禮是儒家思想文化的核心內容。原始儒家推崇的六經，皆以禮為本；到宋代禮義的提升，理學話語的展開，最終標誌是《四書》輯合成書。無論是理學和心學，均致力於提高人的道德修養，而禮義的突破最終落實為心性修養工夫和家禮的實踐。從宋明理學視野中探索的修身之學，一方面就經典世界的創發而言，《四書》文本的相互關聯與詮釋，從《禮記》中的《大學》《中庸》到「四書」中的《大學章句》和《中庸章句》，從程朱的《大學》詮釋到陽明倡研的《大學》古本，均體現了心性修養理論的發展與變化；另一方面在生活世界，禮義的領悟與禮儀的踐履相互促進，互相啟發和影響，呈現出對新儒學精神境界和生活方式的雙重探索。

Ritual is the main content of Confucianism. The Six Classics praised highly by primitive Confucianism are all based on rites. In the Song Dynasty, the promotion of and the development of Neo-Confucianism discourse were finally marked by the synthesis of the Four Books. Both Li learning and Xin learning were committed to improving people's moral cultivation, and the breakthrough of Neo-Confucianism was finally implemented for the cultivation of mind and the practice of family rituals. Neo-Confucianism in exploration of cultivate one's moral education, mainly from two aspects: on the one hand, in the world of classics, correlations and interpretations of the Four Books, especially from the Great Learning and the Doctrine of the Mean in the Book of Rites to that in the Four Books, from Cheng Zhu's interpretations of the Great Learning to the ancient edition initiated by Wang Yangming, the development and change of the theory of cultivating human mind and human nature are reflected; On the other hand, in the world of living, the understanding and the practice of ritual promote, enlighten and influence each other, presenting the dual exploration of the spiritual realm and life style of Neo-Confucianism.