L. S. Vasiliev. Ethics and ritual in traditional China (№ 451621)

The Chinese character LI corresponds to a large range of related concepts (rules of conduct, ritual, custom, decency) can be translated as a combination of ethics-ritual. LI comes close to the term TI (body, essence, substance). The etymological relationship of LI and TI laid the core of the later philosophical ontologization of ethics and ritual in China, where the beginning uniting them began to be thought of as the most important factor not only in cultural creation, but also in cosmic ordering.