Li(etiquette),the traditional life style of the Chinese people,is basically composed of three elements :Liyi (礼意)—the meaning of etiquette,Liyee (礼仪)—the rituals,ceremonies and small details of etiquette and Liqi (礼器)—the ritual vessels used in observing etiquette . Liyi refers to the practical meaning and principles for a certain kind of etiquette event,while Liyee and Liqi are respectively the choice of rituals and that of the vessels for the etiquette event . All the basic concepts mentioned above can be found in the classics of ritual studies in the early history of China . In the general articles about etiquette,Liyi and Liyee are quite clearly defined,but the record of Liqi does not match the practices of etiquette that we observe in our daily life .The latter is usually defined as the vessels used in ritual events,or in a broader sense,musical instruments,carriages and horses,costumes,even palaces,and so on,which results in a lot of confusion about the understanding of the structures and practices of rituals .However,when we read more about rituals and ceremonies,we find that the traditional concept of Liqi is different from the modern conventional definition,and has richer connotation .As is recorded in Yueji (A Record of Music in The Book of Rites) :″Fu gui zu dou,principles of the choice and exhibition of the objects,are the Liqi .″(“簠簋俎豆、制度文章,礼之器也。”) This paper will combine the developmental history of Chinese ritual studies with the field observations of contemporary anthropology and elaborate on the concept of Liqi in Chinese classics from the following three perspectives . (1) The physical objects :They include the Zhiwu (presents) to the receiver and the″packing box″for the Zhiwu during the rituals .Zhiwu,now called″present,″is not just limited to food but may also refer to music,objects,colors,performances and many other things which can guide the sender's soul,or in other words,anything that can please the receiver . (2) The institution :According to the institution of Liqi,or the basic principles and criteria for the choice of physical objects used in the rituals and ceremonies,the physical objects used in the rituals may vary in size,material,number,combination,etc .due to different purposes . (3) The presenting :It refers to the forms,structures,layout,etc .of the objects used in the ceremony .There are about three types of articles as far as the presenting forms are concerned : (a) the graphic articles appealing to the eyes are characteristic mainly of static images with decorations and colors ;(b) the sound articles pleasing to the ear refer mainly to music and other sweet sounds ;and (c) the performing arts articles,attracting both the eyes and ears,are mainly presented dynamically by dances and other artistic expressions . The articles and institution of Liqi are presented in the form of the physical objects of Liqi,forming the background of the entire Liqi so that the subjects of the ceremonies can practice the ritual events .