The Liji is a collection of forty-nine Ru (Confucian) texts whose dates of composition probably range from the Warring States period to the early Western Han. The received version of the Liji was edited by Dai Sheng during the reign of Han Emperor Xuan (r. 74-48 BCE), purportedly drawing from a longer collection of eighty-five documents edited by Dai Sheng’s uncle Dai De—the so-called Da Dai Liji (Elder Dai’s Record of Rites). The dating and textual history of the chapters of the Liji, as well as their relationship to the extant text of the Da Dai Liji (which now contains only thirty-nine documents), remain quite controversial.

The texts in the Liji are mostly, but not invariably, concerned with the rules and moral principles of ritual propriety. It was canonized as one of the five key Confucian classics under the Han dynasty, alongside the Odes, Documents, Changes, and Annals. Two of its chapters, the “Daxue” (Higher Learning) and “Zhongyong” (Equilibrium and Normality), acquired an even higher status from the twelfth century on, after the Neo-Confucian thinker Zhu Xi (1130-1200) grouped them with the Analects and the Mencius as the four Confucian texts most beneficial to moral self-cultivation.

Barbarians rarely make an appearance in the Liji documents, but one of them, the “Wangzhi” (conventionally dated to the early Western Han), claims to describe the customs of the Yi, Man, Rong, and Di peoples in the time of the early Western Zhou kings. This and a shorter, very similar document in the Da Dai Liji are the only extant descriptions of the “barbarian” way of life in Zhou times, but their accuracy is dubious. In addition, a conversation in the “Tan Gong” reflect the growing Confucian tendency to stereotype barbarians as lacking a sense of ritual propriety, thus representing ritual as a core feature of Chinese identity rather than just a Confucian concern. But words attributed to Confucius in the “Miscellaneous Records” imply that it was possible for exceptional barbarians to learn and exhibit ritual propriety.

~~~~~

From the document “Tan Gong”

[Confucius’s disciples] Youzi (You Ruo) and Ziyou were standing together and saw a child crying for his deceased parent. Youzi said to Ziyou, “I have never understood all these mourning dances and have long wished to dispense with them. A sincere display of emotion like this one—isn’t that the right way to go about it?”

Ziyou replied, “Among the rites, there are some intended to lessen the [display of] emotion, and others that purposely introduce things [to excite it]. To express one’s emotions spontaneously and uninhibitedly is the way of the barbarians (Rong-Di zhi dao). The way of ritual propriety is different….”

From the document “Wangzhi” (The True King’s Institutions)

Wherever people live, their bodily capacities are sure to vary according to the influence of heaven and earth, such as whether the climate is cold or hot, dry or humid, or whether the terrain is one of wide valleys or large rivers. The people born in these different places have different customs. [Under the sage-kings,] their temperaments, whether hard or soft, lighthearted or serious, slow or hasty, were made uniform by different measures; their preferences as to flavors were differently harmonized; their implements were differently made; their clothes were differently fashioned, but always suitably. They were taught, but without changing their customs, and the methods of governance were made uniform, but without changing the suitability in each case.

The peoples of the five regions, the Central States and the [four regions of the] barbarians (Rong-Yi), had each their own nature, which they should not be made to change. [Commentary by Zheng Xuan: The people of the five regions have each their own nature, which they cannot be made to change, and this is caused by the qi 氣 of the earth.¹]

The people to the east were called Yi. They left their hair untied and tattooed their bodies. Some of them ate their food without cooking it. Those to the south were called Man. They tattooed their foreheads and were pigeon-toed.² Some of them ate their food without cooking it. Those to the west were called Rong. They left their hair untied and wore animal skins. Some of them did not eat grains. Those to the north were called Di. They wore feathers and furs and dwelt in caves. Some of them did not eat grains.

The Central Lands, the Yi, the Man, the Rong, and the Di each had their fixed dwellings, their preferred flavors, their suitable clothing, their useful tools, and all the vessels and implements they needed. The people of the five regions had mutually unintelligible languages and different cravings and desires. To understand their aspirations and desires, interpreters were appointed: In the east, they were called ji; in the south, they were called xiang, in the west, they were called diti; and in the north, they were called yi.

[Note: The “Qiancheng” (A Thousand Chariots), a document found in the Da Dai Liji and conventionally dated to the Warring States period, contains what appears to be an earlier and shorter version of this description of barbarian peoples. It quotes Confucius saying:

“The people of the far east are called Yi. They are shrewd and greedy. In the furthest parts of the east, some eat their food without cooking it. The people of the far south are called Man. They are trustworthy and simple. In the furthest parts of the south, some eat their food without cooking it. The people of the far west are called Rong. They are vigorous and strong-willed. In the furthest parts of the west, some eat their food without cooking it. The people of the far north are called Di. They are fat and rebellious. In the furthest parts of the north, some eat their food without cooking it. Together with the people of the Central Lands, the peoples of the five regions each have their fixed dwellings and preferred flavors, and all have their useful implements and tools. One understands them through wisdom and commands them through good faith.”]

From the document “Zaji xia” (Miscellaneous Records, Part Two)

Confucius said, “Shaolian and Dalian were good at mourning. For the first three days, they did not rest. For the first three months, they did not slacken. For the first year, they did not stop grieving. For the whole three years of mourning, they remained sorrowful. And these were sons of the eastern Yi!”

[Commentary by Zheng Xuan: This means that though they were born among the barbarians (Yi-Di), they nonetheless understood ritual propriety.]

From the document “Zhongyong” (Equilibrium and Normality)

The noble man does what is proper to the station that he holds; he does not desire to go beyond this. In a position of wealth and honor, he does what is proper to a position of wealth and honor. In a poor and low position, he does what is proper to a poor and low position. When living among barbarians (Yi-Di), he does what is proper to living among barbarians.³ In a position of sorrow and difficulty, he does what is proper to a position of sorrow and difficulty. The noble man never finds himself in a situation in which he is not himself. In a position of power, he does not treat his inferiors contemptuously. In a humble position, he does not court the favor of the powerful. He rectifies himself and seeks nothing from others, so that he has no dissatisfaction. He does not resent Heaven or grumble against men. Thus it is that the noble man is quiet and calm, waiting for Heaven’s will, while the inferior man walks in dangerous paths, recklessly seeking opportunity.

---

1. Zheng Xuan lived toward the end of the Eastern Han dynasty. His commentary reflects the fact that by the early Eastern Han, the Chinese had begun to attribute the difference between Chinese and barbarians to the cosmological concept of qi. See Chapters 2 and 3 for more examples of such thinking. ↩︎
2. This appears to be an allusion to the use of Jiaozhi 交趾/交阯 as a name for a far southern region, which can be traced back to the third century BCE. The etymology of this name is uncertain, but the written version 交趾 literally means “crossed/intersecting toes,” which implies either pigeon toes or hallux varus. The Taiwanese scholar Chen Chingho 陳荊和 (1917-1995) argued that the name originally meant “Place of Jiao Dragons” (hence 蛟阯/蛟止), a reference to the many crocodiles along the far southern coast. However, there is no direct evidence to support this theory, as no premodern Chinese scholar drew a connection between 交 and 蛟. See Chen Chingho, “Jiaozhi mingcheng kao” 交趾名稱考, Wenshizhe xuebao 文史哲學報 4 (1952), which can be downloaded from Liam Kelley’s website here. ↩︎
3. This vague statement seems to mean that in barbarian lands, one should adapt oneself to barbarian ways rather than trying to change the barbarians. It was eventually interpreted by some as a justification for accommodating oneself to living under “barbarian” rulers and even serving them. ↩︎