The ancients believed that propriety should determine dignity, righteousness should be the criterion of action, honesty should be upright, and shame should be felt. In ancient China, ceremony was a social system and moral standard. As a legal system, it is the embodiment of the social and political system, and it is the etiquette in maintaining the superstructure and the corresponding interpersonal communication. As a moral code, it is the standard and requirement of all actions of state leaders and nobles. Before Confucius, there were Li Xia, Li Yin and Zhou Li. The ritual system of Xia, Yin and Zhou Dynasties was relatively perfect in the Duke of Zhou. As an ideological form, etiquette is inseparable from "benevolence" in Confucius' ideological system. Confucius said, "If people are heartless, what is a gift?" He advocated the rule of virtue, that is, rule of virtue by virtue and rule of virtue by courtesy, which broke the restriction that "courtesy cannot surpass Shu Ren". During the Warring States Period, Mencius regarded benevolence, righteousness, propriety and wisdom as the basic moral norms, and propriety as "resigned heart", which became one of the virtues of human beings. Xunzi paid more attention to ceremony than Mencius. He wrote On Ceremony, which demonstrated the origin and social function of "ceremony". In his view, courtesy makes everyone in society have a proper position in the hierarchy of nobility, age, wealth and so on. In the long-term historical development, etiquette, as the moral standard and life standard of China society, has played an important role in cultivating the spiritual quality of the Chinese nation. At the same time, with the change and development of society, ceremonies are constantly endowed with new contents, constantly changing and adjusting.

In the feudal era, etiquette maintained the social and political order, consolidated the hierarchical system, and adjusted the norms and standards of various social relations and rights and obligations between people. Rites are one of the sources of ancient laws in China and an important part of ancient laws in China.

Confucius (see) said, Yin gain and loss are due to the ceremony of summer, and Zhou gain and loss are due to the ceremony of summer. This shows that the Xia and Yin dynasties have exchanged courtesy. Confucius also said that he could talk about Li Xia and Li Yin, but because of the lack of literature, although he could talk about them, he could not "levy them". In other words, the ceremony changes with the changes of the times, and it cannot be regarded as an absolutely unchanging rigid content and blindly retro.

The ritual system formulated by the Duke of Zhou was more complete than that of the previous generation, and it developed to the degree of "melancholy literary talent" (eight books of the Analects of Confucius), which amazed Confucius and declared that "I follow Zhou". Zhou people are famous for "respecting ceremony". During the Spring and Autumn Period, the royal family declined, the rites and music were conquered by the princes, accompanied the ministers in their national life, and the hierarchy was destroyed. The ruler abused the rites and music at will, so Sima Qian said that "when Confucius was born, the rites and music were abolished" (Historical Records Confucius Family). However, due to the perfection and thoroughness of the ritual system in the Zhou Dynasty, it was still wanted by the literati and tried to restore it. During the Spring and Autumn Period, people before Confucius, such as Shi Fu, Neishi, and contemporaries of Confucius, such as Shuxiang, Yan Ying and You Ji, all talked about a lot of etiquette. But Confucius was the first person with the most etiquette and his own system. He taught his disciples with poems, books, rituals and music all his life. There are 75 records about rites in The Analects of Confucius. According to Yang Bojun's statistics in The Analects of Confucius, he explained the importance of courtesy in theory, and governing the country must be polite. Rite and benevolence are the core of Confucianism.

The center of ceremony is social relations, and all social structures are derived from ceremony. This is a complete and clear understanding of the relationship between Confucianism and modern social theory. Etiquette in Confucianism does not only refer to general etiquette, but is just an expression of following etiquette (social relations). The essence of ceremony is social relations, and what kind of social relations have what kind of ceremony, so three generations of different ceremonies (Xia, Shang and Zhou) also keep pace with the times.

