The classical works of the Confucian school in China initially comprised the 'Six Classics': the Book of Odes (Shī), the Book of History (Shū), the Book of Rites (Lǐ), the Book of Music (Yuè), the Book of Changes (Yì), and the Spring and Autumn Annals (Chūnqiū).

Complementing these were the 'Three Rites': Rites of Zhou (Zhōu Lǐ), Book of Etiquette and Ceremonial (Yí Lǐ), and the Book of Rites (Lǐ Jì).

By the Song Dynasty, this collection had expanded to become the 'Thirteen Classics,' which included the Book of Odes, the Book of History, the Book of Changes, the Rites of Zhou, the Book of Etiquette and Ceremonial, the Book of Rites, Zuo Zhuan, Gongyang Zhuan, Guliang Zhuan (commentaries on the Spring and Autumn Annals), the Analects, the Classic of Filial Piety, Er Ya, and Mencius.