The Book of Rites (Liji) presents a comprehensive vision of ritual as the fabric of ordered life, detailing ceremonies that accompany the major transitions of human existence. It sets forth life‑cycle rites such as coming‑of‑age ceremonies, including the capping ritual for young men and the corresponding hairpin ceremony for women, which mark entry into adulthood and civic responsibility. Marriage is treated as a carefully ordered process, from betrothal and the exchange of gifts to the wedding itself and the roles of family members. Death, too, is surrounded by elaborate prescriptions: funerals, graded mourning garments, differing mourning periods according to kinship, and ongoing ancestral worship all express reverence and continuity across generations.

Beyond the individual, the text describes court and political rituals that structure authority and governance. Imperial and feudal court ceremonies regulate audiences with the ruler, the reception of ministers and envoys, and the proper dress, seating, and modes of address. Investiture rites for officials and state sacrificial ceremonies to Heaven, Earth, and ancestral temples bind political order to a larger moral and cosmic framework. Diplomatic protocols, including the reception of foreign envoys and oath‑taking between states, show how even relations between polities are framed as ritual encounters rather than mere transactions of power.

Religious and sacrificial rites occupy a central place, revealing how the tradition understands the resonance between human conduct and the wider cosmos. The Book of Rites describes seasonal sacrifices to Heaven and Earth, offerings to mountains, rivers, and natural forces, and temple rituals for ancestral worship, all carried out with carefully regulated music and dance. These ceremonies extend from grand state sacrifices to more intimate offerings within ancestral temples, yet they share a common aim: aligning human emotion, social hierarchy, and cosmic order through patterned action.

The text also turns to educational, social, and daily protocols, treating them as no less ritual in character. It outlines the proper conduct between teachers and students, the etiquette of literary and musical performances, and the ceremonies surrounding examinations and the conferment of scholarly status. Within the household and community, it prescribes forms of guest reception, dining etiquette and banquet procedures, and standards of clothing and appearance for different occasions. Seasonal and agricultural observances—such as spring plowing rites, harvest thanksgivings, New Year observances, and solstice and equinox ceremonies—further demonstrate how the rhythm of the seasons is woven into ritual life, so that from the most solemn sacrifice to the simplest greeting, human action is shaped into a disciplined expression of respect and harmony.