The ideal feudal social order advocated by Confucianism is the distinction between nobility and inferiority, between young and old, and between relatives and friends, which requires people's lifestyle and behavior to conform to their status within the family and social and political status. Different identities have different codes of conduct, which is politeness. Rites have distinct class nature and differences. Therefore, the ancients pointed out that the characteristics of etiquette are "different" (Xunzi Yue Lun) or "different" (The Book of Rites and Music). During the Spring and Autumn Period, the Warring States Period and the Han Dynasty, people who talked about the ceremony unanimously emphasized that the function of the ceremony is to maintain social differences based on hierarchy and blood relationship, which can best explain the meaning and essence of the ceremony. Xunzi (see Xun Kuang) said: "There are always points in human nature, which are greater than points, and points are greater than courtesy." Another cloud said: "Therefore, the case of the former king aims to divide the courtesy and justice, so that the distinction between the noble and the humble, the difference between the old and the young, and the ability to know wisdom and stupidity can make everyone get his own things and his own place." The Book of Rites says: "Therefore, the philosophers decided to be close to each other, be suspicious, seek differences and distinguish right from wrong." Another cloud said, "Kill relatives, respect the virtuous, etc. It is also a gift. " Han Feizi (see Han Fei) said: "Courtesy ... the friendship between the monarch, the minister and the father is also expensive and unworthy." Dong Zhongshu Yun: The owners are arranged according to grade, grade, size and distance. "White Tiger with Tongde Theory" says: Rites are "orderly, upright and humane." All these words prove that courtesy is a different code of conduct, and it is by no means a universal norm that is universally applicable. Rites vary from person to person, so "different positions, different manners" ("Zuo Zhuan Zhuang Gong Eighteen Years"). Everyone must choose the ceremony corresponding to his status according to his social and political status. People who meet this requirement are polite, otherwise it is immoral. For example, Bashu dance is a gift from the emperor, and Dr. Qing is only allowed to use four Shu. Lu Ji's family performed the emperor's ceremony with Qing, and the court held Bashu dance. Confucius thought it was disgraceful and said angrily, "This is tolerable, but why not?" Blocking the door with a tree against burial was a gift used by the monarch and was adopted by Guan Zhong. Confucius criticized him for not being polite. Ceremonies such as crowns, weddings, funerals, sacrifices, and rural drinking in past dynasties were all formulated according to the rank, rank, official position and non-official position of the parties, and there were complicated regulations on the costumes, utensils and ceremonies used, which could not be misused. In the family, the gifts of father and son, husband and wife and brothers are different. The gift of the Son of Man is to set a pillow mat for parents at night, greet them in the morning, tell them face to face when you go out, and tell them face to face when you come back, don't live in the southwest corner of the room (where distinguished people live), don't sit in the middle of the mat, don't take the middle road, don't stand in the middle of the door, and don't save private money. Only through different rituals can we determine the identities and behaviors of all kinds of people in the family and society, so that everyone can perform their duties. This is what "the monarch, minister, father, son and brother are unsightly" (Book of Rites Quli) means.

Both the ruling class and Shu Ren are bound by etiquette. The so-called "no less than Shu Ren" is not that Shu Ren is rude, but that Shu Ren has limited financial, material and time to prepare gifts. More importantly, the talents of nobles and doctors do not apply to Shu Ren. For example, in Shu Ren, there is no temple sacrifice. It is used for sleeping. Chen Ming Jiru's "The Story of the Imperial Emperor's Yen Gongjia Temple": "The non-commissioned officers who came and went in the temple in the Li Dynasty all bowed to the lower court, and () returned a piece of incense."

The content of ceremony is very extensive, involving all kinds of human behavior and national activities. "Book of Rites" said, "Living with courtesy can be divided into honour and inferiority; It is polite to live in a boudoir, so the three families are in harmony; It is a courtesy to the court, so the rank is orderly; Hunting in the wild is polite, so it is idle; And he was polite to the army, so he was successful in martial arts. It is the Palace Museum that gets the degree ... ghosts and gods get their entertainment, their mourning for discipline, their arguments about their political parties, the bodies of their officials and their management. " It can be seen that its scope is wide, "a gentleman has nothing but courtesy."

According to Confucianism, if everyone abides by the code of conduct that suits his own identity and status, he will "say goodbye by courtesy" and reach the status of "monarch, monarch, minister, father, son and son", so as to maintain the ideal social order and the country can maintain long-term stability. On the other hand, if you don't use rituals, or don't follow the code of conduct that conforms to your own identity and status, as Zhou Shi once said, "If you don't do rituals, you will feel dizzy", the ideal society and ethics advocated by Confucianism will not be maintained, and the country will not be able to rule. Therefore, Confucianism attaches great importance to the role of etiquette in governing the country and puts forward the slogan of governing the country with etiquette. Confucius said: "I am not good at governing the people by courtesy", and The Book of Rites said: "Courtesy is also the big handle of the monarch ... so it is necessary to govern Angu", which shows that courtesy is an important tool for the feudal ruling class to maintain its rule. "First is the political ceremony, and the ceremony is the foundation of its politics!" Confucianism believes that the rule of courtesy is politics. "Poem Fu Yun": "Rite is the rule of the body"; Confucius said: "Be polite to the country"; Yan Ying said: "Courtesy can serve the country for a long time"; "Zuo Zhuan" quoted the gentleman as saying: "Rite the country and build the country"; Yun Qi, the female uncle, said, "Courtesy is to defend the country and carry out its laws and regulations, and no one loses his people"; Xun Ziyun: "The life of a country lies in ceremony". From these words, we can fully see the close relationship between etiquette and politics, and the governance of the country depends on the rise and fall of etiquette. Therefore, Xunzi said: "The philosophers are extremely good at judging, the foundation of strengthening the country, and adding their own ways, making a name for themselves. The reason why the princes won the world is not to surrender the country "; "Book of Rites" says that governing the country by courtesy means that "officials get their bodies and politics get their uses", while governing the country by violence means that "officials lose their bodies and politics lose their uses". The conclusion is: "courtesy is prosperous, and the people govern; The ritual is abolished, and the chaos of the people is also. " Obviously, the ideal feudal society in the eyes of Confucianism cannot be established and maintained without etiquette and rule of etiquette.