中華文明素稱禮樂文明，從世界文明史上看，禮或禮制是中華文明區別於其它古 代文明的最具特色的一項要素。本世紀以來的許多學者往往忽視了中國古禮的獨特性，習慣 於套用西方人類學家的理論模式，把禮或禮制混同於初民社會的風俗、習慣或儀式。本文簡 要回顧了古今學者有關禮之起源的研究，在檢討近代一些學者有關「禮」之定義的基礎上， 著重探討了中國古禮的特質、內涵及其社會功能和政治功能，認為: 禮實刀古代中國文明所 獨有的一套制度與文化的架構，是一種政治、教化、道德和刑法合一的文明體系，在古代社 會裡具有定名分、序民人、別尊卑、明貴賤的社會整合功能和政治功能。根據古代禮書的記 載，禮大抵涵蓋著禮制、禮典兩大項，禮制即一代王朝的政教刑法和典章制度，在夏、商、 周三代，上述制度又通常體現在朝廷和各級黃族舉行的祭祀、錫命、朝覲、婚冠、喪葬等一 系列禮典上。通過對中國史前遺址其中主要是長江下游地區良渚文化遺址文化內涵的考察， 我們將不難發現，早在五千多年前的良渚文化時期，禮或禮制已經萌生，並趨於規範化和制 度化。

　　　　　Chinese Civilization is known as a civilization of li 禮 (rites), which is one of the main features that distinguishes it from other civilizations in the ancient world. While many scholars in this century have studied li, their indiscriminate use of western anthropological models has caused them to equate li to the customs and rites of primitive peoples. The present paper, after reviewing past resarch on the origins of li, explores the qualities and functions of li in ancient China. The author concludes that li is a social system and cultural structure unique to Chinese civilization, combining political, education, ethical and legal systems into a whole, and that the main function of li in ancient times was to organize society in terms of rank, class and duty. According to the Chinese classics, li consists of two main components--the first is li zhi 禮制 (li institutions), which include political, legal and social rules; the second is li dian 禮典 (li ceremonies ), which covers the various rites such as worship, tributes, weddings and funerals. Through study of prehistoric Chinese cultures, especially the Liang Zhu 良渚 Culture of over 5,000 years ago, we find that li existed at that time and was already in the process of becoming institutionalized.