礼不下庶人
lǐ​bù​xià​shù​rén

the rites do not apply to commoners

  • created sense approved 礼不下庶人/禮不下庶人 · lǐ​bù​xià​shù​rén · the rites do not apply to commoners — "Initial import from upstream dictionary"

    礼不下庶人 / 禮不下庶人

    lǐ​bù​xià​shù​rén

    the rites do not apply to commoners

    (literary) an ancient concept from the Book of Rites suggesting that ordinary people are not expected to perform complex ceremonial rituals because they are preoccupied with labor and lack the necessary resources; rites do not extend to the common people

    礼 (literal) → 礼/禮 · lǐ · propriety 不下 (literal) → 不下 · bù​xià · not less than 庶人 (literal) → 庶人 · shù​rén · commoners

    Changed: simplified, traditional, gloss, definition, pinyin, variant pinyin, variants, separable parts, decomposition

    created sense