A Brief Study on Kang Youwei’s Annotations on the Evolution of Rites (Liyun zhu) : Interpretation and Editing of Scriptures Based on the Doctrine of the Three Ages and the Idea of Egalitarianism

This paper examines the logic how Kang Youwei (康有爲) edited and annotated the “Liyun” (禮運) chapter of the Book of Rites (Liji, 禮記) in his work Liyun zhu (禮運注) in order to justify his own thought. Kang Youwei’s editorial objectives can largely be summarized in two main points. First, he aims to legitimize the doctrine of the Three Ages (三世說). Kang argues that although Confucius aspired toward the ideal of Datong (大同, Great Unity), he lived in the Age of Disorder (據亂世) and thus could advocate only for Xiaokang (小康, the Minor Peace). Furthermore, he asserts that since rites (li, 禮) evolves with the times, it is legitimate to create new rites appropriate to the age, even if they had not been established by ancient sages. Second, he seeks to justify the idea of egalitarianism. Kang Youwei edits the “Liyun” chapter by altering wordings, deleting or rearranging certain passages. Through this editorial process, he stripped the traditional concept of li (禮) which implies class order. It is unlikely that Kang Youwei intended to directly apply the vision of Datong from the Liyun zhu to real-world politics. This is because while Liyun zhu focused on Datong rather than Xiaokang, his actual political movements were generally oriented toward Xiaokang rather than Datong. Therefore, it appears that he sought to provide a scriptural foundation for his Book of Great Unity (Datong shu, 大同書) through the logic of Liyun zhu. Also, by invoking the Three Ages doctrine―which posits that a Datong society cannot be realized without first passing through a stage of Xiaokang society―he appears to have aimed to oppose democratic republican revolution and support constitutional monarchy.