Skip to main content

Search from vocabulary

Content language

Concept information

Preferred term

li  

Definition

  • Li is a key concept in Confucian thought and is variously translated as “ritual,” “rites,” “custom,” or “propriety.” It refers at the collective level to the time-honored code of ritual conduct that was to govern all social interaction in the ideal Confucian society. As an individual virtue, li is the ability to follow that code and to enter into each and every human relationship with a full awareness of one's position, rights, and duties toward the others involved and with a full recognition and acceptance of them as moral beings. [Source: Encyclopedia of Global Religion; Li]

Belongs to group

URI

https://concepts.sagepub.com/social-science/concept/li

Download this concept: