Examining early Chinese ritual discourse during the Warring States and early Western Han Periods, this book reveals how performance became a fundamental feature of ritual and politics in early China. Following the view that Ruists (Confucians) conceived ritual as primarily a dramaturgical matter, this book explores the influence of these performer/spectator relationships on early Chinese religious, ethical, and political discourse. Thomas Radice suggests that theatrical “presence” was necessary for expression and deception in a community of spectators and shows us how the ornamented self became essential to all forms of public life in early China.