Ritual, Politics and Ethics
——A Critical Review of Confucian Ethical Semiotics
Zhu Dong
Abstract: The system of Confucian Ritual semiotics originates from customs of prehistoric
people, and is transformed by Zhou Gong into a hierarchical system of cultural semiotics with
top-down political structures. After the collapse of feudal religious rites, thanks to the effort made
by Confucius, the system of political and cultural semiotics further develops into everyday ethical
codes and becomes internalised as a moral standard by individuals. It is argued that Confucian
ethical semiotics ultimately develops into a complete system which maintains the stability of ancient
Chinese society while simultaneously restricting its development. Facing the rise of ethical issues in
contemporary society, a critical review of Confucian ethical semiotics helps to reveal its “retardation
value”, which is a crucial component of current research on the ideology of traditional ethical semiotics.
Key words: Confucianism, Ritualism, Ethics, Semiotics
