Why is the order of China's ethics a "ritual" order?

Because politeness is an effective means to maintain order.

Ritual culture is an important part of China's traditional culture, and the thought of rule by rites once occupied a dominant position in the history of China. Its core is to teach people to cultivate self-discipline, fulfill their social responsibilities and establish a harmonious relationship between people and society. In China's traditional society, courtesy plays an important role in governing the country and managing the society, and plays a role in maintaining social stability and order. Since modern times, with the introduction of the western concept of rule of law, the rule of propriety has been constantly criticized. Today, the academic circles have re-studied and re-examined the etiquette culture. Scholars believe that getting rid of its dross is of unique value for building social order, moral education and realizing social harmony. Ceremony is a social norm.

Rites originated from the ritual activities of offering sacrifices to heaven and earth and ancestors in primitive religions, and are the rules and procedures of sacrificial activities. "Shuo Wen Jie Zi" said: "Business households perform their duties, so they are blessed by God." Because the ceremony evolved from sacrifice, people's attitude towards the ceremony is awe. At the same time, this norm reflects the reverence and belief of the same clan, so it is easier to be observed.

With the development of society, ceremony has expanded from a religious ritual rule to all aspects of society, and the concept of order and hierarchy contained in ceremony has penetrated into social life. The influence of ceremony on order is twofold, that is, it stipulates the realistic social order and strengthens people's recognition of order. On the one hand, the norms and principles of social relations between people are established by the external coercive order; On the other hand, etiquette is internalized into morality in people's minds, and violating etiquette is violating morality, which controls and educates people's behaviors and concepts.

Therefore, the ceremony is similar to legal norms to some extent. Rites are used to regulate people's position and relationship in society. Courtesy makes people know their position in society, distinguish right from wrong, and know what to do and what not to do, that is, the so-called "see no evil, don't listen if you are indecent, don't say anything if you are indecent, and don't move if you are indecent". At the same time, politeness is also a moral norm, which guides people to be kind and self-disciplined. Through the enlightenment of etiquette, social rules are internalized into people's inner moral standards, and the role of "governing the country, setting the country and setting the people" is realized by letting people know and abide by etiquette. Ritual bears the basic function of social norms. The first is to establish a patriarchal hierarchy based on blood relationship. In the society built by courtesy, people establish their status according to their roles, identities and grades. This status order can't be destroyed at will, otherwise what others do is "illegal intrusion" or "indecent assault". The second is to clarify the responsibilities and obligations of each individual in society. "monarch, minister, father, son, son" emphasizes the obligations and responsibilities between people, coordinates the relationship between people and between people and society, and enables people in various positions in society to perform their duties and responsibilities, thus achieving social stability and order. The third is to promote the correct behavior and self-cultivation of social members. Rites play an important role in improving individual morality and cultivating human nature. I believe that as long as we persist in educating the people on etiquette and righteousness, we will certainly improve the people's moral self-control and abide by social norms from the bottom of our hearts, thus maintaining social stability and order.

Order and morality are the pursuit of ceremony.

As an effective means to maintain order in traditional society, etiquette has a deep feudal backwardness. It strengthens the concept of hierarchy and is incompatible with the concept of equality in modern society. Owners are equal, young and old are different, and rich and poor are called. The hierarchical order established by etiquette is inviolable and insurmountable. This hierarchical order centers on state power, emphasizes obedience and privilege, and ignores the concern for people's own value, which largely excludes human rights and freedoms. "Rites" strengthened the supremacy of kingship with its complicated hierarchical system and played a positive role in maintaining the autocratic rule of feudal monarchs.

However, etiquette, as a part of China traditional culture, maintains social harmony and attaches importance to moral education, which still has reference significance for building a good social order today.

Etiquette is based on certain etiquette norms and social customs, which makes all social strata form a whole in a certain way and present a good order. Rites define the differences between different social classes, formulate corresponding codes of conduct, establish order on the basis of differentiation, and clarify the sense of responsibility of each individual. People should play different roles in society, and their words and deeds should follow certain norms. Only when everyone abides by etiquette can society achieve harmony. For example, children should be filial to their parents and students should respect their teachers. In today's society, every citizen should also establish a sense of order, recognize and abide by social rules, do nothing against morality and law, and actively assume the responsibilities and obligations as a member of society. Only in this way can the harmony and order of the whole society have a solid foundation.

Etiquette's maintenance of social order is not completely enforced, but more transformed into human moral consciousness through internalization. Etiquette emphasizes people's consciousness, and the external performance of etiquette is a well-behaved behavior, which needs the support of internal moral concepts. "The Book of Rites" said: "Sages act for courtesy, which makes people polite and know themselves from animals." It can be seen that courtesy emphasizes the change of world outlook and outlook on life. Traditional etiquette rules maintain a strict hierarchical system, but the realization of this system is not severe punishment, but moral education, through which bad behavior can be avoided. In modern social life, in addition to external mandatory laws, there are many internal conscious moral constraints. If every member of society can establish his own behavior standard according to social norms, and use this standard to restrain and check himself and constantly improve his moral realm, it will be easier for the whole society to achieve standardization and order.