Ritual Civilization and Mythological Coding: Cultural Interpretation of Li Ji

ISBN-13: 9789811543951 / Angielski / Miękka / 2021 / 346 str.

Qicui Tang

Spis treści

Chapter 1. Introduction.- Chapter 2. "Rebirth" Myth: Explore the Source and Symbols of Capping Ceremony.- Chapter 3. Sacred Space：Symbols of Miao.- Chapter 4. Sacred and Profane: Space Narration of Li Ji: Ming Tang (Bright Hall).- Chapter 5. Cognition of Cosmopolitan：the Study on Narrative of Five Orientation Ethnic group.- Chapter 6. Renewal: Time and Space Myth in Li Ji: Yue Ling(Climate and Phenology in A Lunar Month).- Chapter 7. Ritual to Deter Disaster: Disaster Memory and Ritual Function in Li Ji.- Chapter 8. Conclusion.

Blurb

This book places Li Ji (the Book of Rites) back in the overall context of “books,” “rites” and its research history, drawing on the interrelations between myth, ritual and “materialized” symbols to do so. Further, it employs the double perspectives of “books” and “rites” to explore the sources and symbols of the capping ceremony (rites of passage), decode the prototypes of Miao and Ming Tang, and restore the discourse patterns of “people of five directions.” The book subsequently investigates the formation and function of the Yue Ling calendar and disaster ritual, so as to reveal the human cognitive encoding and metalanguage of ritual behavior involved. In the process, it demonstrates that Li Ji, its textual memories, archaeological remains and “traditional ceremony” narratives are all subject to the latent myth coding mechanism in China’s cultural system, while the “compilation” and “materialized” remains are merely forms of ritual refactoring, interpretation and exhibition, used when authority seeks the aid of ritual civilization to strengthen its legitimacy and maintain the social order.