Ritual propriety combined with a sense of appropriateness.
Consider Kwong-loi Shun's description of the relation between li and yi. He writes, "A person with li is not only skilled in and disposed to follow the rules of li but is also prepared to depart from such rules when appropriate. This preparedness involves the operation of yi, and commitment to propriety. Even when a rule of li should be followed, yi still has a role to play in that one should ideally follow the rule with an awareness of its appropriateness to the situation and, in that sense, make the observance of the rule not a mechanical action but a display of one's own assessment of the situation" (Shun, p. 65, emphasis added). In other words, li and yi are mutually dependent. A performance of li without yi is no performance of li at all. On the other hand, one cannot put yi into practice in a social vacuum. Yi requires li as a medium in which to operate. Liyi, then, is a sense of appropriateness informed by established patterns of proper conduct, and vise-versa.
Last Date Modified: 08/21/2007
Kurtis Hagen, e-mail: hagenkg@plattsburgh.edu