The book presents an innovative and interdisciplinary dialogue between early Chinese ritual discourse and contemporary performance studies. Drawing on key concepts from theater, performance theory, and ritual studies, Radice reconceptualizes ritual ... not merely as codified ceremonial practice but as a dramaturgical process involving scripts, dramaturgs, performers, and spectators.

Religious Studies Review

Proceeding from the perspectives of dramaturgy, theatricality, and spectatorship, Thomas Radice provides us with an insightful discussion to enrich our overall understanding of one of Confucianism's trickiest features, namely “ritual”

Geir Sigurðsson, Professor of Chinese Studies, University of Iceland, Iceland

In this thoughtful new book, Thomas Radice addresses the early Chinese debate over conceptualizing ritual as a kind of performance, including the complex view that performing rituals can help us discover, and productively channel, deep-seated emotions.

Paul R. Goldin, Professor of East Asian Languages & Civilizations, University of Pennsylvania, USA