On The Theory Of Rites In "The Gentleman Says" In Zuo Zhuan

The comments starting with “The gentleman says” is a series of historical commentaries attached to the narrative in Zuo Zhuan,which in total appears 87 times.As a medium for historians to express their ideas,“The gentleman says” uses alternative,refined language to show readers the mainstream views of major social and political events of that era.From the full text of Zuo Zhuan,this thesis extracts “The gentleman says” as a complete and independent ideological system,takes “the theory of rites” as the starting point,extending to the specific practice of rites at home and abroad.It also discusses the political ethics in“The gentleman says” in order to enrich the understanding of it,and even the political trend of thought during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods.This thesis is divided into four chapters.In the first chapter,“The overview of ‘The gentleman says' in Zuo Zhuan”,by analyzing the meaning of the word “gentleman”,the author illustrates the significance of the book's author's argument under the name“gentleman”,and points out that these comments can be viewed to reflect the mainstream trend of thought in that era;In the second chapter,“Rites as the highest principle: ‘stabilizing the country and the society'”,this thesis sorts out the comments about rites in “The gentleman says”,and expands the idea from the important position of rites to the core principles of the rites in “The gentleman says”,more flexible application attitude,as well as the connection and difference between rites and instruments.In the third chapter,“Inside rites: the monarch-servant relations” and the fourth chapter,“Outside rites: diplomatic relations and the art of war”,the thesis starts from the specific application of the theory of rites in the domestic and foreign political field,covering the political ideas in “The gentlemen says”,such as monarch-servant relations,diplomacy and war,to illustrate how the theory of rites played a concrete role in the social context of the time.In conclusion,the most prominent feature of “The gentleman says” is the emphasis on the practicality and utilitarianism of rites as a political tool.This is a faithful reflection of thedecline of kingship and the rise of hegemony during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods,and it is also an inevitable product of the social transition period.From the perspective of the evolution of Confucianism,the moral factors of rites emphasized by Confucius have taken a step back at this time,and the social factors of rites have become more prominent.The utilitarian and practical colors of rites are constantly enhanced.