Li (ritual propriety)

The Confucian practice of ritual and proper conduct, from sacrifices and funerals to everyday courtesy.

Also: li, 禮, ritual, rites, ritual propriety, propriety

What it means

Li is usually translated 'ritual propriety'. It covers formal rites such as sacrifices, funerals and court ceremony, and also everyday etiquette, such as how hosts treat guests. For Confucius, li is not mere outward form: ritual performed without sincere feeling is improper, and a mourner's genuine grief matters more than formalities. Practising ritual is meant to change the person, restraining selfish desires, shaping emotions and teaching what to value, so li is the main route to cultivating ren (humaneness). It also sustains social order by marking the proper roles between ruler and subject, or parent and child. Xunzi in particular emphasised ritual as the means of reshaping human nature.

The questions it belongs to

• 3.2.3 Character-Based ApproachesShould ethics ask what to do, or who to be?
• 6.4 Political PhilosophyWhen is political power legitimate, and what may it rightly do?

Thinkers

• Confucius
• Xunzi
• Mencius

Traditions

• Chinese

To read

• Analects — Confucius
• Mencius (Mengzi) — Mencius
• Xunzi — Xunzi

Sources and further reading

• Confucius (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
• Confucius (Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

Written by the Coordinates of Thought editors and checked against the sources above on 29 October 2026. Not peer-reviewed. How we write and check.

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