On Ritual

This is a systematic demonstration of ritual. Master Xun believed that ritual was formulated by the sagely kings to regulate men’s desires and prevent them from disputes when their inherent desires were unsatisfied. It includes the system of hierarchy, moral norms, etiquette and ceremonies, and so on which can be divided into two categories: regulating people’s needs before satisfying them by adjusting the distribution of property so that everyone’s reasonable desires and demands could be met; differentiation between noble and lowly, old and young, rich and poor, power and insignificance for the purpose of individual differences and order.