The Dysfunction of Ritual in Early Confucianism

Download or read book The Dysfunction of Ritual in Early Confucianism written by Michael David Kaulana Ing and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2012-11-15 with total page 298 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Michael Ing's The Dysfunction of Ritual in Early Confucianism is the first monograph in English about the Liji--a text that purports to be the writings of Confucius' immediate disciples, and part of the earliest canon of Confucian texts called ''The Five Classics,'' included in the canon several centuries before the Analects. Ing uses his analysis of the Liji to show how early Confucians coped with situations where their rituals failed to achieve their intended aims. In contrast to most contemporary interpreters of Confucianism, Ing demonstrates that early Confucian texts can be read as arguments for ambiguity in ritual failure.