Rites of passage in Early China

The bachelor's thesis deals with rites of passage in Chinese antiquity, primarily on the basis of the ritual text of Yili 儀禮. Its general theoretical framework is description of rites of passage as given by Arnold van Gennep in his classical monograph. Due to the emphasis which Yili 儀禮 places on the structuring and formation of social relationships, the analysis of the course of rites of passage focuses on individual indicators that characterize the social roles of participants and their relationships, as well as their changes during the ceremony. The results of the analysis of the Yili are then placed in a broader context in confrontation with other written sources, especially the ritual text of Liji 禮記 and the Zuozhuan 左傳 chronicle