In the history of ancient etiquette development, especially in etiquette theory, a set of systematic etiquette monographs was formed in the Western Zhou Dynasty. "Three Rites", namely Zhou Li, Yi Li and Li Ji, is the earliest etiquette monograph in China. Among them, many Zhou Dynasty ritual vessels were preserved. For more than 2,000 years after the Han Dynasty, they have been the classic works for the state to formulate etiquette system, and they are called "rites". Just like the famous saying recorded in the Book of Rites, "the beauty of words means that the beauty of language lies in humility, kindness and elegance, and we should know the courtesy of words." The Book of Rites also stipulates that people "must not slip, lose sight, or slip of the tongue. "This puts forward strict etiquette norms for interpersonal communication, that is, people's behavior should not be out of line, their attitude should not be rude, and their tone should not be rude. This kind of "courtesy" education has always been attached great importance in China.
During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, a hundred schools of thought contended, such as Confucius, Mencius and Xunzi. , studied and explored ethics. On the basis of research, they systematically expounded the origin and essence of etiquette, put forward many classic theories and wrote many famous chapters. For example, Confucius said in The Analects of Confucius: "Quality is better than literature, and literature is better than quality. Gentleness is a gentleman. " In other words, it is impolite to emphasize the simplicity of character without paying attention to etiquette; It is hypocritical to only pay attention to etiquette and appearance, such as the lack of simple character; Only those who pay attention to character and simple manners are educated. Mencius emphasized "courtesy" and interpreted it as being polite to elders and guests, that is, "respecting the heart and courtesy", and regarded "courtesy" as one of the beginnings of good human nature. Xunzi regards "ceremony" as the core of his philosophy of life, and regards "ceremony" as the fundamental purpose and the highest ideal of being a man. These etiquette thoughts are of great benefit to us modern people and even future generations. The essence of the thought of "self-denial and courtesy" advocated by Confucius is to serve the slave owners' rule, which shows that courtesy is also quite class-oriented.
In ancient etiquette, people not only created a set of etiquette thoughts, but also put forward a set of etiquette system. For example, the famous "Five Rites" originated in the Western Zhou Dynasty, namely Ji Li, Li Jia, Li Bin and Jun Li, are a set of specific etiquette norms and codes of conduct, involving all aspects of social life. For example, Ji Li is the crown of the Five Rites, mainly offering sacrifices to gods, earthly gods and ghosts and gods, and "Ji Li" is the most complicated in all previous dynasties. The most comprehensive and systematic development of Ji Li is precisely because Ji Li is the main part of ancient etiquette. "Li Jia" is the etiquette for people to communicate and contact feelings.
"Zhou Li" said that "Li Jia" was used to "be close to the people". The main starting point is to serve the ruling class itself. The main contents of Li Jia are: the ceremony of eating and drinking, the ceremony of getting married, the ceremony of shooting guests, the ceremony of entertaining the face and the ceremony of celebrating. Under the hierarchy, no matter what etiquette, with the different status, the number of etiquette is also different. Yan Li is a banquet ceremony, that is, a banquet ceremony. "Courtesy" is a gift to receive guests. Zhou Li said, "Courtesy to the country", which is a gift to talk about the communication between the emperor and the vassal states and between the vassal states. "Military salute" is a ceremony for division and brigade to drill and conquer. The so-called "military salute with the country." "Fierce ceremony" is a funeral ceremony, that is, "mourning the country with fierce ceremony".
It can be seen that the development of etiquette in China is very complete and systematic, and all walks of life have detailed etiquette norms. However, these complete rituals came from the hands of the slave owners' ruling class and naturally became cultural tools for ruling the people. Of course, there are many reasonable elements, and many etiquette thoughts have become the core content of our modern etiquette. For example, Confucius said "love" and "love everyone", Xia Zi said "all men are brothers within the four seas", Mozi said "universal love" and Mencius said "old me, old people; The idea of "young people are young, and people are young" advocates that "the people value the monarch" and promotes the development of etiquette thought in later generations. In particular, many etiquette norms in Five Rites have been passed down to this day.