The “Liyun” 禮運 (Evolution of Ritual), from a chapter in a Han ritual compendium to a universal sacred text: Kang Youwei’s 康有爲 (1857–1927) hermeneutical techniques

Kang Youwei’s 康有爲 (1857–1927) commentary to the “Liyun” (Evolution of Ritual), ninth chapter of the Record of Rites (Liji 禮記), was written during the short but crucial period between the failed “Hundred days reform” of 1898 (wuxu bianfa 戊戌變法) and the Xinhai Revolution (Xinhai geming 辛亥革命, 1911), which ended the Qing dynasty (1644–1911). It was published in 1913, in Kang’s own journal, Buren 不忍 (Compassion). When reading the “Evolution of Ritual” chapter in the context of a collective work on .