplicity and living happily while in tune with nature. On the other hand, Buddhism reiterates the ideas of suffering, impermanence of material items, and reincarnation while stressing the idea of reaching salvation beyond.
The Book of Rites, along with the Rites of Zhou (Zhōulǐ) and the Book of Etiquette and Rites (Yílǐ), which are together known as the "Three Li (Sānlǐ)," constitute the ritual section of the Five Classics which lay at the core of the traditional Confucian canon (each of the "five" classics is a group of works rather than a single text).
The idea of a "Confucian Church" as the state religion of China was proposed in detail by Kang Youwei as part of an early New Confucian effort to revive the social relevance of Confucianism. The idea was proposed at a time when Confucianism was not institutionalized, after the collapse of the Qing dynasty and the Chinese empire. [3]
The word Gwanhonsangje (冠婚喪祭) was first used in the classic book Ye-gi (예기禮記), and has since been used in many other works describing various rites. Similar weddings and other practices have been observed since the period of the Three Kingdoms, [1] [2] although it is unclear whether the concept of a Confucian wedding ceremony was firmly established at that time.