Liji is the Chinese name of the Confucian classic commonly translated as the Book of Rites.
The Liji is one of the Five Classics traditionally associated with Confucian learning. It is a large collection of writings about ritual, social behavior, government, education, mourning, ceremonies, and ideals of personal conduct. The text does not function as a single continuous book written by one author; instead, it preserves materials assembled and edited over a long period.
The received version was shaped during the Han dynasty. Important sections include the “Great Learning,” the “Doctrine of the Mean,” and the “Record of Rites,” although the first two later became independent members of the Four Books. The Liji therefore has a central place in both early Confucianism and later Neo-Confucian education.
Liji is often confused with the Yili and Zhouli. Those are separate ritual classics with different contents and transmission histories. The Book of Rites is specifically the Liji, while “rites” in Confucian thought refers more broadly to proper ceremonial and social conduct.